Relapse Prevention
Relapse Prevention is a skills-based, cognitive-behavioral approach that requires patients and their clinicians to identify situations that place the person at greater risk for relapse – both internal experiences (e.g., positive thoughts related to substance use or negative thoughts related to sobriety that arise without effort, called “automatic thoughts”) and external cues (e.g., people that the person associates with substance use).
Why are Relapse Prevention skills important?
Relapse prevention skills are essential to learning to live a happy life in recovery. One day at a time, one can learn to implement these coping skills to prevent relapse and live a life beyond their wildest dreams. Recovery from alcohol or other drugs is a process of personal growth with developmental milestones. At any stage of recovery, there is risk of relapsing, making relapse prevention skills highly important to know and understand. Some of the most common triggers of relapse include:
- Boredom
- Stress
- Money problems
- Relationship issues
- Certain sights and smells