| Course | PAC 240 Helping Skills |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 7 |
| Paper type | Relapse prevention plan |
| Length | About 1,060 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 240 Module 7
Ninety Days and a Holiday Season: A Relapse Prevention Plan Built on the Dynamic Model of Relapse
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 240: Helping Skills
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Ninety Days and a Holiday Season: A Relapse Prevention Plan Built on the Dynamic Model of Relapse
Lisa is forty and manages a busy dental office. Ninety days ago she began outpatient treatment at Riverside Recovery Services, the invented program in these papers, after a year in which her drinking grew from wine with dinner to most of a bottle each night and, finally, a morning she could not remember driving to work. She has not had a drink since. She feels better than she has in years, and she is frightened. Ahead lie three office holiday parties, Thanksgiving with a family that drinks heavily and, in December, her former husband's wedding, which their daughter will attend. This paper builds her relapse prevention plan. Lisa and Riverside are composites written for teaching, while the studies cited are real.
The Dynamic Model of Relapse
Witkiewitz and Marlatt (2004) revised the classic cognitive-behavioral model of relapse into a dynamic model. In the original model, relapse begins with a high-risk situation, a person, place, emotion or event that threatens abstinence. If the person copes effectively, their confidence, or self-efficacy, grows and the risk of relapse falls. If they do not cope, self-efficacy drops, and expectations that alcohol will help make drinking more likely. If the person then drinks, the abstinence violation effect can follow: guilt and the belief that one drink proves complete failure, which leads to further drinking.
The dynamic model adds that relapse is not a straight line. It distinguishes tonic factors, relatively stable risks such as family history, years of heavy use and general coping skills, from phasic factors, which change moment to moment, such as a sudden craving, an argument or a glass offered at a party. Small changes in phasic factors can tip a person from coping to drinking quickly, and relapse is best understood as a process that can be interrupted at many points.
The Evidence for Relapse Prevention
Irvin et al. (1999) conducted a meta-analysis of studies of relapse prevention, the cognitive-behavioral treatment built on this model. Relapse prevention was effective overall in reducing substance use and improving psychosocial functioning. Its effects were strongest for alcohol problems and for use of multiple substances, and stronger when combined with medication. The authors found that relapse prevention was particularly effective at improving psychosocial adjustment, which supports its focus on building coping skills.
Bowen et al. (2014) tested mindfulness-based relapse prevention, which integrates mindfulness practice, such as noticing cravings without acting on them, with relapse prevention skills. People who had completed initial treatment for substance use disorders were randomly assigned to mindfulness-based relapse prevention, standard cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention or usual aftercare. At six months, both relapse prevention approaches outperformed usual care. At twelve months, mindfulness-based relapse prevention produced fewer days of drug use and less heavy drinking than either comparison. The authors suggested that mindfulness may help people respond to cravings and negative feelings over the longer term.
Lisa's High-Risk Situations
| Situation | Early warning signs | Response | Who helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office holiday parties | Planning what to wear and nothing else; thinking "just one" | Arrive with a seltzer in hand; leave after an hour; drive herself | Her sponsor, by text from the parking lot |
| Thanksgiving with her family | Dreading the day; old resentments returning | Bring her own drinks; plan a walk after dinner; leave by seven | Her sister, who does not drink |
| Her former husband's wedding | Rehearsing old arguments; poor sleep that week | Plan a sober evening with friends; mindfulness practice when anger rises | Her counselor, with an extra session that week |
| Evenings alone after the children are asleep | Restlessness at nine o'clock | Evening routine: tea, a bath, a call | Recovery group's evening phone list |
| Praise or celebration at work | Feeling she has earned a reward | Choose a new reward, such as a dinner out | Herself |
| Craving without warning | A sudden pull at the wine aisle | Urge surfing: notice, breathe, let it pass in minutes | Mindfulness practice from group |
If She Drinks
Many people in early recovery drink again at some point, and a plan that ignores this leaves Lisa unprepared. Her lapse plan addresses the abstinence violation effect directly. If she drinks, she will stop and remove herself from the situation, call her sponsor or counselor within twenty-four hours and remind herself, in words she wrote, that "one drink is a slip, not a verdict." At her next session, she and her counselor will analyze what happened, as a learning opportunity, and adjust the plan. She will not be discharged for lapsing.
Tonic and Phasic Risks for Lisa
The dynamic model's distinction between stable and changing risks clarifies Lisa's plan. Her tonic risks include a mother who drank heavily, a decade of nightly wine and a habit of handling stress alone. These will not change by December, and they mean her baseline risk is real. Her phasic risks are the moments the table names: a glass offered at a party, the morning of the wedding, a lonely evening after a hard day. The plan cannot remove her tonic risks, but it can lower her exposure to phasic ones and give her a practiced response when they arrive. Her coping skills, which were thin when she started, are the bridge between the two, and each successful party adds to the confidence the model predicts will protect her next time.
Mindfulness in the Plan
Because the holiday season will bring strong emotions, especially around the wedding, Lisa will join the program's eight-week mindfulness-based relapse prevention group, which begins in November. Practices such as urge surfing, noticing a craving rise and fall without acting on it, will give her a response for moments when no other plan fits.
Review
Lisa and her counselor will review the plan weekly from mid-November through January, after each high-risk event, and then return to biweekly sessions. Her self-efficacy will be tracked with a simple confidence rating before and after each event.
Conclusion
Lisa's first holiday season in recovery brings high-risk situations she can name in advance. Witkiewitz and Marlatt explain relapse as a dynamic process that can be interrupted, Irvin and colleagues show that relapse prevention works, especially for alcohol, and Bowen and colleagues show that mindfulness can add lasting benefit. A plan built on her calendar, her early warning signs and a lapse plan that defuses the abstinence violation effect gives Lisa a way through the season.
References
Bowen, S., Witkiewitz, K., Clifasefi, S. L., Grow, J., Chawla, N., Hsu, S. H., Carroll, H. A., Harrop, E., Collins, S. E., Lustyk, M. K., & Larimer, M. E. (2014). Relative efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention, standard relapse prevention, and treatment as usual for substance use disorders: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(5), 547-556. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4546
Irvin, J. E., Bowers, C. A., Dunn, M. E., & Wang, M. C. (1999). Efficacy of relapse prevention: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(4), 563-570. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.67.4.563
Witkiewitz, K., & Marlatt, G. A. (2004). Relapse prevention for alcohol and drug problems: That was Zen, this is Tao. American Psychologist, 59(4), 224-235. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.4.224
PAC 240 Module 7 instructions, in plain terms
Relapse prevention is the seventh module's focus in PAC 240, and assignments typically ask for a plan that identifies a client's high-risk situations, builds coping responses and prepares for lapses, grounded in theory and evidence. Rely on the Module 7 page in your Aspen course; the client here is invented. Explain a model of relapse, including how a slip can become a full relapse. Present evidence on relapse prevention approaches. Identify the client's specific high-risk situations and early warning signs. Pair each with a coping response. Include a lapse plan. Set a review schedule, attach an APA 7 reference to the research behind each part and write the plan in language the client could carry in a pocket. Put dates on the calendar, not only categories of risk.
How this PAC 240 Module 7 example is built
Lisa has three office parties, a family Thanksgiving and her ex-husband's new wedding ahead. Witkiewitz and Marlatt's American Psychologist article explains the dynamic model, including tonic and phasic risk factors and the abstinence violation effect. Irvin and colleagues' meta-analysis of relapse prevention trials shows its effects by substance. Bowen and colleagues' JAMA Psychiatry trial compares mindfulness-based relapse prevention with standard relapse prevention and usual care. A six-row table pairs each situation with warning signs and responses. A lapse plan prepares her to stop after one drink rather than spiral. A weekly review through January, with a confidence rating before and after each event, closes the plan.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 240 Module 7 rubric
Relapse prevention plans earn credit for a clear model, evidence for the approach and specific situations and responses. This example uses the dynamic model to explain why Lisa's risk varies by moment and why her reaction to a slip matters. It reports each study's findings carefully, including that mindfulness-based relapse prevention's advantage emerged at twelve months. The table is specific to Lisa's calendar, not a generic list. The lapse plan addresses the abstinence violation effect directly, which many plans omit. The review schedule covers the high-risk season, and the plan's wording is concrete enough that Lisa could follow it at a party without having to think it through again.
PAC 240 Module 7 help: mistakes that cost marks
Relapse prevention plans often list generic triggers, such as stress and people, without specifics. Name the client's actual situations, dates and people. Explain a model of relapse rather than treating it as a single event. Include early warning signs, which often appear days before use. Pair every situation with a specific response the client has practiced. Plan for a lapse, since many clients drink again at some point; addressing the abstinence violation effect can keep a slip from becoming a relapse. Report evidence accurately. Schedule reviews around high-risk periods. Write the plan with the client, in their words, and give them a copy they can keep in a wallet or on a phone.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 240 Module 7 questions, answered
What does PAC 240 Module 7 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 240 covers relapse prevention in this module, so a plan identifying high-risk situations, coping responses and a lapse plan, grounded in evidence, is typical. Check your Module 7 prompt.
What is the abstinence violation effect?
The reaction to a slip in which a person feels guilty and concludes they have failed completely, which can turn a single lapse into a full relapse.
Does relapse prevention work?
Irvin and colleagues' meta-analysis found relapse prevention effective, with particularly strong effects for alcohol problems.
Where can I find a free PAC 240 Module 7 sample paper?
Find it above in full: a relapse prevention plan for a client facing her first holiday season sober, with a situation table and a lapse plan.
What is mindfulness-based relapse prevention?
A program combining mindfulness practice with relapse prevention skills; Bowen and colleagues found it reduced drug use and heavy drinking at twelve months.