Think about this: would an adult’s continuing care plan for recovery include returning to his or her favorite bar five days a week for six hours a day? If so, what are the chances that this adult would remain abstinent?
In essence, this is what is being asked of students in recovery when they return to their previous academic settings. For some students, their previous academic settings are their “bars.”
With funding from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIATx and its research partner, the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, are developing and testing a mobile phone-based relapse prevention system that is currently being tested in a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Named Addiction CHESS (ACHESS), the system will be delivered through a smart-phone and will focus on providing information and resources to alcohol-dependent patients leaving residential care. Using the latest communications technology holds great potential to support people in recovery, particularly for young people who have come to rely on the internet and cell phones for information, entertainment, and social support.
