| Course | NU675 PMHNP Diagnosis and Management Across the Lifespan II |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Relapse prevention plan |
| Length | About 900 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU675 Unit 6
It Started With Sixty-Hour Weeks, Not a Drink: A Relapse Prevention Plan of Six Warning Signs and Six Responses for a Sheet Metal Worker Eleven Months Abstinent on Acamprosate
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU675: PMHNP Diagnosis and Management Across the Lifespan II
Unit 6 Relapse Prevention Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The patient is composite; dates, doses and details are bracketed.
The Patient
Mr. [K.] is a [49]-year-old sheet metal worker with alcohol use disorder, severe, now in early remission. He has been abstinent for [eleven] months since a residential program, takes acamprosate [666] mg three times daily, and attends a peer support meeting every Thursday evening. He lives with his wife and teenage son. He had two earlier periods of abstinence, of [seven] months and [fourteen] months, each ending in relapse.
Acamprosate is one of the medications with the best support for preventing a return to drinking; in a systematic review, the number needed to treat to prevent one return to any drinking was about [12] (Jonas et al., 2014). He tolerates it well and takes it consistently. Medication supports the plan, but his history shows that relapses began weeks before the first drink.
What His Last Relapse Looked Like
Working through the fourteen months before his last relapse with him and his wife, the sequence was:
1. A big contract at work led to [60]-hour weeks for a month.
2. He skipped his Thursday meeting "just this once," then three times.
3. He stopped calling his sponsor.
4. He slept poorly and felt irritable at home.
5. He began stopping at the gas station near the bar on his way home "for coffee."
6. After an argument with his son, he drank.
This fits the view of relapse as a process rather than an event, in which a chain of seemingly minor decisions and high-risk situations, often with stress and reduced coping, precedes the first use (Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004). His relapse had six links before it reached a glass, and each link is a place where the chain can be broken.
Six Warning Signs and Six Responses
1. Warning sign: a second straight week of more than [50] hours at work.
Response: he tells his supervisor he cannot take more overtime for the next week, and he tells his wife that night. Who notices: his wife, who tracks his schedule on the family calendar.
2. Warning sign: missing a Thursday meeting.
Response: he calls his sponsor the same night and attends an online meeting before Sunday. Who notices: his sponsor.
3. Warning sign: not calling his sponsor for a week.
Response: his sponsor calls him; he has agreed to answer. Who notices: his sponsor.
4. Warning sign: sleeping less than [six] hours for three nights, or snapping at his son.
Response: he raises it at his next clinic visit or calls sooner; sleep and stress are reviewed. Who notices: his wife.
5. Warning sign: driving past the bar or stopping near it.
Response: he changes his route home to the one that passes the park, which he has already mapped. Who notices: himself, recorded in a brief daily check-in on his phone.
6. Warning sign: an argument at home followed by leaving the house.
Response: he goes to the gym near his house instead, which he did twice last year to good effect, and texts his sponsor. Who notices: himself and his wife.
Skills to Practice Now
Recognizing a warning sign is only useful if he can respond when he is stressed. In a trial of adults in aftercare, both standard relapse prevention and mindfulness-based relapse prevention reduced relapse compared with usual care, and at twelve months the mindfulness group reported fewer heavy drinking days (Bowen et al., 2014). He has agreed to a [ten]-minute breathing practice on work breaks and to rehearse, with his counselor, how he will say no to overtime.
Why the Plan Is Written With His Family
His wife and son each saw earlier signs of the last relapse before he did. His wife noticed the long hours and the missed meetings; his son noticed the irritability and later said he had stopped bringing friends home. Neither said anything at the time, because they did not know what they were watching for or what they were allowed to say. Writing the warning signs down with them, and agreeing in advance how each will raise a concern, turns their observations into part of the plan. Mr. [K.] chose the words he wants to hear: "I'm noticing the hours again," rather than questions about drinking, which he said would make him defensive. His son asked to be included in the plan review every three months, and his father agreed. The family has also been given the number of a family support group that meets on the same Thursday evenings.
If He Drinks
The plan also covers a lapse, because treating a single drink as proof of total failure makes a full relapse more likely. If he drinks, he calls his sponsor or the clinic within [24] hours, continues acamprosate, and returns to the meeting that week. His wife and son know this plan, so a lapse is met with a plan rather than a crisis.
Review
The plan is reviewed at each monthly visit and after any warning sign has occurred, to check whether the responses worked and to change those that did not.
References
Bowen, S., Witkiewitz, K., Clifasefi, S. L., Grow, J., Chawla, N., Hsu, S. H., Carroll, H. A., Harrop, E., Collins, S. E., Lustyk, M. K., & Larimer, M. E. (2014). Relative efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention, standard relapse prevention, and treatment as usual for substance use disorders: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(5), 547-556. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4546
Jonas, D. E., Amick, H. R., Feltner, C., Bobashev, G., Thomas, K., Wines, R., Kim, M. M., Shanahan, E., Gass, C. E., Rowe, C. J., & Garbutt, J. C. (2014). Pharmacotherapy for adults with alcohol use disorders in outpatient settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 311(18), 1889-1900. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.3628
Witkiewitz, K., & Marlatt, G. A. (2004). Relapse prevention for alcohol and drug problems: That was Zen, this is Tao. American Psychologist, 59(4), 224-235. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.4.224
NU675 Unit 6 instructions, in plain terms
For Unit 6 you write a relapse prevention plan for a patient in early remission from a substance use disorder. Prompts usually ask for the patient's history, the medication and psychosocial supports in place, a set of personal warning signs, a response for each, the skills the patient will practice, and what happens after a lapse. Three to five pages is the usual length for this plan. Faculty reward plans built from the patient's own past relapses rather than generic lists, and plans that name who will notice each sign. Including family, with the patient's consent, and a clear response to a single drink shows an understanding of relapse as a process rather than a single event.
How the NU 675 Unit 6 example is put together
The plan opens with his diagnosis, his abstinence, acamprosate with the Jonas number needed to treat, and his Thursday meeting. A section reconstructs his last relapse as six steps from long hours to a drink, cites Witkiewitz and Marlatt on relapse as a process, and includes a highlighted sentence on breaking the chain. Six warning signs follow, each with a response and a person who notices. A skills section cites the Bowen trial of mindfulness-based relapse prevention and names two practices. A section explains why the plan was written with his wife and son, and the plan ends with steps after a lapse and a review schedule.
Reading the NU675 Unit 6 grading rubric
Relapse prevention plans are usually graded on personalization, the link between warning signs and responses, use of evidence, involvement of supports and planning for lapses. Personalization earns full points when the warning signs come from the patient's own history. The link row rewards responses that are specific, realistic and chosen by the patient. Evidence points go to medication and psychosocial studies applied to the plan rather than listed. Supports are judged on whether family or peers have defined roles, with consent recorded. Lapse planning earns credit for treating a single drink as an event with its own steps rather than a failure that ends the plan or ends treatment.
Common NU675 Unit 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent weakness is a list of generic triggers, such as stress and parties, that could belong to anyone. Another is naming warning signs without saying what the patient will do when one appears. Students often rely on the patient to notice every sign, when his last relapse shows he could not. Some plans ignore medication adherence or treat it as the whole plan. Others say nothing about what happens after a drink, which leaves room for the all-or-nothing thinking that turns a lapse into a relapse. And family members who are left out cannot help, however much they want to. Rehearse each response with him before he needs it.
Get an NU675 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Relapse prevention plans need the person's history, so send whatever your NU675 Unit 6 case says about past relapses, current treatment and supports, together with the rubric. Your first custom plan comes free within 24-48h, its signs drawn from that history, each with a scaled response and a named watcher. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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NU675 Unit 6 questions, answered
Where do the warning signs in a relapse prevention plan come from?
From the person's own history wherever the case allows. Ask what happened in the weeks before past relapses and list those changes in their words. General signs such as stress or cravings can appear, but they carry little weight unless tied to how they showed up for this individual, and graders notice the difference immediately.
Should the plan say what happens after a single drink?
Yes. Defining any drink as a lapse with its own steps prevents the all-or-nothing thinking that often turns one slip into a full relapse. Say who is told, how quickly, what changes in treatment are considered and when the next visit happens. A plan that is silent about lapses leaves the patient without guidance at the riskiest moment.
Can family members hold a copy of the plan?
With the patient's consent, and the plan should record it. Family and peer supporters tend to notice early signs before the patient does, which is exactly why they are useful. Specify which signs each person watches and what they do when they see one, so the arrangement supports the patient rather than turning into surveillance.
Where can I find a free NU675 Unit 6 sample paper?
This page holds the full NU675 Unit 6 relapse prevention plan, with his last relapse as six steps, six warning signs with responses and watchers, skills to practice, the family's role and the lapse plan, plus three references. Bring your own patient's relapse history and a plan can follow the same pattern.
How effective is acamprosate in NU675 Unit 6?
A systematic review of outpatient treatment found that about 12 people need to take acamprosate to prevent one return to any drinking. It supports the plan but does not replace it, since his relapses began weeks before the first drink.