Relapse and Recycling: The Function of Failure in Successful Behavior Change

Course overview

This presentation will discuss the difficulties of defining relapse and how different models address this failure to sustain behavior change. Literature on failure and how failure is a critical component of learning how to be successful and sustain change will be presented. Finally, ways to avoid the stigma of relapse and how to incorporate ways of addressing reoccurrence of a behavior after an attempt to change and aid in promoting successful recovery will be discussed. Description: Some individuals may be able to start, stop, or modify a behavior the first time they try. However, most make multiple attempts. Relapse is often used to label someone who has tried and not succeeded. This workshop will examine the reality and function of relapse in the process of successful behavior change and attempt to change the behavior change conversations from relapse to recycling on the road to successful change. Participants will be asked to examine their strategies for preventing behavior change failures. We will explore how blame, shame, and a sense of failure interfere with successful behavior change and offer thoughts and strategies on how to address more effectively the reality of reoccurrence and failure to sustain change.