If you enjoy academic learning, by all means, read and work through everything in the course below. However, many people use the “learning curve” to delay doing what actually needs to be done.
This RPP program is about action.
You do not have to understand everything about relapse prevention before you begin building your plan. The reality is that if you do not have a strong written RPP in place, you are already behind. Each day you delay is another day without a practiced response to the risks, pressures, and decisions that can arise while you are adjusting to life without alcohol or drugs.
The RPP AI Companion lets you bypass most of the traditional course format and work directly through the RPP Workbook. It will explain each section, interview you one question at a time, and turn your answers into a clear first-person draft.
The AI Companion can help you write the plan. It cannot invent your answers, replace the written RPP, or make medical and clinical decisions for you.
Your goal is to complete a usable RPP now—not someday after you have learned everything. *
*“Completed” requires an asterisk because no RPP is ever permanently finished. It is a living, fluid document that must be adjusted as your life and recovery change.
Decades ago, I told clients to write their RPP in pencil—and write lightly—so it could be erased and rewritten. Technology now makes revising the plan easier. Use that advantage. Build the plan you need now, and update it for each new phase of recovery.
Building your RPP
These three videos introduce the Beast Brain metaphor, relapse progression, the need for a written Relapse Prevention Plan, and the role of Structure, Accountability, and Support.
They were recorded before the current RPP Workbook was developed. Some terminology and explanations reflect that earlier version of the material.
Treat the Beast Brain as a practical metaphor for the automatic, survival-driven, urge-driven part of the relapse process—not as a complete medical explanation of how the brain works.
When a video differs from the current program, follow the language, safety instructions, and planning structure in your current RPP Workbook.
These videos are supporting materials. Watching them does not replace writing and revising your plan.
Watch FREE Online Addiction Recovery Series Part 1
(watch here or in Youtube)
Length: Approximately 21 minutes
This teaching introduces:
Casey’s Beast Brain metaphor
The difference between automatic urges and intentional decisions
Why knowing better may not be enough during a high-risk moment
Why a Relapse Prevention Plan must be written before the progression advances
The need for family members and other supporters to have a plan
After watching, write or revise:
The earliest point where your relapse progression usually becomes noticeable
What happens to your thinking when the progression advances
One action that needs to be decided before you enter a high-risk state
Relevant Workbook sections include How Return to Use Develops, My Personal Progression Map, and My One-Page Recovery Protection Plan.
Watch Addiction Recovery Success Essentials Part 2
(watch here or in Youtube)
Length: Approximately 28 minutes
This teaching examines:
The stages people move through when making a change
The process of moving into and out of addiction
The stages of recovery
The progression that occurs before a return to use
How an RPP and SAS Team can respond earlier in that progression
Do not become distracted by whether every person follows the exact same number of stages or steps. The useful question is whether your own progression contains recognizable patterns and earlier decision points.
After watching, write or revise:
Your personal return-to-use sequence
What other people may notice before you admit that your risk is increasing
The earliest step you are willing to tell someone about
What should activate Plan B or Plan C
Relevant Workbook sections include My Return-to-Use Story, My Personal Progression Map, Warning Signs, The Wall, and Escalation Plans A Through F.
Watch Relapse Prevention Success Essentials Part 3
(watch here or in Youtube)
Length: Approximately 22 minutes
This teaching addresses:
Why willpower becomes less dependable as relapse risk increases
The role of Structure, Accountability, and Support
How supporters can help without taking over responsibility
The importance of boundaries
The difference between support and enabling
Using a written relapse progression to guide intervention
The current RPP does not assume that one family member should carry the entire recovery system. Your SAS Team should include multiple layers of professional, recovery, close, core, and extended support.
After watching, write or revise:
One boundary that protects your recovery
One boundary that prevents another person from carrying your responsibility
The names and roles of your SAS Team members
What your team has permission to do when warning signs appear
The point at which professional or emergency support must be added
Relevant Workbook sections include Relationships, Boundaries, and Trust, Build My SAS Team, Train My SAS Team, SAS Check-In Conversations, and Escalation Plans A Through F.
Do not watch all three videos and call the lesson complete.
After each teaching, make at least one specific addition, correction, or confirmed decision in your written RPP.
If the teaching gives you an insight but the insight never reaches your written plan, it is not yet part of your relapse-prevention program.
Watch it. Apply it. Write it into the RPP.