Intervention Canada: All Episodes Discussion

[Aw my lahgs]

For all the refurbished Canadian episodes, presented as new by TLC.

[maya1959]

Just watched Jordan. I cried at the end. What a self aware man he is. It is the first addict who has taken responsibility for their addiction.

[Court]

I found the Jennifer one difficult to watch as well. That mother should be ashamed and sbe didn't register any emotion when being told all her children had been molested as children. For long periods of time. 

[Enero]

13 hours ago, maya1959 said:

Just watched Jordan. I cried at the end. What a self aware man he is. It is the first addict who has taken responsibility for their addiction.

I was the complete opposite about Jordan. I'm glad that he got help and appears to be sticking with it. The place he was sent to in BC was gorgeous. However I found him to be a selfish, self centered jerk, not nearly as bad as some addicts we've seen on the show but not IMO very sympathetic. 

His family was so far in denial they probably thought they could buy a bridge in Brooklyn. Every time they said Jordan "was doing well or ok" until X happened then he slipped back into drugs my thought was Jordan was never okay. He'd been using since he was 16 maybe even before then. He might've at times been more functional but never ok. Once he started I don't think he ever stopped using unless he was in rehab. 

Lastly the synopsis for his episode said that he was also prostituting himself. Was that mentioned on the show? I don't recall hearing anything about this. I thought he was making money to support his habit by singing on street corners? 

[pasdetrois]

I'm pretty sure Jordan is a sociopath (said only slightly sarcastically). And he looks pretty damn fit and healthy for a meth addict. Guess it is years of enabling support - food, shelter, etc.

He holds everyone else in utter contempt. With his relative fitness and charm, there is an army of lonely women who will support his habit in exchange for attention. Also, I think he was auditioning for a music career via Intervention.

His sister's report that he threatened her sexually made my blood run cold. WTF.

Is that a meth thing? Crazed, violent threats that cross sexual/familial taboos?

[Neurochick]

On December 17, 2016 at 9:45 AM, pasdetrois said:

Is that a meth thing? Crazed, violent threats that cross sexual/familial taboos?

With some drugs, you might not even be aware of who's sitting next to you.  I think when you watch this show, you can't make sense out of this behavior.  I know people who have gotten married/gotten on planes/crashed their cars/ and had no memory of it, at all.  Scary.

[IvySpice]

I'd ALMOST be willing to shoot meth to get a chance to spend three months at Top of the World Ranch. That's got to be one of the most gorgeous rehabs (luxury resorts?) in the world.

[hnygrl]

On 12/17/2016 at 3:24 AM, Enero said:

Lastly the synopsis for his episode said that he was also prostituting himself. Was that mentioned on the show? I don't recall hearing anything about this. I thought he was making money to support his habit by singing on street corners? 

I wondered the same thing. It was suspect that they never showed where he was "working" the nights he went out to "make some money" if he was singing on street corners. Wouldn't it make sense that if he was singing, they would show him singing? A film crew would draw a bigger crowd, making him more money for his drug habit. I assumed he was doing something hella illegal and didn't want the world to know about it.

Prostitution makes sense since he's so "pretty"

What really got to me though, was when his sister finally told the family what he did/said to her? They made excuses for him!!! Like he was a toddler who didn't know any better!!!! They weren't shocked, outraged, saddened, nothing, just "he was high. he didn't mean it. bet he didn't even know what he was saying" anything but the truth. He knew exactly what he was saying (he remembered saying it), and would've followed up if she hadn't left him alone.

I didn't like this guy. He had entitled sociopathic prick written all over him. It's one of the very few times I didn't want the addict to succeed.

Edited December 21, 2016 by hnygrl

[GreyBunny]

Kevin.  Wow.  What a piece of work.  His wife works for minimum wage and he's taking her money (they're getting evicted btw), stole his kids' playstation and pawned to get more drugs, and blew through $300,000 in two years - his parents' life savings - leaving them with nothing.  And his father still gives him money.  Plus he shamelessly runs shoplifting scams to exchange groceries for money.   Total asshole on every level.  His wife should never have taken him back.

If his sobriety sticks, he'd better pay back his parents every cent he took from them and pay back his kids as well.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I don't like it when they go through the person's history too fast and there's big gaps left out. Like for Painkiller Kevin, it went from Tanya and him having started families and then they just get back together just like that a few years later? Hope they didn't cheat on their partners at the time. So he had 2 daughters and 1 stepdaughter? I didn't realize there were 3 of them until the intervention (the blue-eyed girl with the piercings).

[Aw my lahgs]

25 minutes ago, MattDuffysCat said:

I don't like it when they go through the person's history too fast and there's big gaps left out. Like for Painkiller Kevin, it went from Tanya and him having started families and then they just get back together just like that a few years later? Hope they didn't cheat on their partners at the time. So he had 2 daughters and 1 stepdaughter? I didn't realize there were 3 of them until the intervention (the blue-eyed girl with the piercings).

Kevin is indeed a piece of work. He's something else. Bankrupting his elderly parents for his pills.

From what I understood, they were together and then separated [with Tenya having no intention of getting back together]. During the separation Tenya had a child with someone else, but no relation and was a single mom. Then he messaged her on Facebook and they ended up back together again, married and had a kid of their own. Then there is also a family members child living with them IIRC.

Tenya works her butt off working as many shifts as she can for minimum wage, cooks, cleans etc and Kevin spends all her money on drugs, plus all of his parents money, plus money he makes from shoplifting.

I hope he stays sober, but I doubt he will. He'll finish the program and relapse.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Nutella

[Court]

One was his daughter, one was Tanya's and the third was Tanya's niece. It seemed that Tanya considered the niece her daughter as well.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Ah, okay I forgot them mentioning something about a niece.

[Aw my lahgs]

Just now, MattDuffysCat said:

Ah, okay I forgot them mentioning something about a niece.

It was only mentioned in the beginning.

[Jesse]

Clearly there are other issues in the broader family, if that was the best option for the niece! Poor Tanya worked so hard -- I hope she really sticks with therapy and etc. 

[Enero]

Robby had to be one of the most wasted addicts I've ever seen on the show. On a shallow note, I thought he/she was very nice looking as a man. His/Her situation was horrible for everyone involved. It was obvious that he'd been fighting who he was for decades and his drinking problem was likely always there but he was functioning, until it got to a point when he wasn't. 

I can't imagine what his wife and family are going through. To be with your husband, a man for 30 years and for him to one day confess that he feels like he is a man and a woman and seems to identify more with a woman has to be devastating. Just a horrible situation for all involved. 

It's too bad he left treatment after 70 days. He'd made it that long, I wonder what made him abandon his treatment and then refuse to communicate with Intervention after? They didn't even have an update from his family. So everyone must've cut the show off.  Again, I wonder why?

As was said during the intervention Robby not only needs help with his addiction, he needs professional help in dealing with his gender issues. There's no way he can sort that out on his own and needs a professional to help him accept what he is whether that be man, woman or fluid in gender.  Otherwise he'll just keep punishing himself with some form of substance abuse. Again, it's too bad that he/she left treatment. If he/she continues drinking bottles of vodka like that every day, he won't last long. 

[KateMcD]

I wondered why Robby left treatment as well and was surprised that there was no update from the rest of the family. What a sad, challenging situation for all. I was really pulling for a good outcome. I hope that is still possible and that Robby's family has built a good support system for themselves.

[IvySpice]

Quote

Kevin.  Wow.  What a piece of work.  His wife works for minimum wage and he's taking her money (they're getting evicted btw), stole his kids' playstation and pawned to get more drugs, and blew through $300,000 in two years - his parents' life savings - leaving them with nothing.  And his father still gives him money.  Plus he shamelessly runs shoplifting scams to exchange groceries for money.   Total asshole on every level.  His wife should never have taken him back.

If his sobriety sticks, he'd better pay back his parents every cent he took from them and pay back his kids as well.

All of this. He must really have been a nice guy once upon a time to have so many people still loving him and rooting for him. I mean, how many teenage girls love their stepdads/uncles so much? They seemed so devoted to him and the guy he used to be. All we saw was selfishness on an epic scale. He seemed totally out of touch with any sense of right and wrong. Those poor broke parents. Meanwhile Tanya is working her ass off in a vain attempt to keep a roof over their heads, and he's bitching about having to drive her to early shifts and demanding her bank card like it's his property. Why didn't she just take the car? Because she knew he needed it to get high all day?

I was LOL over Tanya and Kevin contemplating the gray sky and huddling under that umbrella on the Sunshine Coast. Nowhere on the Pacific north of Mendocino County is any kind of Sunshine Coast! (I mean, gorgeous mountains and all, but let's get real.)

[Court]

This episode was just so sad. My heart broke for the whole family. I hope they both get help and Robby stays clean.

[Sylkken]

4 hours ago, KateMcD said:

I wondered why Robby left treatment as well and was surprised that there was no update from the rest of the family. What a sad, challenging situation for all. I was really pulling for a good outcome. I hope that is still possible and that Robby's family has built a good support system for themselves.

Yes, I was also disappointed there wasn't more of an update about the family as a whole, since I was really rooting for them. I found this situation was compelling, sad and complex and I wanted to know so much more. There was a lot of love in that family and I sensed acceptance of Robby's transition but sadly, it was all muddled by the disease preventing everyone from dealing with what the transition means to Robby and how it will affect the family dynamic. I do hope to eventually see an update that Robby did return to treatment and that the whole family is working on healing. If not, I at least hope this story helped another family out there.

[DeeReynolds]

Robby broke my heart. I almost feel like her problem was less about alcohol and more of using alcohol to mask/dull her deep insecurity with her gender. It was beautiful how much her wife loved her despite all they have gone though. I hope Robby is still sober and as mentioned above, I hope this episode helped others who may be working through similar issues.

[Azubah]

Honestly, I really wanted to know how Robby's wife Janet lost the 170 pounds. I need a blended show of Intervention and My 600 Pound Life.

[jacksgirl]

So many thoughts on Robby. She was so lucky to have such amazing family support. Janet and their younger son were wonderful. I hope for their sake though, they did not take Robby back.  She needs more than 70 days sober to deal with her issues, more like years. Sad no further update. 

[Earl Is Dead]

Geeze, Robby was such a sad episode. I too wish there had been some kind of follow up and was disappointed to see the BSOJ say she'd left treatment. I also felt like there was deeper pain going on in him than just gender identity. Childhood abuse maybe? I don't know of course but it was rough to watch. And as much love as she had I hope Robby's wife did not take her back either. Glad she also got help - that codependency was some rough sickness to watch too. When she was singing Mary Had a Little Lamb....*shudder*  Sad and creepy. They both need to find themselves outside of each other before they should be around d each other again. 

[Aw my lahgs]

Robby is a hot mess. There just seems to be so much wrong with her. Her addiction, personality and gender issues and likely mental illness as well. She needs to go to a dual diagnosis place for a long time. Her family needs help too. Big time. It was just so sad watching her and her family's dynamics.

If she left rehab after 70 days, I'm sure she went back to drinking.

[pasdetrois]

Robby was a strange mix of intelligent and infantile. The clinging to his wife like a toddler was disturbing. Janet seemed to like it and I assume the entire dysfunctional clan is back together. Which distresses me on behalf of their youngest son, who appears to be withdrawing while nobody is paying attention. Also distressing: Robby's increasing violence. My hope is that the smart motivated nieces and other extended family keep the pressure on Janet to stop enabling Robby and separate from him.

[aurora296]

I think Robbie's family didn't stick to their bottom line when she left treatment. That's probably why they are avoiding the producers. Janet needed treatment just as bad as Robbie did.

I feel sorry for the youngest son the most. Maybe once he's fed up enough, he can go live with the older son and get a semblance of a normal life.

Also, I wonder why Robbie's parents chose not to go on the air. Must be tough seeing your son/daughter go through all that distress and addiction.

I think Robbie knows how to push Janet's buttons. Something with putting her in the mommy role. Janet singing Mary Had A Little Lamb was disturbing, but she was more than happy to sing it to her little needy Robbie. 

Did Robbie wear the same clothes throughout the entire show? That turquoise shirt and white pants?

Edited December 30, 2016 by aurora296
forgot something

[Enero]

5 hours ago, aurora296 said:

Did Robbie wear the same clothes throughout the entire show? That turquoise shirt and white pants?

I had the same question and concluded that he/she did, which means he/she likely wasn't keeping up any form of personal hygiene either, at least not while they were filming. 

[Jesse]

Y'all. Can we refer to Robbie as she here, since that's what Intervention told us she prefers? 

[MarylandGirl]

11 hours ago, Jesse said:

Y'all. Can we refer to Robbie as she here, since that's what Intervention told us she prefers? 

I did notice that his niece was the only one who consistently referred to her as "she." Though I imagine it would be difficult for the sons and wife.

I was really hoping for a happy ending for this one. I was wondering what Robbie would be like sober. Hope she's doing OK.

Edited December 31, 2016 by MarylandGirl

[starri]

On 12/31/2016 at 10:20 AM, MarylandGirl said:

I did notice that his niece was the only one who consistently referred to her as "she." Though I imagine it would be difficult for the sons and wife.

That really bugged me.  I am sure that they would have trouble getting used to new pronouns and gender presentation, but it sounded like she'd started to transition five years before.  It wasn't like the wife was just slipping, she didn't even seem to be trying.

I can't help but wonder if Robby might have done better if she'd gone to a specifically LGBT rehab.  The place she did go seemed like they were pretty #woke, but I think being around other gay and trans addicts might have been more helpful.

[Aw my lahgs]

I think transitioning while being a raging alcoholic and suffering mental illness is a bad, bad idea. Taking black market female hormones? Bad, bad idea.

She first needs to be fully recovered, deal with all her mental illness, and start living a stable life before she can consider responsible transitioning.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Nutella

[starri]

10 minutes ago, Nutella said:

Taking black market female hormones? Bad, bad idea.

She stated that after starting hormones on the sly, she started seeing a psychiatrist.  I'm assuming she got referred to an endocrinologist from there, although her having access to drugs is complicated by the fact that Canadian Medicare doesn't cover prescriptions.  She's a long, long way from being clear to have gender confirmation surgery (if she wants it), but that doesn't preclude her having a social transition.

Also, the substance abuse may be a result of the gender dysphoria.  She's not my patient and I'm not going to diagnose her from what I saw in the episode, but she needed to detox and then she needed residential psychiatric treatment as much as she needed rehab.

[Aw my lahgs]

1 minute ago, starri said:

She stated that after starting hormones on the sly, she started seeing a psychiatrist.  I'm assuming she got referred to an endocrinologist from there, although her having access to drugs is complicated by the fact that Canadian Medicare doesn't cover prescriptions.  She's a long, long way from being clear to have gender confirmation surgery (if she wants it), but that doesn't preclude her having a social transition.

Also, the substance abuse may be a result of the gender dysphoria.  She's not my patient and I'm not going to diagnose her from what I saw in the episode, but she needed to detox and then she needed residential psychiatric treatment as much as she needed rehab.

I would think that no reputable endocrinologist is going to prescribe hormones to a raging alcoholic with mental illness wanting to transition. She needs to get sober and address her mental health before she can even think of transitioning. I wonder if she's still taking hormones she bought on the internet.

[Jesse]

It just seems like such a chicken and egg thing -- isn't transitioning actually addressing her mental health? I mean, assuming some big chunk of her issues are around gender dysphoria and etc. 

[starri]

58 minutes ago, Nutella said:

I would think that no reputable endocrinologist is going to prescribe hormones to a raging alcoholic with mental illness wanting to transition. She needs to get sober and address her mental health before she can even think of transitioning.

Well, given that she saw at least a psychiatrist, that person is better positioned than you or I to determine how she needs to be cared for.  She was taking a full spectrum of meds--estrogen and progesterone which are the actual hormones, spironolactone which is a diuretic that has some estrogenic effects, and finasteride (which is Propecia) that works by blocking testosterone from being converted into its more biologically active form.  The only thing she didn't seem to be taking was Lupron, but I don't know if that's given to people who have already gone through puberty or not.

The gender dysphoria is part of her mental illness.  It's not a separate thing, and ignoring it until she "deserves" it doesn't help her.

[Aw my lahgs]

A psychiatrist seeing her once doesn't necessarily give him all the insight he needs. She may well have been sober and acted wonderful. I doubt the psychiatrist has seen her the way we have seen her. It is extremely irresponsible, heck in my opinion even negligent to give hormones to a raging alcoholic. That's the last thing she needs.

It seems that the United States and Canada will let anyone transition without doing thorough psychological screening like they do in Western Europe.

[Pers]

I really wish Robby would have stuck with rehab, just to give her and the family a chance. I agree with the above poster that the family did not stick to their bottom lines and everything is going about the same as it was before the intervention. I felt a lot of compassion for Robby, I'm a sober alcoholic (just got my one year chip in AA, yay!) and that's hard enough; put the gender issues on top - yikes, that's a tough one to carry. I hope that Robby and her family have a positive 2017, but unless big changes are made, it may be just another year of chaos.

[starri]

9 hours ago, Nutella said:

It is extremely irresponsible, heck in my opinion even negligent to give hormones to a raging alcoholic. That's the last thing she needs.

It's my opinion (more specifically, it's my medical opinion) neither of us is a position to judge what she needs based on the limited view we got of her life in 43 minutes.  All I'm saying is the gender issues are part of her psychiatric condition, same as anxiety or depression or any other condition she might have.  Maybe I would think she should continue with her transition if I examined her, maybe I wouldn't, but I can't dismiss that out completely out of hat.

I have my suspicions of her diagnoses beyond gender dysphoria, but I consider it unethical to call them out based on a very limited exposure.

[buttercupia]

my heart broke for Robby. Her entire family misgendered her except for one niece and some of them were downright aggressive about it. no wonder she took to drinking. 

[Court]

Megan passed away. She was addicted to duster. It aired in August. 

https://www.canadianobituaries.com/hamilton/46910-megan-morgan-glass-november-28-2016

[Scorpiosunshine]

11 hours ago, Court said:

Megan passed away. She was addicted to duster. It aired in August. 

https://www.canadianobituaries.com/hamilton/46910-megan-morgan-glass-november-28-2016

I'm so sorry to hear that. :( 

 

(gave the "like" as thanks for the info, and obviously not the sad content) 

Edited January 9, 2017 by Scorpiosunshine

[Pers]

On 1/8/2017 at 10:18 PM, Court said:

Megan passed away. She was addicted to duster. It aired in August. 

https://www.canadianobituaries.com/hamilton/46910-megan-morgan-glass-november-28-2016

After reading this, I watched Megan's episode via the Slice channel tv app. I am so sorry about her passing and I am sending warm thoughts to her family and friends.

I'm not sure if it's available to our American friends, but they have all the "Intervention Canada" episodes available. Gripping stuff. 

Edited January 10, 2017 by Pers

[Lemonemm]

On 01/01/2017 at 7:03 PM, starri said:

The gender dysphoria is part of her mental illness.  It's not a separate thing, and ignoring it until she "deserves" it doesn't help her.

THIS. Thank you - that comment made me so angry. Attitudes like that are why so many people suffer in silence and self medicate.

[Pers]

I just watched an airing of an Intervention episode which took place in Calgary, Alberta in 2012 (?) for a young lady named Nichole. Donna was the interventionist at the helm. This episode had me in tears, Nichole was in so much pain. It broke my heart. I just hope she's doing okay today. Anyone else catch this one?

[TurtlePower]

1 hour ago, Pers said:

I just watched an airing of an Intervention episode which took place in Calgary, Alberta in 2012 (?) for a young lady named Nichole. Donna was the interventionist at the helm. This episode had me in tears, Nichole was in so much pain. It broke my heart. I just hope she's doing okay today. Anyone else catch this one?

I was wondering about her, too. She's one of the worst alcoholics I've seen--incoherent nearly 24/7 before her intervention. I really hope she's doing well, I can't find any information on her. 

[Pers]

1 hour ago, Runnergirl said:

I was wondering about her, too. She's one of the worst alcoholics I've seen--incoherent nearly 24/7 before her intervention. I really hope she's doing well, I can't find any information on her. 

I was able to find her facebook - she looks well and happy, so glad for that! She also did an interview for her local newspaper about her experience and she said it was a positive experience. Other than that, I'm wishing her all the happiness and comfort. Her story really spoke to my heart.

[Vivigirl10]

I just saw Nichole's episode yesterday.  It was hard to know what to think about the sister that ended up with Nichole's boyfriend.  On one hand, yes, what a shitty thing to do.  But to blame Nichole's entire demise on the sister seemed pretty over the top.  I was happy to hear Donna immediately put the smack down on that at the intervention.  That it was not the sister's fault so leave that at the door.  The Mom was a piece of work.

At the end, it was stated that Samantha and Matt had called off their engagement  but were still in a relationship.  I wonder if she's just hanging on to him to prove a point?  

Nichole going into the rehab place, unable to even walk, was gut wrenching. 

[Trampolina]

I hope his mother rots. That poor miserable kid out all his trust in her and she used him in the worst possible way. If anyone ever needed to get high to forget, it's Robbie.

[AuntTora]

Can we start a "Worst Grandparent's" thread? Dad, Stepdad and Grandma all just threw up their hands and left these kids to deal with the mess the adults in their lives, most especially their wife and daughter, created. Inexcusable, and gross.