The recovery protection cognitive behavioural cycle: a recovery-oriented complementary approach to relapse prevention

Background Relapse prevention theory (RPT) has been central to understanding sustained remission from substance use disorder, conceptualizing relapse as a cognitive behavioral process influenced by situational risk, coping responses, and self-efficacy. Contemporary recovery-oriented approaches, however, emphasize strengths, agency, and wellbeing, creating a gap between risk-focused relapse models and recovery-oriented systems of care.Methods This paper presents a conceptual analysis integrating RPT, recovery-oriented systems, and evidence from recovery capital, identity transformation, behavior change, attentional bias, and positive psychology. From these domains, a novel framework, the Recovery Protection Cognitive Behavioral Cycle (RPCBC), is developed to extend existing models.Results The RPCBC conceptualizes recovery as a dynamic, self-reinforcing cognitive behavioral process emerging from an individual’s recovery ecology. Recovery supportive environments are proposed to guide attention toward recovery-congruent cues, supporting identity consolidation, adaptive behavioral engagement, and positive appraisal. These processes strengthen a generative cognitive orientation over time. Conversely, attention to incongruent cues may contribute to identity discordance, behavioral reversion, recovery insecurity, and rumination linked to relapse vulnerability.Conclusions The RPCBC extends RPT by shifting focus from managing breakdown to strengthening recovery processes, with implications for clinical formulation, intervention design, and future research.