| Jeff VanVonderen | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 2, 1952 |
| Residence | Capistrano Beach, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, Interventionist |
| Website | |
| www.jeffvanvonderen.com | |
Jeff VanVonderen (born October 2, 1952) is an author, motivational speaker, former pastor, and interventionist who is best known for his appearances on A&E reality show Intervention. VanVonderen has written five books on various topics such as family troubles, drug addiction, and spirituality.
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VanVonderen's first book - originally published in the 1980s, was re-released in 2004, a work called Good News for the Chemically Dependent and Those Who Love Them. The book touched on the theme of addiction, stating that "this powerful resource will help guide individuals, families, and churches through their darkest times".[1] VanVonderen's second book, published in 1990, entitled Tired of Trying to Measure Up: Getting free from the demands, expectations, and intimidation of well-meaning people, explored the implications of shame, and sought to guide Christians towards making choices more freely. Three years later he authored Families Where Grace is in Place. The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, written by VanVonderen and David Johnson in 1991, offered advice concerning how spiritual abuse begins, and why people often don't realize they are under its spell. It was followed up by a book that sought to explore recovery from the more interpersonal hurts suffered in dysfunctional church systems, "When God's People Let you Down."
VanVonderen has completed his next installment entitled Soul Repair: Rebuilding Your Spiritual Life. The book was released on October 1, 2008.
Jeff is a Board Registered Interventionist, Level II. Level II is the higher of the two levels for the Association of Intervention Specialist Certification Board (AISCB).[2]
Aside from producing five spiritually themed works, VanVonderen is also a regular fixture on A&E's Intervention, having kept his script and haircut largely unchanged throughout the ten seasons of the show. The show rotates between 4 licensed interventionists. He has held thousands of interventions, helping individuals fight deadly addictions. He instructs each one of those families on the proper way to cope and unite in the recovery and treatment processes. In 2009, in one of the episodes of "Intervention" on A&E, Jeff admitted to having a brief alcohol relapse. He has since sought help. Jeff is quoted as saying "Individuals and families become dysfunctional by accident. But they get well on purpose and this is what I'm about, helping them do that."[3]
-"I see a bunch of people that love ya like crazy, and they feel like they are losing ya."