Framework · G. Alan Marlatt and colleagues
Relapse prevention
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A lapse is not a relapse. Planning for high-risk situations, and responding to slips with learning rather than self-blame, makes return to old patterns less likely.
How to use it with a real habit
- Name your high-risk situations.
- Plan responses in advance.
- Review slips calmly and adjust.
What the evidence says
Research-supported: Good studies support it, but there are fewer of them, the effects are modest, or they come from a narrow set of situations.
Developed and tested for addiction treatment; everyday habits borrow its principles rather than its clinical programme.
Limits
- For addiction, use it with professional support.
Sources
- Witkiewitz & Marlatt (2004). Relapse Prevention for Alcohol and Drug Problems: That Was Zen, This Is Tao. American Psychologist. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.4.224
- Wohl, Pychyl & Bennett (2010). I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.029
Related techniques
- A calm lapse review — Look at a slip like a researcher: what happened just before, and what to change. (Research-supported)
- Self-forgiveness after a slip — Speak to yourself the way you’d speak to a friend who slipped. (Research-supported)
- Write a recovery plan — Decide in advance what you’ll do after a gap — before the gap happens. (Research-supported)
- Steer around high-risk moments — Where it’s sensible, avoid the situations where the unwanted habit almost always happens. (Research-supported)