Relapse Prevention for Problem Drinkers

Problem drinkers generally find it easy to control their drinking or stop altogether. . . until the first lapse. The first lapse typically begins of sequence of events that results in complete relapse, which may motivate the problem drinker or a loved one to seek professional help. Problem drinkers generally benefit greatly from treatment. . . until the first lapse triggers the predictable sequence to relapse. Research on the outcome of treatment for problem drinkers is sobering only for us treatment providers. Helping a problem drinker escape the trap of dependence on alcohol is a formidable challenge.

The Paradox of Control

Using alcohol to help you cope with stress results in the loss of control over alcohol consumption. People who have become dependent upon alcohol often end up depending upon an external agent [treatment provider, program, or support group] to free them.

Ernest Hasslebring, a problem drinker, has been clean and sober throughout his 30-day inpatient rehab program.  After discharge he attended self-help meetings daily. However, high-risk situations seldom occur during meetings or rehab programs. Quite the contrary, they happen when the local environment contains stressors and temptations that motivate relapse. His treatment program failed at its most important mission: to help Ernest prevent relapse. This was not his first treatment program. Evidently each left him unprepared to cope with the crises he encountered when away from his support group or treatment team.

Developing tools to help problem drinkers successfully cope with crises of stress and temptation has been the focus of our work for the past three decades. The links throughout this page will give you access to a wide range of relapse prevention strategies, tactics, and experiential exercises, many at no charge, to help you act in accord with your interests and principles, even at moments of great stress and/or temptation.

Treatment Matching

Selecting treatment methods that best match the characteristics of the individual is the most important determiner of good outcome. The self-guided approach described here is quite contrary to the disease model upon which 12-Step treatment programs are based. In contrast to encouraging problem drinkers to admit they have a disease over which they are powerless, the focus of relapse prevention oriented treatment is precisely the opposite. Strategies to exercise will are described and exercises to strengthen the faculties required to exercise will are presented.

This method is not for everyone, and problem drinkers who benefit from group support, are religiously oriented, or cognitively simple are better matched with the 12-Step approach. This approach is designed for individuals with at least college level reading and thinking skills, and who have a practical, problem-solving mind set.

The ambitious goal of this project is to help high-functioning problem drinkers change irreversibly by developing the procedural skills that enable them to act as intended during crises of stress and temptation. After reviewing a few of the pages and accepting an experiential invitation or two, you will know whether or not this approach is well matched to you. If you find that these tools are useful to you, you may wish to download the entire self-directed kit: Our self-guided treatment manual: The Path of Greatest Advantage. is available for sale. Professional consultation is available by phone, email, secure chat, and in person at our psychotherapy office in Austin, Texas. For more information, or to begin the process of extricating yourself, please call our office (512) 343-8307.

For information about the exercise of will as a path to recovery from an addictive disorder, please click here.	For access to the self-directed program guide and trance formative audio files, please click here.

"To be 'cured' against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level with those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will."