The Recovery Files · Workbooks
Relationships
Partners, boundaries and codependency in recovery
Addiction wears relationships down through secrecy, broken promises and being there without really being present. Recovery changes the people around you, not just you. These workbooks help you see what a healthy relationship looks like, set limits that protect your sobriety, and start repairing what was damaged.
Work through them on your own, with your partner, or with a counselor. Each one ends with an action plan you can use right away.
These workbooks support professional treatment and are not a substitute for it. In a crisis, call or text 988, or call SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357.
Start here
The basics: what healthy looks like, and the boundaries that protect it.
Healthy Relationships in Recovery
Reading, reflection and worksheet
What a healthy relationship looks like in recovery, the warning signs of one that isn't, and how boundaries, honest communication and trust fit together. It ends with reflection questions, activities and a personal action plan.
Inside: why relationships matter · signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships · boundaries · communication skills · rebuilding trust and intimacy · building a support network · reflection, activities and an action plan
20 pages
Building Healthy Boundaries in Recovery
Understanding, setting and maintaining the limits that protect your life
The five kinds of boundaries — physical, emotional, time, material and recovery — and a step-by-step way to set them, with words to use. It covers what gets in the way and how to keep a boundary once it's set.
Inside: what boundaries are · types of boundaries · how to set them · keeping them over time · common barriers · boundaries specific to recovery · the language of boundaries · reflection, activities and an action plan
23 pages
Partnership
For couples working on their relationship while one or both are in recovery.
Couples Communication Builder
For the partner in recovery and the supporting partner
A shared workbook for couples: communication agreements, a daily check-in, trust-building exercises and space to plan the future together. Work through it together or separately, in any order.
Inside: getting started · communication agreements · daily check-in · trust building · communication skills · navigating recovery together · growing together · journal prompts
14 pages
Couples Therapy in Recovery
A reading, self-assessment and planning worksheet for couples
Why couples therapy is different when addiction is involved, whether your sobriety is ready for it, and how to find the right therapist. It compares six approaches, including Emotionally Focused Therapy and the Gottman method.
Inside: an introductory reading · sobriety foundation · trust rebuilding · emotional literacy · what your relationship needs · finding a therapist · therapy approaches · goal setting
29 pages
Patterns
When caring for others turns into losing yourself.
Understanding Codependency
Breaking free from patterns that hold you back
What codependency is, where it comes from, and how it ties into addiction for the person using and the people close to them. It moves toward healthy interdependence with boundary practice, self-care planning and an action plan.
Inside: what codependency is · its signs · where it comes from · the codependency-addiction connection · addressing it in recovery · from codependency to interdependence · boundary practice, self-care planning and an action plan
18 pages
Looking for more? Sobriety & Resilience has longer workbooks on relationships, friendships and family after early recovery, and the Boundaries page has a separate guide to setting limits.
Sobriety & Resilience → · Boundaries → · Back to the Toolkit · Back to the top ↑