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Cravings & Choice Points / GRP362

Attention without Trigger Exposure — Supported Practice Lab

Practice observing a neutral everyday urge and compare how attention shifts without introducing drug cues.

30 minutes · 3–12 people · Adults with trained group facilitation

Facilitator PDF · Fillable participant PDF · Open activity / add to session

UNDERSTAND THE IDEA

A cue, an urge, and an action are not the same event.

People, places, stress, and learned associations can cue craving. Mapping the sequence can reveal places for support or an environmental change. Noticing an urge does not guarantee that it will disappear, and a rising urge is not a failure of skill.

Facilitation lens: Use fictional or already-past examples. Do not provoke cravings, use substance props, or frame endurance as success. Keep access to the existing care plan visible.

Explore the conceptual background · Broad background, not validation of this original exercise.

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Fictional example

The example is the urge to check a phone during a task.

Open with choice — 3 minutes

Explain the purpose, privacy limits, and the option to observe, use fiction, adapt, or pass. Check access needs and group readiness; do not promise absolute confidentiality.

Meet the fictional case — 4 minutes

The example is the urge to check a phone during a task. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.

Practice: Skills rehearsal — 16 minutes

Practice observing a neutral everyday urge and compare how attention shifts without introducing drug cues. Offer speaker, support-listener, and observer roles using the fictional case. Model a brief permission-based exchange, rehearse one small part of the task, and invite a role switch only by choice. Observers notice clarity and consent rather than rating people.

Reflect and compare — 4 minutes

What can be learned without rehearsing substance use? Ask what fits, what does not, and what external conditions or supports affect the options. No personal disclosure is required.

Close and integrate — 3 minutes

Invite an optional observation, support request, or small next step. Passing is welcome. Agree how to revisit questions and seek appropriate help outside the exercise.

Practice output

A brief practiced statement, question, or support request, plus one revision.

Scope and adaptation

Use ordinary or fictional examples, not graphic substance-use stories or cue exposure. No competitive abstinence scoring, forced disclosure, or required pathway. These plans do not manage intoxication, overdose, withdrawal, or medication changes; follow individualized care and appropriate medical assessment.

Offer reading aloud, typing, drawing, pointing, or observation. Avoid mandatory movement, eye contact, touch, and body focus.

Original AI-assisted educational draft; independent clinical review pending.

Conceptual background

References inform broad principles and do not validate or endorse this original plan.