As many as 70 percent of all chemically dependent people who attempt to stop drinking or using will experience relapse, often more than once. In over thirty years of working in the addictions field, I have had the honor of witnessing hundreds, if not thousands of men and women of every age recover from various addictions. Many are fortunate to be able to stay abstinent from their first day of recovery.

Some people abstain several weeks to a few months then relpase. Others relapse after several years. Some people die in their relapse, others remain chronic relapsers. Yet even more will ultimately find continuous sobriety and a quality to that sobriety. The latter is my hope for each and every addict.

Designed for use by those who work in the addictions field and address issues of relapse and relapse prevention, the Relapse Toolkit can by utilized for a wide range of addictive disorders ñ from alcohol and drug addictions, to sex, work, spending and gambling addictions, to food and relationship addictions.

There are thirty-eight modules within 16 sessions, each with pertinent didactic, reproducible handouts, specific instructions for assignments that are relevant to a topic, and a ìpaint-by-the-numbersî format for an individual or group session.

Didactic refers to educational information that you may offer in a lecture type format and can be used verbatim or as a model to improvise upon. Sessions can be condensed or expanded depending upon time allowed, and as with the other Strategies books you are encouraged to be creative and bring your own style of work into this process.

You may want to use all of the sessions in the order presented, or you may simply pick and choose those that are most relevant to your clients.

Take a look inside the book by clicking on - Inside Relapse Toolkit

Session titles are:

Addiction History - First Step - Overconfidence

Control - Feelings - Grief - Relationships

Anger - Resentments - Multi-addictions - Indicators

Spirituality - Secrets - Shame - Priorities - Closing

The use of handouts in the form of written exercises, checklists, sentence stems, structured dialogues and/or art activities is an integral part of this therapeutic technique.

All handouts are designed for clinicians to reproduce and use without restriction as to copyright permission.

The audio CD, Letting Go Imageries, offers meditations on healing and recovery. The specific imageries are Letting Go of Control, Letting Go of the Pain of Grief, Letting Go of Resentments, Connecting to a Higher Power, Letting Go of Secrets and Affirmation Imagery. The imageries are written out within the book should the presenter prefer to speak them personally.

Readers Comments

I have found the Relapse Toolkit a most valuable tool. It's so comprehensive. I use it as a prevention tool and when I have a client in relapse. Jane P. M.S.W.

The material in the Relapse Toolkit is the backbone of our relapse programming. It's clear, structured and addresses critical issues. Alan R. C.D.P.