Gain Maintenance Plan
A relapse-prevention plan to consolidate progress, identify high-risk situations, and prepare coping strategies.
In this resource
01
Gain Maintenance Plan
A relapse-prevention plan to consolidate progress, identify high-risk situations, and prepare coping strategies.
Introduction 1
The Gain Maintenance Plan (aka. relapse prevention) is a structured approach to help you:
- Consolidate the progress you've made
- Effectively manage potential setbacks
Introduction 2
This worksheet guides you to:
- Identify high-risk situations that might challenge your progress
- Develop personalised coping strategies for risk situations
- Create a support network to assist when needed.
Introduction 3
Documenting regular maintenance strategies and establishing a clear plan for difficult moments helps you be proactive in your approach to wellness.
Gain maintenance planning also helps normalise setbacks as a natural part of change.
Introduction 4
This exercise provides the basis for a comprehensive plan based on your specific needs, ensuring you have practical strategies to sustain your improvements over time and prevent minor lapses from becoming major relapses.
Example worksheet
Here is a completed gain maintenance plan example.
You will see that this person tends to consume more alcohol than intended when deciding to have a drink.
They has done an excellent job identifying high risk situations and formulating an appropriate response plan.
Worksheet
The gain maintenance plan worksheet consists of six columns:
- Understanding or Definition Problem: Clearly describe the problem, focusing on clearly identifiable behaviours.
- High Risk Situations: Record the times, places, etc, where the problem behaviour is most likely to occur.
- Coping Strategies: List helpful management strategies (often developed with your therapist) that target characteristics of high risk situations.
- Support Network: Note the individuals and/or groups you can rely upon to provide effective support to follow your gain maintenance plan.
- Maintenance Strategies: List your most important strategies to maintain general health and wellbeing, designed to reduce the need to engage in the problem behaviour.
- Emergency Plan: Note what you will do when you find yourself engaging in the problem behaviour.
And that's a wrap. Well done.
