Wegweiser Addiction · Help & Rights Deutsch

🔄 Relapse and aftercare

In addiction, relapse is not an exception but part of many illness courses. What is legally and practically possible afterwards.

relapse aftercare Adaption Curriculum Hannover G0101

In brief

A relapse after withdrawal or rehab does not automatically mean that all previous efforts were in vain. Professionally, addiction is regarded as a chronic relapsing (relapse-prone) illness; what matters is how you deal with it afterwards, not the sheer number of relapses.

Aftercare – for example outpatient group programmes of the pension insurance, adaptation facilities or self-help groups – is meant to stabilise the progress made. If an ongoing rehab is broken off, under certain conditions an application to continue can be made.

Step by step

  1. Get in touch straight after a relapseInform the addiction advice centre, your treating doctor or the rehab facility instead of withdrawing.
  2. Discuss the causesClarify together what led to the relapse and whether the previous treatment/aftercare needs to be adjusted.
  3. If rehab was broken off: check continuationIf an ongoing rehab is broken off, an application to continue can be made within certain deadlines (form G0101 at the DRV).
  4. Use aftercare/self-helpOutpatient rehab aftercare of the pension insurance, adaptation facilities or self-help groups for further stabilisation.

Deadlines

4 weeks
Period within which, after a rehab has been broken off, an application can be made to continue the interrupted benefit (form G0101).DRV form procedure G0101
4 years
General waiting period for another rehab of the same kind – with an exception if another rehab is urgently necessary for health reasons, for example after a relapse.§ 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI
no automatism
A relapse does not automatically lead to termination or discharge from ongoing treatment – the response depends on the medical-therapeutic assessment in the individual case.Practice of rehab facilities, no fixed statutory rule
Watch out – common mistakes
  • A relapse is not an automatic reason to exclude you from further help – do not conceal it from the advice centre or those treating you out of shame.
  • The 4-year waiting period for another rehab (§ 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI) has an exception for urgent health necessity – but this must be justified by a doctor; it does not apply automatically.
  • The often-cited aftercare programme "Curriculum Hannover" is originally documented mainly for psychosomatic indications; whether it is also designated, one-to-one identically, as an addiction aftercare programme of the DRV has not been conclusively verified.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Relapse as part of the course of illness

In professional practice, a disciplinary response to a relapse alone is regarded as not very helpful; what is decisive is the medical-therapeutic assessment in the individual case. Breaking off rehab does not automatically mean that no further help is possible.

Continuation after breaking off

If a rehab measure is broken off, an application to continue an interrupted medical rehabilitation benefit (form G0101) can be made to the DRV within 4 weeks. The 4-year waiting period of § 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI applies only if a rehab was actually carried out beforehand – with an exception for urgent health necessity, for example after a serious relapse.

Forms of aftercare

After inpatient or full-day outpatient rehab, the pension insurance offers structured outpatient aftercare (often as a group programme over several months). An adaptation facility can serve as an intermediate step between inpatient addiction treatment and independent everyday life. The Fachverband Sucht+ e.V. and the DHS (including via nachderreha.de) offer further information and also point to self-help groups as a lasting form of aftercare.

Uncertain/not conclusively clarified

Whether, and in what exact addiction-specific form, the DRV aftercare programme "Curriculum Hannover" is used nationwide in a uniform way for addiction aftercare could not be conclusively verified.

Who is responsible
  • Deutsche Rentenversicherung (aftercare, application to continue G0101)
  • Addiction advice centre
  • Adaptation facility or rehab clinic
Further reading
Rehabilitation / addiction treatmentSelf-help groupsFinding addiction counselling

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Relapse and aftercare“?
In addiction, relapse is not an exception but part of many illness courses. What is legally and practically possible afterwards.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
  • 4 weeks: Period within which, after a rehab has been broken off, an application can be made to continue the interrupted benefit (form G0101). (DRV form procedure G0101)
  • 4 years: General waiting period for another rehab of the same kind – with an exception if another rehab is urgently necessary for health reasons, for example after a relapse. (§ 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI)
  • no automatism: A relapse does not automatically lead to termination or discharge from ongoing treatment – the response depends on the medical-therapeutic assessment in the individual case. (Practice of rehab facilities, no fixed statutory rule)
What should I do first?
  • Get in touch straight after a relapse: Inform the addiction advice centre, your treating doctor or the rehab facility instead of withdrawing.
  • Discuss the causes: Clarify together what led to the relapse and whether the previous treatment/aftercare needs to be adjusted.
  • If rehab was broken off: check continuation: If an ongoing rehab is broken off, an application to continue can be made within certain deadlines (form G0101 at the DRV).
What do I need to watch out for?
  • A relapse is not an automatic reason to exclude you from further help – do not conceal it from the advice centre or those treating you out of shame.
  • The 4-year waiting period for another rehab (§ 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI) has an exception for urgent health necessity – but this must be justified by a doctor; it does not apply automatically.
  • The often-cited aftercare programme "Curriculum Hannover" is originally documented mainly for psychosomatic indications; whether it is also designated, one-to-one identically, as an addiction aftercare programme of the DRV has not been conclusively verified.
Evidence
  • § 12 Abs. 2 SGB VI (gesetze-im-internet.de)
  • DRV, Rahmenkonzept Adaption, 27 March 2019
  • DRV form G0101
  • Fachverband Sucht+ e.V. (sucht.de); DHS, nachderreha.de
As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

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