BackHome: digital relapse prevention after residential treatment
12 June 2026
BackHome is a browser-based training tool built on evidence-based methods, helping adults sustain a drug-free life after residential treatment. See what we've built — and why privacy is designed in from the ground up.
The first weeks back home after residential treatment are often the most fragile. The structure of the treatment facility is gone, everyday life returns with all its triggers — the old friend, the family party, payday, the sleepless nights — and the risk of relapse peaks right here. BackHome is a browser-based training tool we built for precisely this transition: relapse prevention you can practise in a safe space, before the situation arises in real life.
What is BackHome?
BackHome is a browser-based game for relapse prevention, made for adults returning home after residential treatment for substance use. Rather than reading about coping strategies, the user practises them — through realistic scenarios and short exercises that build up a personal toolbox over time. It runs in an ordinary browser, in both Danish and English, with no app to install.
BackHome is a training tool and does not replace treatment. A crisis button with Danish helplines is visible on every page.
How it works
At the core are 12 branching scenarios — real high-risk situations with 16–25 choices and three different endings. Along the way, each choice affects four measures: stress, confidence, connection and risk. That makes the consequences concrete without moralising.
Around the scenarios sit:
- Four mini-games that train specific skills: urge surfing and breathing, trigger recognition, saying no, and catching thinking traps (cognitive behavioural therapy in practice).
- A daily check-in covering mood, cravings and HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired), which drives personalised suggestions.
- A toolbox of 14 concrete coping tools, unlocked through play.
- An encrypted personal emergency plan that users fill in themselves and can pull up in a difficult moment.
Progress is rewarded with XP, levels and badges — in dignified, recovery-positive language, not as a commercial points chase.
A game that never punishes a relapse
The guiding design principle: BackHome never punishes a relapse. There are no streaks to reset and no clean/dirty framing. A setback in the game always ends with a concrete, hopeful next step, and users who have been away for a while are welcomed back with a comeback badge — not shame. That reflects how relapse prevention actually works: a relapse is data, not failure.
Built on established methods
The content draws on established, evidence-based approaches to relapse prevention — Marlatt and Gordon's relapse prevention model, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI). It is the methods behind the content that are evidence-based; BackHome is a supplement to treatment and aftercare, not a replacement, and we make no claims about clinical outcomes.
Privacy designed in from the ground up
Check-ins about cravings and mood are health data (GDPR Article 9), and that has shaped the entire architecture:
- Pseudonymous accounts — username and password. No civil registration numbers, no real names. Email is optional and used only for password resets.
- Explicit consent at sign-up, with the time of consent recorded.
- Full data export and genuine deletion of everything under settings (Articles 20 and 17).
- An encrypted emergency plan, Argon2-hashed passwords, EU hosting and no trackers or analytics whatsoever.
For a treatment facility, this means a digital tool can be offered without moving residents' sensitive data out to third parties.
Relevant for treatment facilities, residential services and aftercare
BackHome is built for the transition between residential treatment and everyday life — exactly where aftercare is often thinnest. For addiction treatment, residential facilities and social psychiatry, it can serve as a structured supplement between sessions: something residents can practise on their own, keeping coping strategies alive when contact is least frequent.
Frequently asked questions
Is BackHome a treatment? No. It is a training tool for relapse prevention and a supplement to treatment and aftercare — not a replacement. A crisis button with Danish helplines is always visible.
Who is it for? Adults returning home after residential treatment for substance use, and the professionals around them working in aftercare.
How do you protect sensitive data? Accounts are pseudonymous with no civil registration numbers or real names, health data requires explicit consent, everything can be exported and deleted, and there are no trackers. The solution is built for EU hosting.
Does it cost anything to install? No. BackHome runs directly in the browser in Danish and English — no app installation.
Want to see BackHome? Try it at backhome.dk — or write to us at info@indee.dk if you work in addiction treatment or aftercare and would like to hear how it could complement your work.