Six tasks for recovery
get your life back
You can work on this journey yourself, with family and friends, or with the help of an addiction therapist
The six tasks are derived from Integrated Social Behaviour and Network Therapy (iSBNT) - one of the best ways of helping to bring about recovery from an addiction problem, including associated mental health issues, with the support of family and friends.
The tasks are set out in a logical order, however, you can ‘mix and match’ the content of your therapy sessions - the important thing is that all six steps are dealt with.
❝ I’m not telling you it is going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it ❞ Anon
If you are getting help with your recovery tasks then it is a good idea to see how well you are getting on with your therapist. This is called your Working Alliance - if you are working well together then you are likely to have a better result. You can do this test anytime you like…
1st task
my addiction profile
The first task is to get a picture of your addiction. A comprehensive assessment includes your…
i) substance use including psychoactive medications
ii) severity of dependence
iii) quality of life and
iv) psychological wellbeing
If you are doing this with a therapist you can check out your Working Alliance at any point.
2nd task
a support network
Bringing together a support network is the defining feature of this therapy.
The aim is to have support for change and the maintenance of change, with at least one supportive person because…
People who have support do better
Family and friends do better when they are involved
Improvement will last longer
3rd task
goal setting
People often want to stop the bad things they experience from an addiction but hold onto the things they like and so it is important to be clear about your substance use goal
People who have goals stay focused on the task
You need to be clear what it is that you feel motivated to change
You need to check out that what you want to do is realistic and safe
4th task
relapse prevention
Whether your goal is abstinence or cutting down there will be situations where the temptation to drink or use drugs is strong - it may be during a period of abstinence or if a slip or relapse occurs.
Coping skills are how you deal with high risk situations to prevent a relapse.
5th task
lifestyle change
Lifestyle and drinking or drug taking are so intertwined that the two change together but, in any event, it is a good idea to plan lifestyle change as early as possible as it can support change in substance use itself.
There are two elements to lifestyle change – a change in daily routine and the introduction of nice things to do that are incompatible with drinking or drug use. Daily routines may have been taken over by the desire to procure and drink alcohol or take drugs.
6th task
mutual aid support
Mutual aid is where groups of people come together to support each other on a voluntary basis with the aim of helping to overcome a particular kind of problem. Notable for addiction are 12-step groups and SMART Recovery, but there are others too.
Mutual aid can also be about physical resources like food, clothing, or medicine, as well as services like breakfast programs or education. These groups are often built for the daily needs of their communities and not specific to addiction.
Here are some things to be mindful of before you start…
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If you get stuck ask yourself…
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be?
How am I going to get there?
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SMART stands for
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time bound.
There will be lots of times throughout this process to make SMART plans.
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Aim
Be creative in finding possible solutions to a problem
Choose a realistic solution likely to be implemented
To do
Clearly define the problem (rather than ‘I don’t have enough money’, make it specific such as ‘I need to find £X a week to pay off my credit card bill’)
Think of as many solutions to the problem as you can
Look at the advantages & disadvantages of each solution
Choose the solution that works best
Plan and agree the steps to carry it out
Put the plan into action
Review the outcome (Was it successful? Did we achieve the goal? What did we learn?)
Outcome
Have a selection of possible solutions to the problem
Agree a plan to implement the best solution
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Along your six steps journey you will collect emails to save, things to write down and other useful bits of information.
It is a really good idea to have a journal - you can have a notebook or use your phone or computer.
For each of the tasks you will read about how to do it and then create your own action plan which you will be able to email to yourself and save. We hope you find this useful.
Remember that a plan is only useful if you then action it - see if it works and keep on repeating the actions until you are sure you have mastered it.
more tasks for recovery…
