Relapse is often a tragic part of the recovery process. It can easily demoralize patients and significantly diminish the momentum they gained during their inpatient stay. One of the principal reasons why relapse is so common is that patients often neglect to apply the relapse prevention strategies they learned during drug or alcohol treatment and rely on the support they need to stay successful in their recovery after leaving rehab. Our Lake Worth drug rehab offers a relapse prevention program to ensure our patients are set up for success and prepared to return to life after rehab.
What Is a Relapse Prevention Plan?
A relapse prevention plan is a plan or guideline designed to mitigate the risks of relapse in addiction recovery. A relapse prevention plan outlines the individual’s triggers and stressors and encourages them to note effective ways they can cope with these triggers and situations that could potentially lead to relapse. A relapse prevention strategy can be either a written or verbalized plan that the individual works on, ideally with an addiction professional.
The goal of creating a relapse prevention plan is to prepare the individual for life after addiction treatment. With most relapse triggers existing in their home environments, it is important for them to formulate a plan on how they are going to change their daily routines to support their newfound sobriety.
Relapse Prevention Planning at BHOPB
Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches is committed to curbing relapse in our patient community by stopping it before it starts. Our relapse prevention program is a six-week intensive program in which patients learn to recognize the circumstances and thought patterns that lead to cravings and can result in relapse. Our philosophy of treating the whole patient includes equipping the individual with the self-diagnostic tools they need to stay healthy and sober.
Our relapse prevention services are administered over six weeks and woven into our residential addiction treatment in Lake Worth. During the program, patients gain a comprehensive understanding of relapse prevention definition, the signs of relapse, and how to prevent it. Patients move through the program via the following steps:
Intake and Assessment
Patients undergo a thorough evaluation from our intake professionals, including an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) assessment and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) testing. This helps us determine the scope and severity of patients’ substance abuse and is mandatory for any patient seeking treatment.
Introduction to Relapse Control
This is where patients really begin their journey of self-awareness. Participants gain an initial understanding of relapse and are guided on how to develop an awareness of their behaviors and how to improve their self-management skills. We provide a general vocabulary and give patients an explanation of the relapse prevention model.
This is also the stage where patients learn to problem-solve and identify the general behaviors that contribute to substance abuse and identify examples from their own lives where they lacked control and turned to drugs and alcohol as a result. This includes in-depth examination and reporting of the specific situation, the steps leading up to it, and the feelings they experienced when it was happening.
Additionally, patients develop a heightened understanding of the link between their feelings and the formation of their addiction, as well as the consequences that occur whenever they give in to chemical dependency.
Self-Management and Realization
This is the stage in which patients apply the abstract principles of the previous steps to their own experiences. It includes recognizing specific feelings, thoughts, and situations that lead to substance abuse and developing relapse prevention coping skills. Patients will also: develop a plan to avoid the toxic circumstances that can trigger substance abuse, learn about relapse justification, and learn to understand the importance of establishing and pursuing recovery goals.
Behavior Modification
Patients continue to build upon the awareness gained in previous steps and replace their self-destructive beliefs with new and healthier thought patterns. This includes continued identification of toxic, high-risk circumstances, the development of techniques to avoid these situations, and the building of skills to regulate and monitor relapse-inducing behaviors. Patients will also examine the rituals and habits that encourage substance abuse and will learn how to break away from them. This includes addressing codependent relationships.
Examination and Adaptation of New Response Patterns
During this stage, patients develop decision-making tools allowing them to identify the benefits and liabilities of their responses to stressful situations that trigger substance abuse. This includes defining old and new response patterns and understanding the cost and benefits of utilizing new responses. Patients will also develop a personalized relapse prevention plan. This plan includes identifying red flags and dealing with anger-related issues that could serve as a roadblock to sustained recovery.
Relapse Prevention Therapy at BHOPB
We also offer relapse prevention services for our outpatient population. Much like our inpatient option, we help patients identify any dangerous and enabling substance abuse triggers, build a network of support, and regulate their responses to stressful situations that compel them to use drugs and alcohol.
Our relapse prevention program can help keep addicts in recovery on the right path and keep them away from substance abuse. Contact Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches today for more information about our Banyan Lake Worth rehab and other alumni programs.
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