CAADC Relapse Prevention and Recovery Support 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client's family members repeatedly rescue him from consequences of use, such as paying legal fines and calling in sick on his behalf. The counselor should identify this pattern as:
- Adaptive coping support
- Enabling behavior that undermines recovery motivation (Correct answer)
- Appropriate crisis intervention
- A sign of strong family cohesion
Correct answer: Enabling behavior that undermines recovery motivation
Shielding clients from natural consequences removes motivation for change and is a key enabling pattern to address in family-focused relapse prevention.
Question 2: Which concept from SMART Recovery distinguishes it from 12-Step programs?
- Lifetime disease model of addiction
- Secular, science-based self-empowerment without a higher power construct (Correct answer)
- Mandatory sponsor assignment
- Step-based progression through recovery milestones
Correct answer: Secular, science-based self-empowerment without a higher power construct
SMART Recovery uses rational emotive behavior therapy and cognitive-behavioral tools without spiritual or disease-model framing.
Question 3: A client approaching her one-year anniversary reports anxiety that she will lose her 'beginner's mind' and become complacent. The counselor's best response incorporates:
- Validating the concern and collaboratively updating her relapse prevention plan for long-term recovery challenges (Correct answer)
- Reassuring her that one year of sobriety eliminates most relapse risk
- Referring her to a more advanced treatment level
- Reducing session frequency since she is stable
Correct answer: Validating the concern and collaboratively updating her relapse prevention plan for long-term recovery challenges
Long-term recovery requires evolving relapse prevention plans to address the specific risks and stressors of that stage, including complacency.
Question 4: In the context of relapse prevention, 'urge surfing' is a technique derived from:
- Psychodynamic therapy
- Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) (Correct answer)
- Motivational enhancement therapy
- Contingency management
Correct answer: Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP)
Urge surfing — observing cravings as temporary waves without acting on them — is a core mindfulness skill taught in MBRP.
Question 5: A client identifies work-related stress as his primary relapse trigger. The MOST comprehensive relapse prevention response includes:
- Advising the client to change careers
- Stress inoculation training, coping skill rehearsal, and developing a crisis plan specific to occupational triggers (Correct answer)
- Referring the client to an employee assistance program only
- Prescribing anxiolytics to manage occupational stress
Correct answer: Stress inoculation training, coping skill rehearsal, and developing a crisis plan specific to occupational triggers
A comprehensive response builds internal coping skills, rehearses them for the specific trigger context, and prepares a crisis response — not just external referral.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'recovery capital'?
- The financial assets a client has available to fund treatment
- The internal and external resources that support initiation and maintenance of recovery (Correct answer)
- The number of treatment episodes a client has completed
- A client's motivation score on a standardized assessment
Correct answer: The internal and external resources that support initiation and maintenance of recovery
Recovery capital encompasses social support, housing stability, health, spiritual resources, and personal strengths that sustain long-term recovery.
Question 7: A client relapses three weeks after completing residential treatment. According to research on relapse timing, this pattern is:
- Unusual, as most relapses occur after six months
- Common, as the transition from structured treatment to community living is a peak relapse risk period (Correct answer)
- Indicative of treatment failure requiring a different diagnosis
- Evidence that the client was not ready for residential treatment
Correct answer: Common, as the transition from structured treatment to community living is a peak relapse risk period
The post-discharge transition period is consistently identified as the highest-risk window for relapse, underscoring the need for robust continuing care.
CAADC Relapse Prevention and Recovery Support 5
A client's family members repeatedly rescue him from consequences of use, such as paying legal fines and calling in sick on his behalf.
The counselor should identify this pattern as: