Whether a family member, friend or associate, you begin the pre-treatment process when you contact RecoveryCare. You will work with an interventionist who will guide you toward the goal of engaging the person in question toward treatment. Together, you will develop a plan to reach out to as many significant others as possible to create a support network. The process is open and invitational; secrecy is discouraged. Initially, work is conducted by telephone, using motivational techniques coached by our staff.   Stage 2 follows if the loved one does not enter treatment following the first stage. The support network holds a series of face-to-face sessions, with or without the substance abuser, to develop motivational strategies as a means to counter the substance abuser’s denial and resistance. There is no secrecy; the substance abuser is invited to all meetings with the clear goal of motivating him/her to engage in treatment. Most effected individuals engage in treatment by the end of Stage II.   If needed, Stage 3 follows. By this time, the substance abuser has been given and refused many opportunities to engage in treatment. Having been invited to previous meetings, this final limit setting approach is a natural consequence and does not come as a surprise. In this planned intervention, family and friends set expectations and limits for the substance abuser in a loving and supportive way.