Relapse Prevention Strategies

Proven Therapies for Sobriety Skills

Therapy is more than just talking about your problems—it’s a structured, evidence-based way to build the skills you need to stay sober.

Whether you’re new to recovery or have relapsed before, the right therapeutic support can help you identify patterns, manage cravings, and respond to life’s stressors without turning to substances.

Research shows that several therapy types are particularly effective at preventing relapse. These therapies focus on strengthening your ability to recognize triggers, handle difficult emotions, and stay motivated in your recovery journey.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective tools for maintaining long-term sobriety. It helps people in recovery understand how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected—and how those patterns can lead to relapse if left unexamined.

CBT focuses on building long-term skills to:

• Challenge thought patterns that can trigger relapse, such as “I can handle just one drink.”
• Replace automatic, impulsive responses with healthier coping strategies.
• Recognize early warning signs of relapse and respond before a slip occurs.
• Develop a sustainable plan for navigating stress, social pressure, and emotional setbacks.

These strategies make CBT especially powerful for people working to stay sober after completing rehab or detox. It helps turn short-term recovery into lasting change.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is especially effective for people whose substance use is tied to intense emotions, relationship stress, or impulsive reactions.

DBT teaches practical tools that help you stay grounded and make healthier choices in challenging moments.

The four core skill areas of DBT support long-term sobriety by helping you:

• Practice mindfulness: Stay present in the moment without judgment, so urges or cravings don’t spiral into relapse.
• Build distress tolerance: Cope with pain, anxiety, or cravings without turning to substances to escape or numb.
• Regulate emotions: Identify and manage intense feelings that could otherwise lead to impulsive use.
• Improve interpersonal effectiveness: Communicate clearly, set boundaries, and reduce relationship conflicts that might trigger relapse.

DBT has been shown to reduce substance use and extend time between relapses, especially in people with co-occurring disorders or a history of emotional dysregulation.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you build a more flexible mindset, so difficult thoughts or cravings don’t control your behavior. Instead of trying to eliminate discomfort, ACT teaches you how to move forward even when things feel challenging.

ACT supports long-term recovery by helping you:

• Accept cravings and emotions: Learn to sit with discomfort instead of trying to escape it through substance use.
• Clarify your values: Identify what matters most to you (like health, family, or honesty) to guide your recovery.
• Commit to value-driven action: Make choices aligned with your goals, even when urges or emotional pain show up.

ACT is especially helpful for people in long-term recovery who struggle with recurring cravings, anxiety, or chronic pain. It encourages a mindset that supports both emotional growth and sustained sobriety.

Quick Comparison of Therapies

Choosing the right therapy style can make a big difference in how supported and empowered you feel during recovery. The approaches listed above offer practical tools to help you stay grounded, manage cravings, and build a life that supports lasting sobriety.

Recognizing Common Relapse Triggers

A “trigger” is anything—a feeling, place, person, or thought—that sparks a craving or reminds you of past substance use. Knowing your personal triggers is key to preventing relapse.

While they differ for everyone, triggers often fall into common categories:

• Emotional Triggers: Difficult feelings like stress, anger, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, or boredom are very common. Your brain might link these feelings to past substance use as a way to cope, and negative emotions are linked to a high number of relapses.
• Social Triggers: Being around others who are using, feeling pressured to use, or even feeling isolated can trigger urges. Relationship problems are also significant social triggers.
• Environmental Triggers: Places, sights, sounds, or smells tied to past use can be powerful. This could be driving by a certain bar, seeing drug paraphernalia (even on TV), or specific times of day. Simply having substances easily available is also a risk.
• Cognitive Triggers: Sometimes just thinking about past use, especially remembering it positively (“glamorizing”), can lead to cravings. Negative self-talk or thinking you can handle “just one” are also risky thoughts.

Other Situations That Can Catch You Off Guard

Not all triggers are negative. Some positive experiences—like birthdays, holidays, or work promotions—can also be risky if they were previously linked with substance use.

Other important considerations:

• Overconfidence: Thinking “I’ve got this under control” or “One won’t hurt” can lead to slipping.
• HALT states: Being Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired lowers your ability to cope and makes relapse more likely.
• Tracking triggers: Keep a log of when cravings hit. Write down what’s happening around you, how you feel, and what you’re thinking. Over time, this can reveal patterns and help you create a stronger relapse prevention plan.

Knowing your triggers isn’t enough; you need tools to handle them. Building a “toolkit” of healthy coping skills helps you navigate challenges successfully.

Using effective coping skills in risky situations dramatically reduces the chance of relapse. These skills often involve changing your thinking, actions, and how you interact with others.

How to Handle Triggers in Recovery

Recognizing a trigger is just the first step. The next is knowing how to respond in a healthy, constructive way. Building a personal relapse prevention toolkit gives you the confidence and strategies to stay strong when challenges arise.

Changing Your Thinking (Cognitive Skills)

Managing the thoughts that can lead back to substance use is a crucial part of relapse prevention. By shifting your internal dialogue and outlook, you can reduce cravings and stay grounded in recovery.

Key skills include:

• Spotting warning signs of trouble early on.
• Challenging and reframing unhelpful or negative thoughts.
• Using positive self-talk to build confidence.
• Accepting that uncomfortable feelings are temporary and don’t require substances to fix.

Changing Your Actions (Behavioral Skills)

The way you respond to your environment can either protect or endanger your sobriety. These practical strategies help reinforce healthier routines and decision-making.

Examples include:

• Avoiding people, places, and things strongly linked to past use whenever feasible.
• Engaging in healthy activities like hobbies, exercise, or relaxation techniques.
• Prioritizing self-care, including good nutrition, adequate sleep, and basic hygiene.
• Setting clear boundaries and learning to say “no” in social situations.
• Having an exit strategy for leaving situations that feel risky.

Using Your Support (Social Skills)

Staying connected is one of the most effective ways to maintain recovery. Support systems offer accountability, encouragement, and a reminder that you’re not alone.

Ways to use your support system:

• Asking for help from trusted friends, family, sponsors, or therapists.
• Attending peer support groups (like AA, NA, SMART Recovery) for connection and understanding.
• Communicating your needs and boundaries assertively.

Helpful Mindfulness Techniques

Mindfulness can interrupt automatic reactions and help you respond to cravings with clarity and calm. Practicing these techniques regularly builds your emotional resilience and coping strength over time.

Try incorporating these skills: 

• Mindfulness: Simply paying attention to the present moment (thoughts, feelings, body sensations) without judgment. It creates space between feeling an urge and acting on it.
• Urge Surfing: Viewing cravings like ocean waves that build, peak, and fade. This teaches that urges are temporary, and you don’t have to give in.
• Distress Tolerance: Using specific skills (like distraction, self-soothing) to cope with intense emotional pain without resorting to substances.
• Acceptance: Gently acknowledging difficult thoughts and feelings are present without struggling against them, which reduces their power.

Practicing these skills consistently builds your strength and resilience in recovery.

Your Relapse Prevention Plan

Understanding your triggers and having coping strategies is essential, but putting everything into a written plan can make a big difference.

A personalized relapse prevention plan acts as your roadmap for staying on track during tough moments, helping you stay focused on long-term recovery goals.

This plan should include the following key elements:

• Your Personal Triggers: List specific feelings, places, people, situations, or thoughts that make you want to use.
• Coping Strategies: For each trigger, note what skills or actions you can use to cope (e.g., “If I feel anxious, I’ll call my sponsor or go for a walk”).
• Support System: Include contact info for people and groups who support your recovery—friends, family, sponsors, therapists, or support groups.
• Healthy Lifestyle Commitments: Outline ways you’ll care for your overall well-being, like exercise, sleep routines, balanced meals, or enjoyable hobbies.
• Early Warning Signs: Identify subtle shifts that might signal trouble, such as mood changes, withdrawal from others, or skipping meetings—and decide how you’ll respond.
• Motivation Reminders: Write down why you’re committed to sobriety. These can be personal goals, values, or the people you want to be there for.
• Slip Recovery Plan: A list of steps to take immediately if you have a brief lapse, so you can prevent it from turning into a full relapse.

How to Handle a Slip (Lapse vs. Relapse)

A lapse—using once or briefly—is not the same as a relapse, which is a return to a pattern of substance use. The most important thing is what you do next.

If you slip:

1. Stop immediately. Don’t let it spiral into something bigger.
2. Reach out to someone you trust. Honesty is key—call your sponsor, therapist, or a recovery peer.
3. Reflect on what triggered it. Try to identify the circumstances or thoughts that led up to the slip.
4. Recommit to your plan. Attend a meeting, talk to your support network, and review your goals.
5. Practice self-compassion. A lapse doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It’s a chance to learn and get back on track.

Keep your plan somewhere visible and revisit it regularly. Updating it as your needs change helps it stay useful as your recovery grows stronger.

Self-Compassion and Resilience During Recovery

No recovery journey is perfect. Setbacks, difficult days, and emotional challenges are part of the process—but how you respond to those moments matters more than avoiding them altogether.

Developing self-compassion and resilience helps you navigate recovery with strength, perspective, and a commitment to growth.

Self-compassion means treating yourself with the same understanding and kindness you’d offer to a friend in pain. Instead of responding to struggles with shame or harsh self-criticism, self-compassion allows you to acknowledge mistakes while staying focused on healing and progress. This mindset reduces feelings of guilt that can otherwise lead to relapse.

Resilience is your ability to bounce back from challenges. It’s not something you’re born with—it’s built through healthy habits, emotional regulation, and staying connected to supportive people.

Here are a few ways to strengthen both:

• Reframe negative self-talk into more encouraging, realistic thoughts
• Practice mindfulness to sit with difficult emotions without judgment
• Reach out for support instead of isolating during hard times
• Focus on small wins and progress—not perfection
• Let go of past mistakes and focus on what you can do today
• Take care of your physical and mental health through rest, movement, and nutrition

When you approach recovery with compassion and resilience, you give yourself space to grow instead of expecting flawlessness. This shift not only reduces the risk of relapse—it strengthens your ability to stay grounded and keep moving forward, even when things feel hard.

Find Support for Long-Term Sobriety

Whether you’re in early recovery or looking to strengthen your relapse prevention plan, help is available. From evidence-based therapy to peer support groups, there are countless resources designed to keep you on track.

• Search for local treatment programs at FindTreatment.gov
• Call the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, 24/7 confidential support
• Explore relapse prevention strategies and therapy options here on our site

You don’t have to do this alone. Taking one small step today can make a lasting difference.

Written by

Chris Carberg

AddictionHelp.com Founder & Mental Health Advocate

Chris Carberg is the Co-Founder of AddictionHelp.com, and a long-time recovering addict from prescription opioids, sedatives, and alcohol.  Over the past 15 years, Chris has worked as a tireless advocate for addicts and their loved ones while becoming a sought-after digital entrepreneur. Chris is a storyteller and aims to share his story with others in the hopes of helping them achieve their own recovery.

Reviewed by

• Fact-Checked
• Editor

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O.

Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O. has been an expert in addiction medicine for more than 15 years. In addition to managing a successful family medical practice, Dr. Hoffman is board certified in addiction medicine by the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM). Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction. Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality.