Treatment Programs: Relapse Prevention

Challenges' program is specifically focused on relapse prevention. Challenges is the first facility in the country to receive special national certification as a Relapse Prevention "Center of Excellence" by the leading international expert in this field, Terence Gorski.

It is our belief, and the foundational component of our treatment program, that relapse prevention must provide and incorporate new strategies for the client, in the future, to be able to effectively deal with the entire potential multitude of symptoms, disorders, addictions and behaviors that in the past have combined to wreck havoc in the client's life.

Introduction to Relapse Prevention

We define Relapse Prevention as a strategy to train alcohol and other drug abusers to cope more effectively and to overcome the stressors or triggers in their environments related to alcoholism and drug addiction that may cause relapse to build into chemical dependency.

Drug addiction and alcoholism are diseases that, when left untreated or poorly treated, are typified by chronic relapse. The prevention of relapse is a critical part of any effective treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

Understanding Relapse

In order to understand the fundamentals behind Relapse Prevention , one must first understand relapse itself. In the medical community, a relapse is a regression after a period of partial recovery from an illness.

In addiction treatment (or drug treatment) Relapse may easily be defined as returning to a specific behavior after a period of abstinence (stopping) from that particular behavior, that is, drug abuse.

A relapse does not just happen by itself. There are outside influences and contributing factors, and one can find evidence and warning signs that an individual might be in danger of returning to the destructive patterns of substance abuse.

There is one accepted fact about relapse: Relapse does not come on suddenly and without warning, it is a process over time.

Principles of Relapse Prevention

Some of the Gorski principles behind relapse prevention are as follows:

Self-regulation and stabilization. Stabilization comes from detox from alcohol and drug addiction, recuperation from associated stress, resolution of interpersonal and situational crises threatening sobriety and establishment of daily structure such as proper diet, exercise, stress management and regular contact with treatment personnel and self help groups. Stabilization brings about your ability to self-regulate thinking, feeling, memory, judgment and behavior. As the risk of relapse is highest during this period of stabilization, it's most advantageous to be in a controlled environment.

Integration and self-assessment. While your understanding and acceptance grows, the risk of relapse further decreases. This is the period of time when it's important to explore the situations, events and triggers that may have led to relapse in the past.

Understanding and Relapse education. As you learn about what general factors cause relapse, your ability to avoid relapse increases.

There are many other principals that may be incorporated into a relapse prevention plan. The most important thing for an individual suffering from addiction is that relapse is inevitable if one takes no steps to prevent it.

Preventing Relapse

Again, drug addiction is a chronic disease, and as with any chronic disease, there is the possibility of relapse. Alcohol and drug abuse does not just disappear if we wish it away; and it is influenced by social, clinical and medical factors. Drug prevention is not an exact science. Solutions to addiction are wide and varied, and success rates vary as well. Most every form of treatment has some success, but nothing yet has demonstrated a perfect 100% score for the treatment of addiction. Relapse prevention, however, has been demonstrated to increase effectiveness, and success, of any treatment.