ABSTRACT
The ‘O’ of the C.H.O.I.C.E. Recovery Model stands for Overcome compulsive behaviours. This chapter includes exercises that will help develop a deeper understanding of what causes and maintains addiction as well as strategies for stopping unwanted behaviours. Using the six phase cycle of addiction, tools are provided to personalise the cycle, to identify unresolved issues in the dormant phase, triggers, cognitive distortions and the unconscious positives of acting out. Once the cycle has been personalised, information is provided to understand why triggers are so powerful before moving on to develop a range of relapse prevention strategies. The chapter ends with the importance of ensuring that unresolved issues from the past are also dealt with in order to secure long term recovery and how both group work and individual therapy complement each other to achieve this.
