Interactive Crisis Response Plan

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Thrive Beyond Trauma Counseling · SA Version

Crisis Response Plan

For the person in recovery for sexual addiction (SA) — couple work and disclosure context.

This plan is designed to hold you through the arc of disclosure and the recovery work that follows. Disclosure is a high-acuity event — for you, for your partner, for the relationship. Shame, urges to act out, urges to disappear, urges to self-harm all become more active in this window. This plan names them, and lays out what you will do before acting on any of them.

This is a support tool. It does not replace emergency care. If you are in immediate danger of harming yourself or anyone else, call 911 or call or text 988.

Client Information

Practice nameProviderState of practice

Full nameDate of birthToday's dateTherapist / providerDisclosure phase / contexte.g. pre-disclosure, disclosure day, first 72 hours post-disclosure, first week post-disclosure, ongoing recovery

Phased Plan Around Disclosure

Each phase of the disclosure arc calls for different clinical attention. These are the practices I will use in each window.

Pre-disclosure

In the lead-up — the weeks or days before formal disclosure

Stay in contact with your sponsor and individual therapist — at minimum weekly, more often if activated.
Complete the disclosure preparation work in session — do not rehearse or stage-manage outside of clinical support.
Attend all scheduled meetings and group therapy — this is not the time to isolate.
Notice the urge to concoct, minimize, or rehearse a softer version — bring that urge to your therapist, not to your partner.
Sleep, eat, move — your body is part of the container.

Disclosure day

The day of the formal therapeutic disclosure session

Arrive regulated — no caffeine overload, no substances, no last-minute additions.
Follow the disclosure plan your therapist built with you — do not improvise.
After the session, do not press your partner for a response, forgiveness, or reconciliation.
Give your partner space. This is their session now, not yours.
Immediately after, connect with your sponsor or individual therapist to process — not with your partner.

First 24 hours

The acute window after disclosure

Stay in communication with your individual therapist and sponsor.
Respect whatever distance your partner needs — physical, emotional, or both.
Attend a meeting or support group within 24 hours.
Do not consume media, porn, screens, or any acting-out substitute — this is the most at-risk window.
If you feel the urge to act out, use, or self-harm, call a support contact before you act.

First 72 hours

The stabilization window

Daily contact with sponsor or individual therapist until stable.
Do not pressure your partner for reassurance, affirmation, or intimacy.
Hold the disclosure process — there may be follow-up questions in a structured setting with your therapist.
Continue meetings, group, recovery routine without interruption.
Notice any urge to 'fix' the relationship through gestures, gifts, or grand apologies — these are avoidance, not repair.

First week

The integration window

Weekly couples therapy if scheduled; individual therapy ongoing.
Return to the weekly check-in structure only when your therapist gives the green light.
Track urges, triggers, and acting-out fantasies in a recovery journal — bring this to your therapist, not your partner.
Expect your partner's symptoms to come in waves — nightmares, flashbacks, questions, anger, withdrawal. Do not take this as evidence that the work is not working.
Sustain the basics — sleep, food, movement, meetings, sobriety.

Ongoing recovery

Beyond the disclosure arc

Continue individual therapy, group, meetings, sponsor contact — this is the spine of recovery.
Honor the phasic disclosure contract signed in your weekly check-in rules — any slip or relapse is disclosed within the agreed window.
Re-engage with this crisis plan any time you notice rising acuity — do not wait for a crisis to use it.

III

My Grounding & Regulation Tools

When urges, shame, or suicidal thoughts rise, I will not sit in silence. I will use the tools below.

Body-based (first, before reasoning)

Cold water on face, ice in hands, cold shower — resets the nervous system.
Breathwork: long exhales, 4-7-8 breath, box breathing.
Walk briskly outside for 10–20 minutes — not to escape, to regulate.
Push-ups, burpees, or vigorous movement to discharge activation.

Cognitive (after the body is a little calmer)

Name the urge out loud: 'I am having an urge to act out / use / disappear / harm myself.'
Ask: 'What is the feeling under the urge? Shame? Rage? Grief? Fear?'
Remind yourself: the urge is information, not instruction.

Structural (when the urge is hot)

Call before acting — sponsor first, then individual therapist, then a trusted support.
Go to a meeting — in person if possible, online if not, immediately.
Open your recovery app, journal, or workbook and write for 10 minutes.
If the urge is for self-harm or suicide and you cannot reach a support, call or text 988, or call 911.

My Support Tree

Tiered contacts — I will call the closest tier first, and escalate if I cannot reach someone or if the acuity is rising.

Tier 1 — For acute urges (call before acting)

Sponsor

Phone / contact

Individual therapist (SA-focused, CSAT if possible)

Phone / contact

Tier 2 — For ongoing support

12-step group (SA / SAA / SLAA / SCA)

Contact

Group therapy

Contact

Couples therapist

Phone / contact

Trusted support person (not my partner)

Phone / contact

Tier 3 — For emergencies

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 — available 24/7
911 — immediate danger

Preferred emergency room / urgent care

Higher Level of Care

If, at any point, I or my treatment team assess that this plan is not holding — ongoing suicidal ideation, ongoing acting out, inability to maintain sobriety, severe destabilization — I am willing to move into a higher level of care. This may include intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalization (PHP), or a residential SA treatment program. Asking for more support is not failure. It is recovery doing what it is supposed to do.

I am willing to move into a higher level of care if this plan is not holding. I understand that intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalization (PHP), or a residential SA treatment program may be the right next step — and that asking for more support is recovery, not failure.

Emergency Resources

These are always available, regardless of this plan.

911 — if I or anyone else is in immediate danger.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (available 24/7).
Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741.
Emergency Room — nearest emergency room or urgent care (see Tier 3 above).

VII

Client Acknowledgment

Initial each line to confirm you understand and agree.

#	I acknowledge	Initial
1	I understand this plan is a support tool and does not replace emergency care.
2	I agree to tell my therapist, my sponsor, or my support team if my risk increases or if this plan is no longer holding.
3	I commit to honoring the phasic disclosure contract signed in my weekly check-in rules.
4	I will not use my partner as my primary safety container during acute crisis.

VIII

Signatures

Client signature

Draw your signature above

Date

Therapist / provider signature

Draw your signature above

Date

A copy of this signed plan is kept by the client, by the therapist, and (with the client's consent) may be shared with the partner for mutual transparency.

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