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Intervention: Codependent Open Thread

This show premiers tonight on LMN and I don’t imagine that I’ll be covering it regularly, but I wanted to at least have a place to discuss it.  I have no idea if the format or style is anything like Intervention, but the previews certainly resemble several of the co-dependent relationship episodes we’ve seen on Intervention (I’m thinking Ed and Bettina, Sonja and Julia,  Sarah and Mikael). The interventionist is Kristina Wandzilak from the show Addicted (2010, TLC) which I know people have mixed feelings about.  Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts.

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  1. tiny

    did not like Kristina at all, ugh. she seemed to act as if Paige were the villain, and Alex was the poor innocent victim. Kristina seemed to write Paige off as soon as she left treatment but when Alex left his treatment to “make a phone call to Paige” and ended up leaving for good, she was still working with him

    besides that, I just didn’t like Kristina. I feel like if she were my drug counselor I’d end up punching her in the face tbh. she had such attitude at random, petty times.

    it ended on a weird note and I just didn’t like the show much. I feel like this is one of those throwaway shows that is just popping up because heroin is such a big deal right now and it annoys me.

    1. Tonya

      I agree with u about Kristina. She act so entitled and that nobody could possibly know what she knows. Why? Cause she was an addict 20 yrs ago? That’s forever in drug land and there has been 150 new addictions since she was ” out there”! She is a terrible counselor and by taking everything away from an addict just forces them into rehab rather they r ready or not! Addicts have to want to change on their own and without being bullied into it or otherwise they will not stay clean. I say this as a general statement because I’ve been around every kind of addict for the past 10 years and when addicts are just talking and they are not on camera and their is no presence of authority they will actually tell u like it is. Every single one of them said the same thing. They had to go to multiple rehabs because either a court made them or family members and their guilt trips or it was an honest try but they all knew the end result when they got there.the episode with Krysten and Spencer is an exact reason why I’m saying everything in this , Krysten is self serving and a waste as far as I’m concerned!

      1. Sandi

        Addicts are never ‘ready’ without hitting rock bottom. They want to changed because they are at the bottom. She creates a rock bottom which is the premises of an ‘intervention’.

      2. Sylverstarduster

        You obviously haven’t been around a strung out addict. I am an ex addict, one thing you have to do is let an addict hit rock bottom so they can press the reset button and climb out of that death they are flirting with. Part of that is those parents were allowing them to use in the house, right in front of the kids. They are the enablers. They have 2 choices, let em go, kick them out to get help or they can bury their kids. They think they are helping them. Paige is the biggest piece of shit between the two cuz she needed his money thats it. He should bail out while he can and open his eyes. She o.d.’d and still cant see wtf shes doin. Kick her to the curbbalex, get help and get away from that trash.

  2. Tom

    I’m not expecting that this show will be renewed for another season. It has a lot of potential, but the production and editing are awful. It doesn’t keep my glued to the TV as Intervention does.

  3. Mary Hruzek

    I have been watching Intervention since the beginning, and like all the Interventionist until I saw Kristina on the Codependent show.

    Understanding you have to be tough to be an Interventionist, she was totally unsympathetic to the point of rude to everyone involved. If she was truly a survivor of codependence and addiction she was as cold as I have ever seen. She really gave it to Alex who left to phone his partner. No need for I told you so to an addict. He screwed up, and he knew it. She didn’t have to throw it in his face over and over again.

    Again, I am sure you must be firm and this is not an easy job, but someone must be relatable to the addict, as well as the family. I found her very unfriendly, and hard to watch. I hope she will not be on many episodes in the future.

    1. Dizzy

      I agree with you, but I do think her tough, all business, no bullshit manner probably works great for some addicts and not so much for others. She’s also controversial because she doesn’t do the ‘surprise’ interventions – she believes that the addicts should know it’s coming. I know people in recovery have different thoughts on the effectiveness of that method.

  4. Halley

    I thought I liked Kristina a lot, as I liked her on ‘Addicted’… the fact that I didn’t notice her mistakes on IC shows I still have a lot to learn about addiction and recovery. Thanks for sharing your perspectives.

  5. Sussex

    Her shtick might work for some but this is a show I can’t watch.

    It seems to set the addicts up for short term success. Not the long term.

    Tossing Gianluca and Caitlyn back together after a short term stint in rehab. 30 days!?

    This show seems fake…scripted.

    Especially since Caitlyn was supposedly showing signs of blood poisoning in the beginning of the episode.

  6. COMMENTER

    The regular Intervention show is primarily therapeutic, only secondarily entertainment. The Codependent show is primarily entertainment, only secondarily therapeutic. Making a commitment in advance to briefly reunite the 2 addicts on the episode I watched is deplorable. It might be appropriate but that is something the therapists in the programs decide after they have been in treatment. Maybe 30 days, maybe not until 90 days, maybe never.

  7. Wenders

    Here’s the thing that I don’t like about Codependent: on the regular Intervention, it goes in-depth about the person’s background and what led to them becoming addicts. I feel like this show heavily glosses over it and as a result, I don’t really understand the addicts. Certainly they aren’t addicts just because hey, I met this other person and we decided to spend our time doing heroin.

    Count me in as another not a fan of the actual intervention format either.

  8. t.toro

    I’ve always found the format Kristina does as odd. I can’t imagine a lot of addicts would actually show up to their own interventions, but hey I guess it works since she’s been doing this awhile. I watched Addicted when it was on the air, at that time there was another show as well that chronicled addiction and addicts, but I felt both shows were just trying to ride the fame of Intervention. So, needless to say I was not surprised to see Kristina try and get another show. However, don’t give up on this show! I know the first episode she seemed like a total bitch and she is, but there is some raw emotion in other episodes. The way she handled Louis and Dan was amazing. I know it’s not for everyone, but I happen to really like it.

  9. California

    This show is totally fake…highly marketed..researched…”what do people want to see?”….just stick a hot, blonde, steamrolling blonde in there for the sex appeal and we have ratings. Shameless.

  10. Mary Hruzek

    Totally agree. Of course they have to take a hard, painfull line. But Kristine seems way over the top. I watched two episodes, and dropped it. Jeff, Candy. Donna and Mark seem to have a much higher degree of respect and success. I don’t have a problem with drugs, alcohol or codependency. I’m 61, experimented in my 20s, but watched my friends die, go to jail or overdose. There is no way I would allow her near my children. She punishes the family thst is trying to help and talks down to them. To her it seems to be a job. The rest seem to be emotionally invested, and care. Kristina is more into short skirts and flashing her boobs,

  11. X.

    I honestly don’t have a problem with Kristina’s intervention style, and never have. Her intervention style is different, yes, but that’s what codependency needs. Codependency doesn’t respond to bluffs if they’re not backed up by immediate action.

    My problem is with the production and editing. This show just…doesn’t keep me as engaged as Intervention does, which is saying something since the stories are just as compelling as Intervention’s.

  12. Xarias

    Is this show cancelled?
    It wasn’t on this week and there are no new ones listed for two more weeks.

  13. Halley

    I understand people not liking Kristina’s style, but I’m surprised by the mean-spirited comments directed at her. She is an amazing woman who has been through a lot. Many addicts w/whom she’s done service have given homage to her. Read up on her, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

    1. Gloria

      I totally agree with you. Kristina is my guru!

      1. CH

        Totally agree. Kristina is a very talented and gifted interventionist. I learn so much by her just listening. I appreciate her being straight-forward.

    2. Dina

      She is batting less than .300 on the show with her own facilities and program. She needs to focus on herself and her own recovery. She seems to still have control issues. This show is awful and Kristina should just quit with the polysyllabic BS and constant re-stating of “I am a professional” like she is trying to convince herself as well as the others. The offerings I saw were fairly pathetic and hopefully this show will disappear so these couples can get some real help.

  14. Janelle

    I like the format of the show on another network that featured Kristina Wanzilak. It was called “Addicted” and it ran for 2 seasons around the 2010-2013 time period. The show focused much more on the rehab and recovery than on the addiction that led up to it. The first 10 minutes or so showed the addict pre-intervention, then Kristina did the intervention, and the last 40 minutes showed the patient in the various stages of treatment and each episode ended with the patient leaving the treatment centre. It was uplifting to see the patients in treatment and trying to get their lives back in order.

    I think Kristina is a bit too much of a hard-ass to be likable to viewers on a long-term basis, but her MILFness (for lack of a better word) will keep the 20-45 year old male demographic coming back for more.

  15. Christoph Douglas

    I’m torn between to opposing views on this “intervention”, if you would call it that. Me, I see it more as a “Whelp, here’s a rehab facility and some advice..good luck!” rather than a traditional intervention.

    I am not a fan of Kristina and her hyper-aggressive approach, but I do think that there is something working in the mixture. I think the trouble I have with her is that she seems almost vindictive in how she confronts them. There is a significant difference between being stern and being overly aggressive to try and stoke the fire.

    Now, on to Paige. She needs a lot more than drug rehabilitation. I see mental health problems that need to be addressed in parallel with her addiction. If I were to wager a guess I would say she has strong mommmy/daddy abandonment issues. Her mother didn’t seem to really BE there and I don’t recall seeing or hearing anything about her father. This issue seems to project back onto Alex in her attachment. I can’t believe she would show up at the courthouse just to dangle drama over his head RIGHT BEFORE he goes in front of a judge; not to mention possibly facing significant jail time. She has issues that need to be addressed through counseling, otherwise she is going to push all of that anxiety right back onto Alex and he’s going to absorb the burden.

    I hope they found some way to quit in their own way. Alex seems like a fairly intelligent kid and understands the importance. What worried me most about the episode though is when she was overdosing and he was basically shrugging it off saying she wasn’t.

    TL; DR: Kristina needs to work on her aggressiveness, Alex needs to take some serious personal time to strengthen himself, and Paige needs to undergo serious counseling to work through her attachment and (unverified) abandonment/daddy issues.