Jed Arlington, a 38-year-old husband and father, has created a relapse prevention plan to address his drinking issues. As part of the plan, Jed agrees to attend AA meetings, get a sponsor, and participate in individual relapse prevention therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. He acknowledges his family, especially his wife and mother, will play a key role by helping manage his warning signs and supporting his sobriety. Jed identifies high-risk situations like family gatherings and activities with friends where alcohol is present. He plans to develop new hobbies without alcohol like exercising, reading, and home projects. Jed lists community resources and people he can call for help to support his recovery goals.

1. RELAPSE PREVENTION PLAN
First Name: Jed Last Name: Arlington Age: 38
The following is a relapse prevention plan for Jed. “Relapse refers to a breakdown or failure in a
person’s attempt to maintain change in any set of behaviors” (Bowman, 2000).
About Me:
I am a husband to Emily for 8 years and father of 2 beautiful little girls. My wife and I barely
sleep in the same bed anymore and we argue a lot about the amount of drinking I do. I wouldn’t
be surprised if she left me although if I stopped drinking, I think we would be okay again. She
thinks I am an alcoholic but I don’t think that I am, and she calls me a “lousy father” when we
argue. My father was an alcoholic and died because of his drinking habits. I don’t think I am
becoming like him but my wife seems to think so. Although I am not close to anyone else in my
family, my mother is very close to my wife and daughters, as they attend church together every
Sunday.
Statement of Agreement:
I, Jed Arlington, agree to attend AA meetings and get a sponsor; as many as the court orders and
I will give the group meetings another shot after I have fulfilled the court order. I also agree to
attend Individual Relapse Prevention Therapy and group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to help
me in my journey to sobriety, connect with others for accountability, and to prevent me from
relapsing. I also agree to open-mindedness when it comes to religion and family support because
I understand that it can play a big part in my recovery.
Relapse Plan:
If I relapse, here is my plan of action
1. Call my sponsor
2. Call Interactive Voice Response
3. Take what I have learned in Relapse Prevention Therapy and apply it
Meditation
Exercise
Spiritual practice
Warning signs management
Family support in my relapse plan:
My family wants me to stop drinking so they will play a big role in my relapse prevention plan.
It would help me a lot if they were knowledgeable of the warning signs list and could help me
find ways to manage the warning signs that opt out alcohol. An example of this could be
displayed in my wife noticing I am overreacting to stress at work or with projects at home. If my
wife took on an extra project or suggested we work on the bathroom, or garden together, it would
help me manage the warning sign and give her a part in my journey.

2. I hope to become closer to my mother and my daughters as I go through this process and think
that my open-mindedness to attending church with my family will help them support me.
How will my family culture impact my prevention plan?
Being of Irish decent, it is important to recognize that not only does that Irish part in me not
define me, but that if I am gathering with my family I should know they are going to drink in
excess and that it might trigger a relapse warning sign for me.
What will help me remain sober?
While attending group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, I will learn about a low cost technology
called Interactive Voice Response that I can rely on daily. I will have access to a toll free number
in which I will be taken through a daily questionnaire and a therapeutic questionnaire; where I
discuss coping skills I used to minimize drinking. Next I will be guided through real exercises
such as body scan relaxation, and at the end of the month, I will received feedback from an
actual therapist. If this works for me, I might continue to use the technology, if not, we will find
something else to help me.
During Relapse Prevention Therapy I will learn about reframing habit change and the application
of these techniques will also help me cope.
It is important that I find a hobby that I can do with my friends that doesn’t involve drinking.
Continuing to play soccer on weekends but choosing to hit a smoothie bar or heading home for a
community BBQ instead of a bar.
High Risk Situations:
If I am able to find an effective coping strategy for when I am in the high risk situations, I
increase self-efficacy and decrease the chance of relapse. During Relapse Prevention Therapy, I
will learn how to cope with high-risk situations so that when I come across one, or many, I am
well equipped to respond.
High risk situations for me include family gatherings where alcohol is present, post soccer game
gatherings at the bar and most weeknights.
What high risk behaviors & thoughts should I be aware of?
Recognizing that negative emotional processes, conflict within myself and the pressures of
society can increase my chance of relapse by 75% is really important to me.
I should also be aware of the relapse warning signs by Gorski (2014) during relapse prevention
therapy and realize that the trouble I have sleeping, the suffocation I feel when I stay away from
drinking and the fact that I get grumpy are all part of the process. Signs such as overreacting in
stressful situations, isolating myself physically and emotionally, blaming others for my past,
anxiety, irritation and being easily angered, can all lead up to a relapse. When I feel these, I must
figure out how to address them and talk to my sponsor, my counselor of my home group about
what I am feeling and how I have been behaving.
New Activities & Hobbies:

3. Some new hobbies and activities that I could be a part of include exercising before work with a
coworker followed by some coffee. I might also enjoy reading the morning paper, watching
football or other sports on weekends. I could work on the house that my wife claims to be falling
apart and master the art of being a carpenter. One of the ways to get involved and work on my
social skills without alcohol is to join my friends’ families on weekends for group activities;
BBQ’s, golf, summer river outings, movies, camping. I really need to make sure that I am
intentional about not having alcohol present.
Community Resources:
There are several community resources that I can take advantage of. Living in the Puyallup
community I can start attending church with my mother and family to help me be more open to
spirituality and the role it has in my prevention plan. There are AA meetings that I could make
my home group and start a 12-step program. I could also get involved with outdoor volunteering
on weeknights when I usually would have drinks. A good place to look in my community is
MetroParks in Tacoma. I could also take advantage of the beautiful greenery of the Pacific
Northwest, purchase a discover pass and go hiking or camping with my family.
Who to call if I need help:
Counselor – (555) 253-6796
Sponsor – (555) 732-4552
Support Group Member – (555) 472-5486

4. References
Doweiko, H. E. (2015). Concepts of chemical dependency. (9th ed.). Stamford CT: Cengage
Learning
Gorski, T. T. (2003). How to develop a RP Plan. Homewood, IL: GORSKI-CENAPS Web
Publications.
Bowman, S. (2000). Relapse prevention therapy: A cognitive-behavioral approach. The National
Psychologist. Retrieved from:
http://nationalpsychologist.com/index.php?s=relapse+prevention+therapy
Stocker, S. (1998). Men and women in drug abuse treatment relapse at different rates and for
different reasons. Nida Notes,13 (4).
Rose, G. L., Skelly, J. M., Badger, G. J., Naylor, M. R., & Helzer, J. E. (2012). Interactive voice
response for relapse prevention following cognitive-behavioral therapy for alcohol use
disorders: A pilot study. Psychological Services, 9(2), 174-184.
SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. (2014) Relapsed
Prevention Therapy (RPT). Retrieved from:
http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=97
Discover Pass (n.d.) Your ticket to Washington’s great outdoors. Retrieved from:
http://discoverpass.wa.gov/
Jay, D. (2014). It takes family: A cooperative approach to lasting sobriety. Retrieved from:
7559_AddRelapseWarnSigns.pdf