Relapse Prevention Plan Version 2 Worksheet

A supportive environment helps to motivate the loved one in recovery by rewarding their progress and providing encouragement even in difficult times. The presence of family members who care about their well-being empowers them to stay on track with their goals. Returning to drug or alcohol use after treatment for substance use disorder is a part of many people’s recovery journey. A person may make a plan to prevent this with support from a healthcare professional. A relapse prevention plan includes various strategies and techniques, such as identifying personal behaviors, to help reduce the risk of a relapse following treatment for substance use disorder.

Think about what’s driving you to quit, such as rebuilding damaged relationships, keeping a job, or getting healthy again. When facing a relapse, it can be helpful to reinvest energy and time into support groups. If you have a sponsor, they should be one of the first people you turn to if you feel like a relapse is a possibility. Since they’ve likely been in your shoes, they may have some insight and suggestions. Contacting the supportive people in your life can have a tremendous impact on cravings and relapse.

The Possibility of a Relapse

Once you’ve made your relapse prevention plan, share it with friends, family, and the people you live with, so they can provide support, but also remove triggers from the home. Share it with the people you spend a lot of the time with, including those who have used substances with you in the past, so they can be aware. A relapse prevention plan is used to help keep a person from using a substance after they have decided to quit. It is one of many tools used by individuals recovering from a substance use disorder. Preventing the worsening is a critical part of all drug treatment programs and involves identifying the warning signs and triggers. Family and friends are encouraged to educate themselves on how to stop enabling an addict and help them stay clean.

However, we are not responsible for the quality or content of external links and cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time. A common question about honesty is how honest should a person be when dealing with past lies. The general answer is that honesty is always preferable, except where it may harm others [14,21]. Regularly review and update your plan to ensure it remains relevant and effective. For example, you might want to make sure you get over 8 hours of sleep no matter what, or you might schedule a massage once a month or have a date night with your significant other once a week. This could include calling your sponsor, exercising, going to a friend’s house, meditating, or going to a 12-step meeting.

What are some common challenges in creating a relapse prevention plan?

The early months following treatment are a time of unique challenges and choices. Convenient and confidential, Hazelden Betty Ford’s Connection program provides you and your loved ones with personalized, phone-based, addiction recovery coaching by professional recovery coaches. With our limited coping skills, failure to employ an alternative plan, and unwillingness to talk to anyone, we increase the risk of going back to our old behavior.

• By the end of this section, we will have all the tools and knowledge we need to support our loved one to stay on track towards a successful recovery.
• It helps you break free from unhelpful thought patterns and focus on healthier alternatives for managing stress.
• Research has shown that this approach is particularly effective because it invests in creating a sense of community and shared responsibility among all members of the family.

Clients are encouraged to understand the concept of a recovery circle. This is a group of people that includes family, doctors, relapse prevention plan counselors, self-help groups, and sponsors. Individuals are encouraged to be completely honest within their recovery circle.

Relapse Prevention Models

This process involves identifying the positive qualities and skills that members of the family possess, such as good communication skills, empathy, or problem-solving abilities. By leveraging these strengths, families can create a supportive environment that promotes healthy coping strategies and reduces triggers for relapse. Recognizing these warning signs early on can help prevent full-blown relapse and encourage individuals to seek help before it’s too late. This knowledge can also aid in creating individualized https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/stages-of-alcoholism-early-middle-end-stages/s that cater to specific needs. The growth stage is about developing skills that individuals may have never learned and that predisposed them to addiction [1,2]. The repair stage of recovery was about catching up, and the growth stage is about moving forward.