RELAPSE PREVENTION
Recognize the Risks. Build the Skills. Protect Your Recovery.
The Relapse Prevention curriculum is a structured, evidence-informed educational program designed to help individuals recognize personal triggers, identify early warning signs, understand patterns that increase relapse vulnerability, and develop practical strategies for maintaining recovery.
Through CBT-informed exercises, emotional regulation skills, realistic scenarios, and guided self-reflection, participants learn to manage cravings, navigate high-risk situations, strengthen healthy support systems, and develop individualized relapse prevention plans.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN
RECOGNIZE
Personal triggers, cravings, warning signs, high-risk situations and patterns that may increase the risk of returning to substance use.
RESPOND
Practical coping strategies for managing cravings, difficult emotions, stress, unhealthy thinking patterns and unexpected challenges.
PREVENT
Build a personalized relapse-prevention plan that strengthens healthy routines, support systems, accountability and strategies for maintaining recovery.
OUR EVIDENCE-INFORMED APPROACH
The Relapse Prevention program incorporates CBT-informed strategies, Motivational Interviewing principles, relapse-prevention techniques, psychoeducation, coping-skills development and trauma-informed practices to help participants recognize risk patterns, strengthen motivation for change and develop practical strategies for maintaining recovery.
RELAPSE PREVENTION — 12-WEEK CURRICULUM
WEEK 1:Â UNDERSTANDING RELAPSE
Learn how relapse develops as a process and recognize the thoughts, emotions, behaviors and circumstances that can increase risk.
WEEK 2: IDENTIFYING PERSONAL TRIGGERS
Identify internal and external triggers, including people, places, emotions, situations, memories and routines associated with substance use.
WEEK 3: RECOGNIZING WARNING SIGNS
Learn to recognize changes in thinking, emotions, behaviors and daily routines that may signal increasing relapse risk.
WEEK 4: MANAGING CRAVINGS & URGES
Develop practical strategies for responding to cravings, delaying impulsive decisions, managing urges and choosing healthier alternatives.
WEEK 5: THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS & BEHAVIORS
Explore the connection between thoughts, feelings and actions while learning to recognize and challenge thinking patterns that can increase relapse risk.
WEEK 6: COPING WITH STRESS & DIFFICULT EMOTIONS
Practice healthier ways to manage stress, anger, anxiety, frustration, loneliness, boredom and other emotions without returning to substance use.
WEEK 7: BUILDING HEALTHY ROUTINES
Develop daily structure, healthy habits, self-care practices and meaningful activities that reduce vulnerability to relapse and support recovery.
WEEK 8: SUPPORT SYSTEMS & ASKING FOR HELP
Identify healthy sources of support, recognize when additional help is needed, strengthen recovery connections and practice reaching out before a crisis develops.
WEEK 9: HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS & DECISION-MAKING
Recognize situations that may threaten recovery and practice problem-solving, refusal skills, boundary setting and healthier decision-making.
WEEK 10: HANDLING SETBACKS & SLIPS
Learn how to respond constructively to setbacks, recognize what can be learned from them, seek support quickly and prevent a lapse from becoming a return to continued substance use.
WEEK 11: STRENGTHENING MOTIVATION & COMMITMENT
Explore personal reasons for recovery, identify values and future goals, build confidence in the ability to change and strengthen commitment to continued recovery.
WEEK 12: MY RELAPSE-PREVENTION PLAN
Bring everything together into an individualized plan identifying triggers, warning signs, coping strategies, healthy routines, support contacts, high-risk situations and specific steps to take when relapse risk increases.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
PARTICIPANT WORKBOOK
Structured lessons, self-reflection exercises, trigger-identification activities, coping-skills practice and relapse-prevention planning worksheets.
FACILITATOR GUIDE
Session objectives, teaching points, discussion prompts, suggested activities and guidance for facilitating relapse-prevention education and skill development.
RELAPSE-PREVENTION TOOLS
Trigger and warning-sign assessments, coping plans, support-system activities, high-risk situation exercises, and an individualized relapse-prevention plan.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Structured recovery programming for adults in correctional and institutional settings.
SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT PROGRAMS
Facilitator-ready material that can supplement individual and group recovery services.
RECOVERY & REENTRY ORGANIZATIONS
Practical relapse-prevention education that helps individuals identify triggers, manage cravings, strengthen coping skills, build healthy support systems and maintain recovery during community reintegration.
COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS
Structured education for organizations supporting individuals affected by substance use, justice involvement and reentry.