I don’t know why, but I like to watch the show “Intervention” on A&E. On this show, addicts are told they are being filmed for a documentary about addiction, while their families are filmed telling how their loved one’s addiction has affected their lives. At the end of the hour, the addict is brought into an intervention with a professional intervention specialist and their entire family, and they are always asked if they are ready to go to a rehab center right now. Most of them say yes, but I have seen a couple of episodes where they refused.

What I wonder about the show is who pays the fees. The intensive therapy required for inpatient service at drug treatment centers (the show features other addictions too, but usually it’s pills, alcohol, drugs, etc) is very expensive, no matter where you go, but the places featured on Intervention are frequently rather posh. While they undoubtedly do great work, and there are plenty of rich people who need help too, I still wonder about all the lower-class people who are addicted to drugs and simply can’t afford to get help or attention from a national television show.