Stages of Substance Abuse Recovery

Recovery from substance abuse and addiction can be a difficult process. Many people struggle to remain sober, and relapsing is common. The Stages of Change is a model created by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente in the early 1980s at the University of Rhode Island describing the steps that many people go through when recovering from an addiction. For people with addictions, these steps can be important to understanding their personal process of recovery.

Pre-contemplation

• Pre-contemplation is also often known as the "denial" stage. That is, before accepting that an individual has a problem, she might deny that a problem exists. She is likely to be defensive if others try to convince her to get help. People in this stage might benefit from a counselor questioning the impact her behaviors and substance use have on her life. With increased awareness, someone in the pre-contemplation stage might be able to move into the next stage.

Contemplation

• A person in the contemplation stage has some awareness of his addiction problem as well as the negative impact that it has on his life, including his mental and physical health as well as his relationships. However, he might feel ambivalent about making change and that the effort needed to give up the addiction is not worth the benefits, or is unable to see the possible benefits of recovery.

Preparation

• In the preparation stage, the individual is beginning to move toward taking action. She might start to make small changes toward recovery. For instance, a person with an alcohol addiction might begin to limit drinking or start to attend an addiction recovery group. People who are in the preparation stage also might collect information about what change will entail and what changes need to be made for recovery.

Action

• This stage represents a large step forward, as the individual comes to believe he has the ability to make change in his life. The individual starts to take major steps to combat his addiction. During the action stage, the individual usually reviews his own commitment to recovery and develops a personal plan to cope with the challenges that recovery entails. For instance, it is common in the action phase for the individual to figure out what his triggers to substance use are and what he will do when faced with these.

Maintenance

• The maintenance phase involves finding strategies to ensure that the actions set forth in the action phase are kept in place for the long run. The individual works to maintain these new patterns of behavior and avoid situations that might lead to relapse. Many people in the maintenance phase continue to attend support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Some people consider recovery to be a lifelong process in which they must continue their maintenance behaviors to avoid relapse.