At 53, Gloria prides herself on being a good cook and an independent, fun-loving woman. But Gloria uses her cooking and charm to manipulate her family into letting her drink as much as she wants. Gloria had difficulty raising her children, and was married to an abusive man. At 42,

To outsiders, Marci's family life seemed ideal. But while her mother worked, Marci was left home with her alcoholic father. She endured his abuse while her mother looked the other way. Marci began drinking and doing drugs. Her marriage failed, and she lost custody of her children. But her mother

At 18, she married a drug dealer who made her rich, but her husband was sent to prison, leaving her alone with two sons. She turned to drugs and alcohol, and had multiple affairs. Her husband discovered one of her affairs and divorced her.

After being molested as a child, Nicole developed an unusual eating disorder--she was unable to swallow. By age 16, she weighed just 68 pounds, and doctors inserted a feeding tube into her stomach. The tube was supposed to be temporary, but 16 years later, Nicole still relies on the tube

 Brittany was born five years after the brutal rape and murder of her 9-year-old sister, Terry. Brittany struggled with the pressure to live up to her mother's perfect image of Terry.

John has type one diabetes but refuses to be diligent about checking his blood sugar, or taking his insulin. A social misfit and an outcast for many years, John wants to be considered a regular guy, and pretends to be one by eating whatever he wants without regard for his

Once a successful hairstylist, Casie now works in a small-town salon to fuel her $500-a-week meth habit. Casie's childhood was marred by her mother's drug addiction.

From an early age, Anthony's father made him feel worthless. His parents divorced, and his mother remarried, but she was still unhappy and turned to alcohol and drugs. It was little wonder, then, that Anthony began drinking at age 13. Another blow came when Anthony's younger brother died of leukemia.

Lana grew up in a family of 11 children, and her older sister introduced her to drinking at the age of seven. Despite this precarious start, Lana excelled in sports and was active in the church.

When Angelina was eight, her family grew apart over an argument about money. Her mother turned to prescription drugs and cocaine to deal with the stress. After graduating from high school, Angelina became her younger brother's legal guardian, but she was overwhelmed by the job of taking care of her

By her late 20's, Sandy had achieved the American Dream. She was married with four beautiful daughters and owned a home she and her husband built themselves. But today, Sandy's life is unrecognizable from what it once was.

A 51-year-old grandmother, Sharon is a compulsive shopper who has undergone numerous plastic surgeries to feel better about her appearance. She also feels she must hit herself.

A tall, beautiful brunette, Tiffany maintained a perfect GPA in high school and played Varsity basketball. But despite her achievements, Tiffany's childhood was plagued by her parents' violent marriage and their drug and alcohol abuse.

Beloved by his five sisters and his teenage son, Nik 35, was the glue that holds his large family together. He was a proud college graduate who became the director of a multi-million-dollar casino chain at a young age. But now Nik is a homeless drug addict.

Born into a family with traditional Catholic values, Chris struggled with his sexuality until coming out at 18. Now, at 34, Chris feels that being gay has cheated him out of the things he wants most--marriage, children, and inclusion in his family.

Gina has spent her life living in the shadow of her domineering Korean mother, and it was not until she started using heroin that she was able to escape the most painful of her memories, being blamed by her mother for having been raped. Now, with absolutely no sense of

Dawn, 49, was once a model, but today she's homeless and wanders around town using meth and suffering from the effects of Meth Psychosis.

Fabian, 37, was once a successful entertainment entrepreneur, but his escalating addiction has cost him everything.

Emily, 26, grew up struggling to meet her parents' high expectations. Despite winning many academic and athletic honors, Emily suffered from depression and low self-esteem, and her shameful feelings intensified when she became a date-rape victim in college.

Brooke, 26, was a beautiful teenager with a magnetic personality. An elite gymnast on the cheerleading squad, she looked forward to a successful and athletic life. But tragedy struck in her senior year when she was crippled by Still's disease, an early form of rheumatoid arthritis.

Jason, 23, was born into a strict Southern Baptist family. His father, a preacher, and his unstable mother doled out excessive punishments. But when Jason's mother revealed she's a lesbian, Jason's father was banished from the church and had to take several jobs to feed his family. Left with no

Next, a talented singer and the owner of his own karaoke business, 22-year-old Josh is addicted to food and weighs 550 lbs. Josh's father, Rex, has the same weight problem--at 317 lbs., he's a diabetic who's had six strokes.

Ben, 25, experienced a childhood filled with domestic violence, homelessness and isolation. He never got to fulfill the potential of his 170 I.Q. and found a new way to find comfort when he was in high school--a drug called DXM.

Tressa, 32, attended college on a track and field scholarship and became one of the world's top female shot-putters, earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. But Tressa's dreams were shattered when a routine drug test revealed that she had been living a double life as an Olympic hopeful

As a former clean-cut track star, John's life used to revolve around athletics. Now, after a leg injury ended his running career, John spends his time abusing his body with alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy and hallucinogenic drugs.  

The chaos and bloodshed that Brad witnessed as a young soldier in Iraq, including the death of a close friend, left him emotionally damaged. He now suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and uses alcohol and marijuana to quell the endless nightmares and flashbacks that haunt him.

Having graduated high school with academic and athletic honors, Lawrence, 34, became a successful owner of a chain of tanning salons. But he was never able to dull the pain of emotional and physical abuse suffered in childhood.

To the outside world, his life may seem ideal. Dan, 40, is married and has a beautiful daughter, Ava. He loves music and works as a first mate for a snorkeling and whale-watching boat company on a stunning Hawaiian Island. But everything is not what it seems.

Tom got caught up in a gangster lifestyle while growing up in a South Boston neighborhood run by an Irish mob. By the time he was 20, Tom was holding down a job in the day as a Boston fireman and dealing drugs and running with the wiseguys at night.

A talented motocross rider, Charles, 23, is still dealing with terrible childhood memories. When he was seven, his father went to jail for molesting him and his younger brother, and his mother became an alcoholic. Today, he uses heroin and alcohol to blot out his memories, but he's pushed most

She sits in her garage every day, popping painkillers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and sleeping pills. Sandra's pill use is so bad that her two sons, 17 and 11, have left the house. Her best friend, Julie, moved in with her, and although Julie suffers from multiple sclerosis, she takes care of

After a troubled childhood that sent him to juvenile hall for felony arson, Chad's father introduced him to cycling at age 15. Chad went pro and cycled on the same team as Lance Armstrong. But after getting kicked off the team for "personality conflicts," Chad was crushed and turned to

A Sophia Loren look-alike, Marie was born into an Italian mob family. When her parents' marriage end, Marie and her mother struggled with extreme poverty. Marie's three marriages ended in divorce, but she was still determined to give her children what she didn't have growing up.

Born into a mixed-race family in a predominantly white town, Asa struggled with low self-esteem and body image growing up. Classmates teased him because of his size, ethnicity, and effeminate manner. Desperate to loss weight, Asa became bulimic. He came out as a gay man at 19 and started using

He was once a championship bodybuilder and successful property owner. But when he turned 30, Derek felt he was over the hill and became severely depressed. He started drinking to cope with the pressures of marriage and the responsibilities of getting older.

She was a pre-med student on her way to becoming a surgeon, but the trauma of being molested as a child and her parents' brutal divorce haunted Allison.

A 44-year-old singer and songwriter, Phillip used music to escape the pain of an unstable childhood. He gained fame due to his charisma and musical talents, but Phillip now consumes up to four pints of peppermint schnapps a day.

Mike, 67, was a police sergeant, avid outdoorsman and respected citizen. After he was injured while apprehending an addict, signs of Mike's obsessive-compulsive disorder started to emerge. His fear of germs caused him to wash his hands over 40 times a day.

Jenny, 32, is a talented hairstylist from a close-knit Mormon family. When a diagnosis of endometriosis crushes her dreams of having a family, she turns to prescription drugs. Her addiction quickly escalates to IV heroin and meth use.

When Kristen was 3, her parents divorced and soon after her grandparents died, and Kristen somehow felt responsible. Then Kristen's mother married an alcoholic and addict, whose daughter introduced Kristen to drugs. By 15, Kristen was getting high.

Ed, 53, and Bettina, 49, had a picture-perfect life, including three adoring kids, a dream home, sports cars, motorcycles, and a respected place in their church community. But six years ago, Ed made a bad career move and ended up unemployed.

From the outside, Ryan and his family look picture perfect. They live in a beautiful house in an upscale northern California neighborhood. But inside, their world is falling apart. Ryan, once a talented drummer who was awarded a music scholarship to the state university, is addicted to opiates.

Kim is a beautiful 34-year-old make-up artist who grew up a cheerleader and popular. But fearing her good looks and slim figure were deteriorating, Kim turned to bulimia and anorexia.

By day, Jacob, 25, is a banker. But most nights, Jacob is drinking, driving and often engaged in barroom brawls. He recently overdosed on alcohol and prescription drugs. His heart stopped and he had to be revived with paddles. Jacob blames his mother -- a drug user and former dealer

Anthony has been working at the pizzerias owned by his family since he was a kid. A good athlete, colleges offered him baseball scholarships. But at 14, everything changed. His sister died of a heroin overdose and his mother fell into an emotional black hole.

Trent, 33, is a four-star chef who's served U.S. presidents and Hollywood stars. But as the child of alcoholics, Trent's formative years were marked with violence and abuse.

Growing up, Dillon showed tremendous promise. But after a bitter divorce, his mother, Tammy hoped that Dillon wouldn't follow in the footsteps of his violent, alcoholic father. But today Tammy's worst fears have come true. Dillon, 20, is living with his father in a dilapidated trailer where he injects methamphetamines

Growing up Hubert, now 50, never felt truly loved by his stepfather. And his stepfather admits giving more love and attention to his three biological children. Meanwhile, Hubert protected his brother and sisters from hearing and seeing their parents screaming and hitting one another. Forty years later, it's

Jessica, 21, comes from a tight-knit family. Her father, mother, sister and grandfather all work at the family-owned gas station. But Jessica's not allowed to work there any more. Ever since Jessica became addicted to heroin at 17, her family cannot trust her. And even worse--her addiction is straining family

Laney is an outgoing, intelligent 36-year-old woman who used to have the kind of life other people dream of: a handsome, loving husband, plenty of money and the opportunity to travel the world. Unfortunately, all the wealth and status in the world could not help Laney escape alcoholism.

Growing up, Ashley, 20, was always considered the wild child. While her younger sister was quick to follow the rules and be active in the church, Ashley tended to reject her parents' strong Christian values.

Not long ago, Andrea, 31, decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and become a nurse. It was a field in which she excelled and was revered by colleagues and friends. But all the while, Andrea was hiding a dark secret--a growing crack addiction.

Growing up, Ricky seemed to be on a path to greatness. He was a straight-A student, a star athlete and named one of the three brightest students in school. He joined the Marines, where he served as a police officer.

Leslie is a Sunday school teacher, PTA member, soccer mom of three and a raging alcoholic. When she can't get her hands on vodka or wine, Leslie resorts to economy size bottles of mouthwash.

As a timber cutter, Coley has one of the most dangerous jobs in America. But instead of taking serious precautions, he increases his risks every day by snorting crystal meth. Because of his addiction, Coley's business is falling apart.

Corinne is a pretty 18 year-old blonde girl who was an honor roll student, star athlete and played the clarinet and saxophone. She started using drugs at 14 after being sexually abused by a neighborhood boy who babysat her.

As a child Caylee was an over-achiever from an affluent family. But despite her myriad successes, her mother, Christy, was never satisfied with her. Christy, herself was sexually-abused as a girl, and has hidden her bulimia from her family for 35 years.

Pam is a 49-year-old alcoholic who has suffered a string of abusive, failed marriages and horrific molestation as a child. Drinking is her only way to cope. Her frightened family has already lost one sibling to cirrhosis of the liver. Their greatest fear is that Pam will fall to the

Audrey, 24, was popular and artistic. Now, she is a heroin addict living on the streets. She has been an addict for 5 years and her family feels like the next time they will see her is going to be in a coffin. Her family plans an intervention to save

Howard, 39, is a driving instructor to celebrities, the CIA, and the FBI, but he drinks when he can't get high from driving fast. Now, Howard's doctor has told him his liver is failing, and unless he stops drinking, he will die.

Michael is not the typical addict. However, Michael is inflicting terror in his family by using rage as a means of getting what he wants. His violent actions have put the family at risk for abuse. Can an intervention show Michael the destruction he is causing?

Adam, who began using heroin after his girlfriend broke up with him, panhandles money at gas stations to get enough money to score. His family is "hanging on by a thread" and desperate for intervention help.

 Heidi leads a busy social life and takes great pride in maintaining her health and personal appearance. Unfortunatley, she is addicted to plastic surgery and compulsive shopping. She cites that while she was raped at the age of 16, she blames no one for her need to "fill the void."

Suffering the loss of her father and sexual molestation at the hand of her cousin at a young age, once bright student Michelle turned to drug use. Michelle has admitted to trading sex for drugs and uses methamphetamine intravenously. Her mother is afraid that at any moment Michelle will shoot

After relocating to Los Angeles, Troy had a promising future until his recreational crystal methamphetamine usage escalated into a full-blown addiction. While high Troy reports to having had, "hundreds of homosexual encounters."

For the past eleven years Salina has been suffering from severe bulimia. She also struggles with a shopping addiction and recently began battling a new urge, self-mutilation. Her family is desperate to help her break this cycle and is hoping she will take this lifeline.

A young mother, addicted to alcohol and heroin, is in the midst of losing custody of her 5-year-old daughter Sadie, who recently told her "mom, you are a loser." Kristen has now reached the point of no return. Her family has reached out to Intervention as a last hope of

Billy seeks a fix for his terrible drug addiction in many ways--he's an IV heroin user, he steals his mother's Xanax, he shoots Ambien intravenously, and he shoots up cocaine.

Antwahn played professional basketball for the Los Angeles Clippers and in Europe for over a decade, but when a serious knee injury ended his career he began to binge on crack-cocaine and ended up on skid row.

After Amy was sexually molested at 16, she turned to drugs to deal with the pain and ended up living on park benches with her boyfriend. Amy's mother has reached out to Intervention as her last hope.

Annie is anorexic and bulimic. Now her fiancé, Kevin, desperately wants an intervention because he's afraid that Annie's eating disorders will kill her.

Jill uses alcohol to numb her pain. Her family is planning an intervention--but will they succeed in saving their loved one's life?

Chuckie, 28, is the son of a famous musician, and was born into the rock 'n' roll world of the 70's. Surrounded by famous musicians and privilege all his life, he aspired to be an athlete or singer.

Gina is bright, fun-loving, and ambitious, but she's losing a difficult battle with drugs and compulsive gambling. Gina's family feels an intervention is the only way to save her.

Andrea is a 30-year-old, divorced, single mother addicted to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. She says that she loves the party lifestyle and that she can't end the cycle of drinking and drugs in which she's immersed herself. Can an intervention can bring her the "peace" she's looking for?

At 33, all John can see is the loss in his life. His mother died when he was 12. This year, he lost his sister, his cousin and his best friend. His only escape from it all is in his addiction to crack and alcohol, an addiction that has already

Tammi, 45, is an alcoholic despite being raised in an upper middle-class family that provided her with a good education and even golf and tennis lessons.

Daniel got hooked on meth after becoming a victim of molestation.

A high achiever as a young man, Mike developed a life-threatening dependency on speed balling, which involves mixing cocaine and heroin. Only an intervention can save him now that he's lost his marriage, his business, and the custody of his children to drugs.

James was a straight-A student until he turned to methamphetamines to cope with his mother's near-fatal illness. Now his mother, Mary, hopes an intervention will get James back on track in life.

Tim was an accomplished producer and a talented musician with a lucrative career in the entertainment industry, but a crack addiction nearly destroyed everything he treasures. An intervention is his last chance--but will it work?

Betsy went through a devastating time when her marriage fell apart. She began drinking heavily to help the pain. Her family is trying to help her with no results. They finally give her an ultimatum. She either quits drinking or she will lose all of their support and she would

 Cristy was born into a tight-knit family and sought a career as a clothing designer before she became addicted to alcohol and crystal meth. Now she earns her money as a stripper, and her desperate family knows she needs an intervention.

Sylvia had four wonderful kids, a strong marriage, and a successful business. But when family tragedies struck, Sylvia looked for solace in the bottle, and today she is a frail, vulnerable, alcoholic. An intervention is her only hope.

At one time, Laurie was a psychotherapist and mother of three. But then an addiction to pain killers and alcohol led to the loss of her job and her family, and now only an intervention can stop her from losing her life.

Jessie is a beautiful young woman who once dreamed of becoming a doctor. But that was before bulimia trapped her in cycle of despair.

Lauren has known plenty of success in her life. Growing up, she was a cheerleader, a dancer, a swimmer and a great student. After college, she became a high school health and phys-ed teacher, and the students loved her.

Alyson was a White House intern and an award-winning student. She met a boy in college who showed her the world of drugs and she became an addict. Alyson now lives at home with her parents and is a heavy user of morphine and crack. She works hard to alienate

 Vanessa, who was a recurring character on the long-running medical drama ER, is addicted to shopping. She is heading towards bankruptcy.

Jerrie's family calls interventionist Jeff Van Vonderen to help their 29-year-old daughter, who is addicted to Vicodin. Jerrie is so addicted that she has been forging physician signatures to get the prescriptions that she thinks she needs.

Tamela, a 24-year-old artist, cuts herself with razor blades. As a child, she was molested and has a hard time getting over what happened. Her family hopes she will go into treatment.

Alissa's parents and friends try to save her from her gambling addiction. She has lost over $30,000 on 25-cent slots. Her boyfriend has three jobs and makes all of the money, while Alissa gambles it away.

Brian has a bad crystal meth habit. He is also a sex addict. Brian roams around the streets to find new partners every night.

She had everything she ever wanted out of life, including a wonderful husband and family. In fact, she almost had a perfect life until it all ended in divorce. Not knowing how to handle the divorce, she turned to crystal meth.

n addiction to crystal meth threatens the life of Travis, a former rock 'n' roll star. Can his girlfriend and family get him into treatment before it's too late?

Matt, who comes from an upper-middle class home, is addicted to crack-cocaine and has stolen from his family and friends to support his habit. Desperate, his parents turn to an interventionist to save Matt from himself.

Peter is so addicted to video games that he identifies himself as the characters in the games he plays and refers to other characters as people he hangs out with.

Renee's eating disorder has become so dangerous that it is threatening her health, marriage, finances, and even the custody of her two small children.

This mother of a three-year-old spends her days gambling her house and car payments while stoned on prescription pills. With most of her jewelry in pawn shops, and forced to take paycheck advances, Tina now writes insurance policies from home and spends her days at horse tracks and in Bingo

Kelly is an anorexic who weighs 93 pounds and whose young daughter is following in her footsteps, often picking at her food or refusing to eat altogether. Her friends are seeking help not just to save Kelly, but her daughter as well.