Relapse Prevention

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly. "

-- Gautama Buddha

In the past 15 years, there has been a trend in addiction treatment to talk about relapse prevention. Previously, relapse was something feared and never talked about. Some professionals thought that focusing on relapse gave people the notion that it was inevitable and, therefore, offered no hope for recovery.

Today, due in large part to the work of Terrence Gorski, relapse is a focus in most treatment programs. Getting clean is the first step. Staying clean is the rest of the story. Also, shame about relapses is being reduced. Someone said, "Getting into recovery at the age of 25 and thinking you will never want to use or have a craving again for the rest of your life is unrealistic. However, talking about what to do when that happens, when you are feeling motivated and safe, offers strength and hope for long-term recovery."

Healing Transitions Institute for Addiction Recovery holds no judgements about relapse. Many of our participants have a history of chronic relapse, multiple treatments and failed recoveries. They come to Healing Transitions with a small shred of hope that "this time it could be different." The program staff is trained in various modalities of relapse prevention planning.