At Cottonwood’s behavioral health and addiction rehab, we believe that relapse is a process that starts long before a recovering person begins to use a mood-altering substance or resort to a destructive behavior again. The process of relapse is marked by warning signs that typically take the form of unhealthy attitudes, behavior and beliefs.
In relapse-prevention groups, our behavioral health clinicians help patients to identify potentially difficult feelings and destructive thought patterns and use adaptive mood intervention skills and cognitive restructuring to interrupt the dynamics of the relapse pattern. Patients are also helped to identify high-risk attitudes and behaviors that can undermine their recovery efforts and develop more rational and adaptive ways to manage these.
Before leaving Cottonwood, each patient is encouraged to identify individuals and groups who can provide relapse-prevention support. Each patient in our behavioral health and addiction rehab also completes a personal relapse prevention plan that includes the names of support persons and their phone numbers, a daily and weekly living schedule, critical relapse warning signs and viable management techniques for each.
