Relapse Prevention Counseling in Miami, FL

At Harbor Village, we’re here to help you achieve sobriety — and maintain it.

Completing treatment is an exciting milestone in your new sober life. And there’s much to celebrate and enjoy! But it’s important to be prepared for the triggers and urges that can emerge, especially in your first 90 days of sobriety. Harbor Village is committed to providing you with excellent preparation for these situations through our substance abuse relapse prevention curriculum. As part of our inpatient addiction treatment, partial hospitalization program and intensive outpatient program, you’ll learn the tools to cope with these situations as they arise.

How Can Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention Help You?

Throughout substance abuse treatment at Harbor Village, we integrate elements of relapse prevention — so that when you’re fully prepared to handle the temptations of the outside world. We’ll discuss relapse warning signs, triggers and urges, as well as coping skills. You’ll also have the chance to rehearse how you’ll handle these situations, so you’re never caught off guard. 

For example, we’ll teach you how the brain’s limbic system struggles to differentiate between immediate needs. That’s why, many times, relapses occur when you’re dealing with an entirely different stressor. The acronym “HALT” stands for “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.” Any of these conditions can put you in a vulnerable frame of mind that can cause a relapse.

How an Aftercare Plan Helps Prevent Relapse

Aftercare is an essential part of your individualized drug treatment plan at Harbor Village. With regular aftercare meetings and an active alumni program, Harbor Village helps you discover the support you need beyond the structured environment of treatment. You may also wish to participate in 12-steps meetings and group therapy. These options can all be part of your aftercare toolkit — helping you avoid relapse and find enjoyment in the early days of recovery.

Anticipating and Preventing Relapse

While relapse can be alarming, there are often signs that it’s imminent — which gives you a chance to change your behaviors in order to avoid it. For example, relapse usually takes on three phases:

• Emotional Relapse involves your feelings and behaviors setting you up for eventual relapse. Some signs include “stuffing” your emotions, isolating yourself from your support network, missing therapy sessions or meetings.
• Mental Relapse has been described as a battle between the part of your mind that wants to drink or use, and the part that doesn’t. This phase leaves you feeling vulnerable and in need of escape. Often, it involves obsessive thoughts about drinking and/or using drugs, and may lead to you returning to the people and places you associated with active addiction.
• Physical Relapse occurs when you begin using your drug of choice again — and often leads to uncontrolled use.

These warning signs can help you identify the possibility of relapse, so you can prevent it altogether. At Harbor Village, we’ll teach you so much more along the way, so you can feel confident and supported in early recovery.

Call Harbor Village today to learn more about relapse prevention!