Once a person completes rehab, they may struggle to re-enter daily life. Without the right support system in place to help recovering addicts cope with these challenges, their chances of relapse are high. Our relapse prevention program at Clearbrook Pennsylvania is designed to promote long-term sobriety and help clients meet their goals.
What Is Relapse Prevention?
Relapse prevention is a skills-based, cognitive behavioral approach that requires patients and their therapists to identify situations that may trigger a relapse. Relapse triggers include internal experiences (such as thoughts related to substance abuse) and external cues (such as people that may remind the individual of substance abuse, like old drinking buddies).
Once these triggers are identified, the patient and clinician work together to develop a relapse prevention plan – including cognitive and behavioral relapse prevention strategies – to address the specific high-risk situations. With more effective coping strategies, the patient develops increased confidence to handle challenging situations without drugs or alcohol.
What Happens In Relapse Prevention Programs?
In our relapse prevention program, the clinician and patient work to assess potential situations that could cause the individual to return to drug use or drinking. These situations may include social pressure, relationship problems, unemployment, and health problems. These situations could contribute to stress, depression, and anxiety, all of which are contributing factors to drug and alcohol abuse.
During relapse prevention planning, counselors and patients also aim to identify lifestyle factors that may affect the likelihood of encountering these triggers, such as the individual’s diet or sleeping patterns.
Relapse prevention strategies used at our drug rehab in Pennsylvania include:
- Building awareness concerning the potential negative consequences of encountering high-risk situations and thoughts that associate substance use with positive outcomes
- Helping the patient to develop and expand their coping skills to address specific, high-risk situations, such as coming across old drinking buddies
- Planning for “emergencies,” or unexpected situations where the patient finds themselves struggling to abstain from drinking or drug use
- Assessing and reinforcing the patient’s confidence in their ability to abstain from drug use
Our clinicians use a range of strategies to facilitate these activities, such as cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. These may include role-playing or acting out an upcoming or common “real-life” situation to help with skill practice and development. Our relapse prevention program offers sessions throughout the week, several days per week.
During these sessions, clients should also expect to do work honing and practicing these skills outside individual sessions, otherwise referred to as “homework.” These outside activities could include journaling that asks patients to draw their thoughts and work to change ways of thinking about drug and alcohol use or includes putting into practice any strategies to address high-risk situations (exercise to cope with anxiety, breathing techniques to cope with panic attacks, etc.)
Relapse prevention plans are important for clients to have, as they offer them a step-by-step map that will prevent them from falling off track. Guidance is crucial in addiction recovery, and the counselors and therapists at our Pennsylvania rehab work with our patients to ensure they have everything they need to sustain their sobriety long-term.
Our Pennsylvania Drug Treatment Can Help
Our relapse prevention program is just one of the various inpatient rehab programs in Pennsylvania Clearbrook offers. Not only do we provide therapy and aftercare services, but we also offer medically monitored detox and drug-specific treatment. By offering clients individualized care, they’re able to recover as comfortably, safely, and efficiently as possible.
For more information about our Northeast addictions treatment center and how we can help, contact Clearbrook Treatment Centers today.
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