An App for Recovery

People are always looking for ways to help them in their recovery process and to keep them from relapsing. For savvy iPhone users, there are even apps that help in the process of recovering from drug or alcohol addiction.

We know that working in groups during recovery is a good way to prevent relapse. That’s why support groups work so well – they help a person draw from the strength of the group and be held responsible to them. Sponsors are often assigned to new members in these groups, so that when someone is feeling weak, they can get help from someone who understands and who will hold them accountable.

Analyzing Thoughts and Actions

The iPhone apps work in much the same way. They are designed to keep an eye on a person, to hold them accountable for their actions, and to help them avoid relapse. Some of the apps are free or offered at low cost, and have been available for a year or two now. One app, the Step 4 Moral Inventory, helps a person track their decisions and the internal struggle they are going through. It tries to help people understand why they make the decisions they do, and make alternate choices if necessary in the future.

Virtual Support Community

The iPromises app, developed in 2010, helps users create a virtual support community. People can track their accomplishments, help determine triggers, and share with friends in recovery. The app makes it easy to contact a person’s sponsor. In just the first 9 months after its release, the app reached 10,000 downloads. “We are thrilled that this free app has been so helpful to the recovery community,” said David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers and its parent company, Elements Behavioral Health. “Helping people avoid relapse has always been a top priority for Promises. Particularly around the holidays, when stress runs high, we hope the recovery community finds the iPromises app to be an effective relapse prevention tool.” (1)

Real Treatment is Still the Best

While the apps can be tools to help a person track their progress in recovery, they should never be substitutes for real treatment. One of the apps even proudly claims that they can help anyone, at only a fraction of the cost for a single visit to a therapist. Answering questions on an iPhone or typing in data cannot compare to the benefit of a real, live person, who hears all the details and responds with guidance and support.

When used in combination with a treatment program or support groups, these kinds of apps can prove to be helpful. We can expect treatment providers to promote some of these apps that are meant to be companions to treatment. Some have already seen benefits to doing so. One user wrote, “I can’t think of a better way to share meetings with my sponsees and give them a quick way to contact me if they are in crisis.”