Values-Based Engagement & Relapse-Prevention Plan: A Free Integration Worksheet for Craving
Behavioural Addiction · ACT · Practice-informed
A four-step integration plan — Regulate, Defuse, Soothe, Engage — that brings a whole craving-regulation protocol together into one portable relapse-prevention plan, with a values check-in, one committed action for the week, a lapse-response sequence, and a booster-session tracker at 4 and 12 weeks.
Underlying mechanism: Integrated Values-Based Relapse Prevention
What it helps with
- Integrating four separate skills (breath regulation, ACT defusion, CFT self-compassion, schema-awareness) into a single sequence a client can actually follow under real trigger conditions.
- Anchoring the plan in the client's own values, so the committed action is owned rather than imposed.
- Giving a client an explicit, four-step lapse-response sequence, framing a lapse as data rather than a reason to abandon the plan.
- Building in booster-session planning at 4 and 12 weeks, since real-world adherence to breath practice and defusion exercises typically drops off without reinforcement.
How clinicians use it
- Build this collaboratively across the final two sessions of the protocol as the integration piece.
- Insist the committed action is written by the client in their own words — a plan handed down by the therapist will not hold under real craving.
- Walk through the lapse-response sequence explicitly in session, so it is familiar before it is ever needed.
- Schedule the two booster sessions at the point of finishing the core protocol, not as an afterthought.
Clinical Implementation Guide
- Build the four-step plan collaboratively across the final two sessions, once every earlier worksheet has been completed.
- Insist the committed action is written by the client in their own words, not handed down.
- Schedule both booster sessions (4 and 12 weeks) before the core protocol ends.
What the worksheet looks like
| Step | What I Do | My Cue to Start |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Regulate | Slow breathing, 5-6 breaths/min, for at least 2 minutes | First bodily urge signal |
| 2. Defuse | Name the thought, urge-surf, zoom out | Urge words appear |
| 3. Soothe | Three steadying questions if shame shows up | Self-critical voice starts |
| 4. Engage | One small, values-aligned action instead of, or alongside, the urge | After regulating and defusing |
Clinical cautions
This worksheet integrates skills taught across the full protocol and assumes the earlier worksheets have already been completed. It is not a standalone crisis plan. This tool is not a substitute for individual face-to-face therapy or for emergency crisis support. Anyone in immediate distress should contact their local emergency service or crisis line.
References
- Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Marlatt, G. A., & Gordon, J. R. (1985). Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors. Guilford Press.
Part of
Regulate to Choose
Related worksheets
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