Responding to the risks associated with the relapse of recovering staff members within addiction services

Practitioners working within addiction services who are recovering from their own addiction issues contribute positively to the strength of service interventions, but their recovery also poses risks, particularly those associated with the possibility of relapse. Little has been published on this issue despite its significant impact on the relapsing practitioners, their clients and colleagues, and the services themselves. This "point-of-view" article divides the various impacts of a practitioner's relapse into four phases and examines how services might develop early and late response strategies. It argues that formal monitoring processes can assist in both preventing and responding to the harms associated with these relapses.