Loved Ones

Family members and friends calling on behalf of someone struggling. They need guidance, not just information.

36%

of all callers

Understanding Loved Ones

Loved ones face a unique challenge: they want to help but can't make the decision for someone else. They're often:

Exhausted from trying to help
Worried about enabling vs. helping
Unsure how to have the conversation
Carrying guilt and frustration

Key Insight: With loved ones, "I got you" means "I'm the expert who will handle this." They need to feel like they're handing off to a professional.

Tone & Language

Do	Don't
Be professional and reassuring	Be too casual initially
Acknowledge their burden	Focus only on the patient
Provide clear next steps	Leave them with more questions
Equip them for the conversation	Make promises about the patient

Opening Scripts

After identifying caller type:
"What's going on with him/her exactly?"

Follow-up:
"How long has this been going on? And what have you tried so far?"

Building Rapport

Loved ones often apologize for asking too many questions. Validate their concerns:

"You're fine. Ask whatever you need."
Use when: They apologize for asking questions

"I got you. Let me handle the logistics so you can focus on your family."
Use when: They're overwhelmed with details

Pain Discovery

Understand both the patient's situation AND the loved one's burden:

About the patient:
"What's going on with him exactly?"
"What substance is he struggling with?"

About the loved one:
"How has this been affecting you and your family?"
"What made you decide to call today?"

Key Challenges

They Can't Make the Decision

"I understand—ultimately, he has to want this. But here's what we can do: let's get all the information together so when he's ready, there's no delay. Can you verify his insurance while we talk?"

The Patient Won't Go

"Has he said why he doesn't want to go? Sometimes understanding the specific fear helps us address it. Is it about work? Cost? What people will think?"

Worried About Being Pushy

"There's a difference between being pushy and being concerned. The fact that you're calling shows you care. Sometimes people need to know their family is serious about this."

Equipping the Conversation

Help them have the conversation with their loved one:

"When you talk to him, here are the key things to mention:
1. His job is protected under FMLA
2. Insurance covers most of the cost
3. We can get him in as soon as tomorrow
4. It's a medical facility, not a lockdown situation"

Creating Urgency

Help them understand why timing matters:

"The window of willingness can close fast. If he's even slightly open to it right now, that's the time to act."

"What would happen if we could get everything set up today, so when he says yes, there's no waiting?"

Important: Don't promise outcomes you can't deliver. You can prepare everything, but the patient has to agree to come.

Follow-Up Strategy

Loved ones often need multiple touchpoints:

Get their contact information
Offer to be available when the patient is ready to talk
Send written information they can share
Schedule a follow-up call

Loved-One Specific Scripts from 572 Calls

These verbatim scripts are specifically designed for loved-one callers:

The Awareness Check

"Does he know that you're calling?"

Why it works: Critical for understanding the dynamic. If yes, momentum is higher. If no, you need to help them strategize the conversation.

Validating the Shopping Approach

Caller: "I'll be honest with you. We're calling a couple of different places to try to give him some options. We're hoping that will encourage him to make a choice."

Agent (Tyler Glass): "It does. Yep. Comes highly recommended. It always is helpful to have a treatment plan in place when... you know? You don't want to find the willingness, then find a place. You wanna do it in the opposite order. You know?"

Impact: Validates their approach rather than pressuring for immediate decision. Reframes preparation as smart strategy.

Distance as Clinical Benefit

Caller: "I'm worried about him being so far from home."

Agent (Tyler Glass): "I would say that with her making the statements of, like, 'I can do this on my own,' I think that if she admits to a local facility... if she is nearby, you will almost definitely get calls in the first week or two saying, 'I don't need to be here'... myself, personally, when I went through this eight years ago, I tried to do it locally on the first run. I did not make it."

Why it works: Reframes distance as protective factor. Uses personal story to validate clinical reasoning. Addresses the "I can do this on my own" mentality proactively.

The Family Decision Support Script

Caller: "We've been talking about maybe doing an intervention."

Agent: "We have a caseworker there that works with family members, you know, to kinda help them as well through that process."

Impact: Positions facility as supporting the whole family, not just the patient. Reduces burden on caller.

When the Patient "Won't Go"

Caller: "He says he doesn't need it. He can handle it himself."

Agent (Tyler Glass): "With her making the statements of, like, I can do this on my own, I think that if she admits to a local facility... you will almost definitely get calls in the first week or two saying, I don't need to be here."

Technique: Agent doesn't argue with denial. Instead, explains what will likely happen if they take the "easy" path. Creates natural consequence thinking.

The Legal Backup Option

Caller: "I'm worried he'll just leave once he gets there."

Agent (Jake Smith): "And then also, as a secondary option, just to ensure that he will stay, we can look at enacting Casey's law. So he would have to stay in place if you're really concerned about that. But if you think that the willingness is there and it's not an issue, we can look at that down the road if we need to."

Impact: Provides safety net option while respecting caller's judgment about patient's willingness. Reduces anxiety about financial/emotional risk.

Rapid Addiction Progression Validation

Context: Parent describing son's rapid decline

Agent (Jake Smith): "It's unfortunately, like, once it gets started and reaches, like, that certain point where it crosses that line, it progresses very quickly. You know?"

Result: Caller responded with "Yes" - felt understood. Agent's insight validated her experience without requiring detailed explanation.

The "Does He Know" Flow

Agent: "Does he know you're calling?"

If YES: "Great. So he's open to the idea. Let me get his information and we can have the facility reach out directly."

If NO: "Okay. So the next step is having that conversation with him. Would it help if I walked you through what to say?"

Why it matters: This single question determines the entire call strategy. With awareness, you can move toward logistics. Without it, you're equipping them for a difficult conversation.

Supporting the Conversation

Caller: "I don't know how to bring this up with him."

Agent: "When you talk to him, here are the key things to mention:
1. His job is protected under FMLA - he won't lose his job
2. Insurance covers most of the cost - money isn't the issue
3. We can get him in as soon as tomorrow - no waiting
4. It's a comfortable medical facility, not a lockdown situation"

Impact: Equips caller with specific talking points that address the most common objections. Makes the conversation feel manageable.

The Caseworker Assurance

"Oh, no. Yeah. We try to make that... that's such a stressful thing, like, the fear of financial insecurity, you know, as we say. So, like, we try to take care of that for all of our clients. So, like, we'll handle his FMLA paperwork and reach out to his HR. We'll get his short term disability too. We'll do all of that."

Agent: Tyler Glass | Why it works: Named the fear ("financial insecurity") and positioned facility as full-service. Removed burden from family completely.

Loved-One Tone Patterns

Self-Caller Tone	Loved-One Tone
"I got you, man"	"I got you. Let me handle the logistics."
Peer-to-peer casual	Professional expert guiding
Focus on their pain	Focus on both patient and caller
Direct timeline questions	Collaborative planning approach

Key Insight: Loved ones need to feel like they're handing off to an expert. They've been carrying this burden alone. Your job is to take the weight off their shoulders while respecting their role in the patient's life.