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Cravings & Choice Points / GRP391

When a Strategy Does Not Fit — Shared Pattern Map

Revise a coping plan after an option is neutral, unpleasant, or unavailable.

25 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

A suggested grounding exercise increases discomfort for a fictional member.

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

A suggested grounding exercise increases discomfort for a fictional member. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.

Practice: Mapping — 11 minutes

Revise a coping plan after an option is neutral, unpleasant, or unavailable. Each person privately maps the fictional case. Offer optional contributions to a shared map, then compare where context, access, and support change the picture. Do not interpret another person's map.

Reflect and compare — 4 minutes

What alternative honors that information? 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 map with at least two possible support or choice points.

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.