Congratulations! You have just successfully completed treatment. Whether this was residential, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, it took a lot of hard work and commitment. I am sure there were many times you thought about giving up but you didn’t. Times where you felt you would not finish but you did. You may have struggled to imagine being successful but certainly you pushed your way through. Now you may be thinking it is time to kick back and relax. Get back to life as you once knew it, right? Wrong! You would not train for a marathon and assume that you’ll be in great shape forever. Just as maintaining physical fitness takes ongoing effort so does ongoing recovery. This is a commitment you must make daily.

Research has shown that the longer clients stay engaged in some form of ongoing treatment the more likely they are to achieve positive results in their personal journey in recovery. What does this mean?

Relapse Prevention groups will focus specifically on the tools to keep your ongoing recovery in great shape. Clear Mind Counseling LLC uses Terrence Gorski Cenaps model of relapse prevention to help you apply principles as you develop an understanding and tools to strengthen your recovery. Relapse Prevention groups are held once weekly for no more that 60 days. During this time, clients must be willing to engage in 12 steps meetings or other support groups while attending.

A core part of outpatient treatment, is relapse prevention. While other groups focus more specifically on certain topics, relapse prevention groups narrow the focus specifically on self awareness, self regulation, social stabilization while being in early recovery. Continued identification of triggers and how to cope without destructive behaviors is an essential part of relapse prevention. However, learning about your specific warning signs of relapse and how to practice using healthy coping skills to replace maladaptive coping skills will be the main focus of these groups.

You’ll also learn about the importance of managing co-occurring disorders like depression and anxiety. Mental health symptoms can sometimes lead people to try to self-medicate with alcohol, drugs, eating disorders and sex addiction. If you have a dual diagnosis, regular psychiatric care is important. Paying attention to your mental well-being is a critical relapse prevention measure.