Relapse prevention that trains the nervous system, not just the narrative
A craving isn’t a thought — it’s a nervous system event: racing heart, flooded thinking, a pull that feels impossible to out-think. That’s static. Dialled In is the trained alternative: a nervous system a person can read and adjust in real time, on purpose, before the static wins.
Why stress is the relapse problem
Relapse rates for substance use disorders run 40–60% within the first year of treatment — comparable to relapse rates for other chronic conditions such as hypertension and asthma. Stress cues (people, places, moods) are consistently identified as the most common relapse trigger, and NIDA research shows stress increases sensitisation to those triggers over time.
Risk peaks in the first 90 days of recovery specifically because that is when physiological sensitivity to stress is most intense — the exact window in which most facilities have the least ongoing contact with a client.
Sources: NIDA — Treatment and Recovery.
Recent research confirms stress as the dominant driver
This is not dated theory. A Scripps Research study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024) found that people who have recovered from alcohol or opioid addiction can relapse years later, and that relapse is specifically more likely during periods of high stress. The team traced this to a distinct brain region and signalling pathway governing stress-induced relapse — separate from the pathways involved in cue- or craving-triggered relapse.
A 2026 review in Frontiers in Psychology reaches the same conclusion from a different angle: stress hormones strongly predict cue- and context-induced craving, relapse risk and treatment failure across substances. Stress reactivity is one of the few relapse predictors that holds regardless of which drug a person is recovering from. That is precisely the variable Dialled In is built to measure and train.
Sources: Scripps Research — brain region involved in oxycodone relapse; Frontiers in Psychology.
The evidence for biofeedback specifically
This has now been tested directly. A randomised clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry (2025) gave 115 adults in early substance use disorder treatment a wearable heart rate variability biofeedback patch alongside standard care. Over eight weeks, participants using HRV biofeedback showed significantly reduced craving and negative affect, and a 64% reduction in alcohol and drug use days compared with treatment as usual alone.
Earlier trials point the same way. Men with methamphetamine use disorder receiving HRV biofeedback showed significantly greater reductions in craving, dependence severity and positive urine tests than controls, with gains still present at four-week follow-up. A one-year follow-up study in alcohol-dependent patients found short-term HRV biofeedback was associated with improved long-term abstinence. Across studies, consistent daily practice was associated with stronger craving reduction — which is the case for building Dialled In as an ongoing program rather than a single session.
Sources: Cardiology Advisor; HRV biofeedback for methamphetamine use disorder; HRV biofeedback and long-term abstinence.
Program structure
- A baseline biofeedback assessment of individual stress and craving reactivity on intake, separate from clinical intake so it carries no treatment-record stigma
- Real-time biofeedback training on a standing schedule through treatment, not only after a craving or crisis
- Take-home technology (HeartMath / eSense Mindfield) so the skill is available in the moment — including after discharge, during the highest-risk first 90 days
- A module addressing the heightened stress sensitivity specific to early recovery
- A neuroplasticity component to sustain the skill beyond program completion
Dialled In is designed to be delivered by your in-house counselling staff as another tool in the program’s recovery arsenal. Trained facilitators are recertified every 12 months to ensure program quality.
Dialled In — frequently asked
Does this replace our existing treatment program?
No. Dialled In is designed to sit inside an existing program as an additional tool, delivered by your own counselling staff. It adds a trained physiological skill alongside the clinical and talk-based work you already do.
Do clients need equipment after discharge?
Take-home technology is part of the design, because the highest-risk window is the first 90 days after treatment — precisely when facility contact drops off. HeartMath and eSense Mindfield devices are consumer-scale and can be provided as part of the program.
How are our staff trained to deliver it?
IPS trains your in-house counselling staff as facilitators. Facilitators are recertified every 12 months to guarantee consistency and program quality.
Is the baseline assessment part of a client’s clinical record?
No, and that is deliberate. It sits separate from clinical and diagnostic intake so that participation carries no treatment-record stigma.
Same method, different pressure
Twenty minutes to see whether this fits.
Video consultations are available to discuss any of the six programs, how one might be tailored to your organisation, and the train-the-trainer pathway that lets your own staff deliver it on an ongoing basis.
Bookings require a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. Enquiries concern training programs for organisations — this is not a clinical appointment; for individual consultations please contact the practice directly.