Author: Alex Thompson

What is a Relapse Prevention Plan?

Ask your therapist for additional guidance if you need help identifying these emotions. Recognizing these emotions can help you seek other therapy or a recovery meeting if necessary. Many triggers can come from environmental, mental, and emotional sources. Knowing and understanding them can help you avoid relapses during recovery. Because everyday life contains many triggers, relapse is common among people trying to get over their disorder. Relapse occurs when you begin using a substance again after a period of sobriety.

It has gained prominence as an effective method for addiction treatment and relapse prevention. One recent 2022 study revealed that trauma plays a significant role in relapse. The findings revealed that among the participants, 298 individuals (88.9 percent) had encountered childhood adversities, with 44.4 percent of them reporting more than five childhood traumas. Notably, relapse was observed in 40.9 percent of the participants, while an extended hospital stay was recorded in 71.1 percent of cases. Predictors for prolonged hospitalization included experiences of emotional abuse, substance use, and residing in rural areas. RP clinical protocols typically include 12 weekly sessions, and are empirically supported when delivered over that time frame.

It’s also important to know when to ask for help again if you need it. After all, relapse doesn’t mean you have failed; it means you need more support and treatment. Relapse prevention group activities can be a cornerstone in the journey to recovery. These activities allow you and other group members to share experiences and foster camaraderie. No matter how strong your willpower is, you can’t fight relapse alone. You must accept help from supportive family and friends when you need it.

Finding Support

Cognitive-behavioral therapy entails examining life experiences and thought patterns, and reshaping one’s thinking positively rather than succumbing to negative self-talk. A comprehensive treatment regimen should encompass one’s mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, fostering healing from within. In addition to establishing a relapse prevention plan, individuals with a substance use disorder should have a treatment plan in place. Treatment could include individual therapy, group therapy, such as AA meetings, and/or psychiatry, said Gottlich. A relapse prevention plan is essential for recognizing warning signs and ensuring sobriety. With the guidance of experienced professionals, these plans offer strategies for behavioral change.

1. RP clinical protocols typically include 12 weekly sessions, and are empirically supported when delivered over that time frame.
2. The more specific your action plan is, the better, as this means you will be less likely to come within close reach of a relapse.
3. Relapse prevention plans can include ways in which you hope to amend the damage addiction caused in your life.
4. Relapse means going back to using after you’ve been abstinent for some time.

Based on this (false) conclusion, the recovering person sees no option but to return to their addiction in earnest. Recovery from drug and alcohol addiction can be a long and challenging process. Have someone on call for weak moments when you might slip back into your old habits.

Relapse Prevention Therapy

The more detailed this plan is, the more likely you will be to get yourself back on track quickly. Make sure the people included in your plan have the necessary knowledge should you need their assistance. As those in recovery know, a relapse is never out of the realm of possibility–no matter how long you’ve been sober. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Preventing relapse isn’t as easy as saying no to opportunities to use again. Physical relapse is only preventable if you avoid high-risk situations.

In this stage, you may not be actively feeding your addictive behavior. However, you’re inadvertently placing yourself at risk for a relapse. Even positive events in life, like achieving a promotion or attaining sobriety goals, can unexpectedly lead to a relapse. This may occur as a result of overconfidence and a complacent mindset. MentalHelp may receive marketing compensation from the above-listed companies should you choose to use their services.

Relapse plans can be verbalized but may also be written in order to have a more clear outline of what steps to take should a relapse seem to be a possibility. With a relapse prevention plan, it is possible to acknowledge and act upon certain feelings and events, in turn avoiding a physical relapse (which is the stage when someone returns to drug or alcohol use). Cognitive behavioral therapy is a well-established therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors.

To prevent a relapse, you will want to remove triggers, including places, people, or purchases that may bring about urges to use again. Some warning signs of a potential relapse, according to Gottlich, could include secretiveness, disengaging from treatment, and being overly arrogant about sobriety. It involves taking the time to tend to your mental and physical health, such as getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and exercising regularly. Relapse prevention is an umbrella term that refers to strategies that help reduce the likelihood of relapsing.

Holistic-Based Recovery Services

However, when examining those with PTSD, the prevalence of SUD escalates to as high as 35 percent, while alcohol use disorder (AUD) stands at 52 percent. Conversely, around 8 percent of the general population experiences PTSD, but within the subset dealing with a substance use disorder, this figure surges to between percent. Standard Relapse Prevention (RP) has strong empirical support as a helpful intervention for substance use disorder and works about as well as other active substance use disorder treatment approaches. Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) appears to be as helpful as standard RP; more research is needed to determine whether MBRP offers greater benefit than standard RP. In Relapse Prevention (RP), the clinician and patient work first to assess potential situations that might lead to drinking or using other drugs. These situations include, for example, social pressures and emotional states that could lead to thoughts about using substances, and ultimately to cravings and urges to use.

Online Therapy Can Help

Relapse prevention plans can include ways in which you hope to amend the damage addiction caused in your life. Many support group options exist outside of the 12-step model, so don’t let bad experiences stand in the way of your recovery. Explore new options to connect with new people who understand the struggles of addiction.

Relapse Prevention Skills

Events, specific people (such as friends who are also using), and certain places can put you at a higher risk of relapsing. A relapse prevention plan works best when you do it under a therapist or counselor’s supervision. That way, you can explore new behaviors and thought patterns to help you stay clean. Though relapse prevention plans are unique to each individual, there are specific components that are helpful to include in a final plan. Learning how to make a relapse prevention plan and going through the process of creating a relapse prevention plan could be the difference between longer periods of sobriety and repeated relapse.

Sharing the list with the treatment team can provide them with needed information to prevent relapse in the patient. Having a plan helps you recognize your own personal behaviors that may point to relapse in the future. It also outlines ways to combat those behaviors and get back on track. Before we dive into the role of cognitive behavioral therapy in preventing relapse, let’s understand what relapse is and why it’s so common.