Free AddictionHelp Resource Library
Choose a guide, worksheet or starter pack for the next step you want to take. All 57 resources are free to read or download, with no email or account required.
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Getting started and asking for help
Prepare for the First Appointment
You can bring short notes rather than finding the perfect way to explain everything. Keep sensitive information on your own device or paper, and share it with the people you choose.
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Download Prepare for the First Appointment (PDF) · Read onlineHow to Ask for Help When You Do Not Know What to Say
You can ask for help without explaining everything at once. Choose the kind of response you want today: listening, a practical favor, or help finding care.
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Download How to Ask for Help When You Do Not Know What to Say (PDF) · Read onlineWhat Kind of Help Am I Looking For?
Start with the question you want answered, not a treatment label you think you should already know. More than one kind of support may be useful.
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Download What Kind of Help Am I Looking For? (PDF) · Read onlineDependence, Tolerance and Addiction Explained
Needing a medicine, noticing that it works differently, or feeling unwell after a missed dose can be frightening. These experiences deserve a careful conversation. The terms below describe different things and help you explain what has happened.
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Download Dependence, Tolerance and Addiction Explained (PDF) · Read onlineMy Reasons for Making a Change
This is space to explore what matters to you. You do not have to produce a perfect reason, a diagnosis, or a promise about the future.
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Download My Reasons for Making a Change (PDF) · Read onlineAddiction Terms in Plain English
Use this short glossary during an appointment or while comparing treatment. If someone uses an unfamiliar term, ask what it means for your care and what happens next.
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Download Addiction Terms in Plain English (PDF) · Read onlineBefore You Call a Treatment Provider
Have somewhere to write the answers. If a trusted person is helping, decide what you want them to ask or share.
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Download Before You Call a Treatment Provider (PDF) · Read onlineIf a Treatment Option Does Not Fit
A full program, an unaffordable estimate or a schedule that does not fit can leave you unsure what to do. Use the answer you received to prepare a more specific next question.
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Download If a Treatment Option Does Not Fit (PDF) · Read online
Choosing and preparing for treatment
Finding Treatment Starter Pack
Prepare your first call, compare the answers from providers, and organize the next step toward care.
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Download Finding Treatment Starter Pack (PDF) · Read onlineCompare What Programs Can Offer
Record the actual answer, not just “yes.” Ask how the program will address the needs identified in your assessment. An unanswered box stays unconfirmed. Keep brief notes here; use the Additional Treatment Notes sheet for longer answers.
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Download Compare What Programs Can Offer (PDF) · Read onlineMedical Detox Admission and Next-Step Checklist
Use this guide while arranging withdrawal care and the treatment that follows. The checklist organizes a clinical handoff; it does not tell you how to detox at home or choose your own level of care.
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Download Medical Detox Admission and Next-Step Checklist (PDF) · Read onlineWhat Different Levels of Addiction Care Involve
The right setting depends on the care and support you need, not on whether you have “tried hard enough.” Use these descriptions to understand a recommendation and ask how treatment would fit your life.
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Download What Different Levels of Addiction Care Involve (PDF) · Read onlineMy Outpatient Treatment Week
Build this week around the appointments you have actually confirmed. Include the time and arrangements needed to get there, not only the visit itself.
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Download My Outpatient Treatment Week (PDF) · Read onlinePreparing to Enter Residential Treatment
Use the program’s current admission instructions as your packing list. This organizer helps you ask what applies to you and keep practical arrangements together.
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Download Preparing to Enter Residential Treatment (PDF) · Read onlineQuestions About a Typical Treatment Day
Ask the program you are considering to walk you through an actual day. A list of activities is only useful if you understand who provides them, how often they happen and what changes for your needs.
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Download Questions About a Typical Treatment Day (PDF) · Read onlineMy Discharge and Follow-Up Plan
Work through this handoff with the care team before leaving. Keep their medication list and discharge instructions together with this plan. Mark an arrangement confirmed only when you have enough detail to use it.
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Download My Discharge and Follow-Up Plan (PDF) · Read onlineCheck a Treatment Program’s Claims
Before choosing a program, check who provides the care, which services you would receive, and who can verify the answers. Use the same questions for each option. A reassuring logo is a starting point for a check, not the whole check.
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Download Check a Treatment Program’s Claims (PDF) · Read onlineTelehealth Treatment: Before the First Visit
Confirm the visit arrangements with your provider before you rely on a phone or video appointment. Keep the joining instructions and a backup contact where you can reach them.
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Download Telehealth Treatment: Before the First Visit (PDF) · Read onlineChoosing Care After a Previous Treatment Attempt
Use what you learned from previous care to prepare this conversation. You can describe what helped and what did not without treating the earlier experience as a verdict on you.
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Download Choosing Care After a Previous Treatment Attempt (PDF) · Read online
Costs, insurance and practical arrangements
Paying for Treatment Organizer
Compare estimates, keep insurance answers organized, and turn unknown costs into specific questions.
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Download Paying for Treatment Organizer (PDF) · Read onlineStart With the Same Cost Question
You do not need every answer before making the first call. Start by finding out what the quote covers, what period it covers, and what still needs to be confirmed.
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Download Start With the Same Cost Question (PDF) · Read onlineYour Insurance Call Notes
Use the contact number on your insurance card or your plan’s official website. Have the program and clinician details available. Keep answers about each provider separate.
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Download Your Insurance Call Notes (PDF) · Read onlineAsk About Payment Options
If you do not have insurance, or the expected cost is more than you can manage, ask the program about financial assistance and other places to seek help.
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Download Ask About Payment Options (PDF) · Read onlineCompare Two Treatment Estimates
Use the same period and list the same services for both options. Ask for a written estimate. Complete only the rows that apply; put “unconfirmed” in any unanswered box. Use the Additional Treatment-Cost Notes sheet for longer answers.
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Download Compare Two Treatment Estimates (PDF) · Read onlineA Denial or Unexpected Bill: What to Do Next
A denial or bill can feel like the end of your options. Start by identifying exactly what was denied or charged, who issued it, and the next deadline. Keep copies so you do not have to retell the whole story on every call.
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Download A Denial or Unexpected Bill: What to Do Next (PDF) · Read onlineWork Leave and Addiction Treatment
Planning treatment around work can be stressful. Find out which leave rules apply before relying on a verbal reassurance. You can start with questions about the process, documents and deadlines.
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Download Work Leave and Addiction Treatment (PDF) · Read onlineTransport, Childcare and Treatment Attendance
Name the part of attendance that is difficult, then make a specific request. A possible ride or childcare arrangement is not confirmed until the person or service agrees to it.
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Download Transport, Childcare and Treatment Attendance (PDF) · Read onlineKeeping Treatment Communications Private
If you share insurance, a phone, mail or a patient portal, ask how treatment messages and billing information will reach you. Make separate arrangements with the provider and health plan; one request may not cover both.
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Download Keeping Treatment Communications Private (PDF) · Read online
Preparing for medication conversations
Planning My Methadone Visits
Use this planner with your opioid treatment program to connect a workable visit schedule with a clear medication-safety plan. Keep the program’s written dosing instructions with these notes.
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Download Planning My Methadone Visits (PDF) · Read onlineBefore Starting Buprenorphine
Use this guide to prepare a starting conversation for opioid use disorder. Ask your prescriber to give you the individual medical instructions separately, and use these notes to make sure you understand how to follow them.
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Download Before Starting Buprenorphine (PDF) · Read onlineDiscussing Naltrexone Treatment
Bring this discussion guide to the clinician who may prescribe naltrexone. Use it to compare the plan for alcohol or opioid use disorder, confirm the formulation, and prepare for safe starting and follow-up.
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Download Discussing Naltrexone Treatment (PDF) · Read onlineMy Disulfiram Pharmacy Checklist
Use this guide at the pharmacy and prescribing visit to check products, understand the alcohol reaction, and write down your personal monitoring plan.
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Download My Disulfiram Pharmacy Checklist (PDF) · Read online
Recovery routines and ongoing support
Building My Recovery Routine Pack
Keep support contacts, care arrangements and everyday plans in one place. Start with the page you need now. The first-week, housing, travel, grief and return-to-care sections are options for particular situations, not steps everyone must pass through.
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Download Building My Recovery Routine Pack (PDF) · Read onlineMy Recovery Support Map
Keep the contacts you choose in one place, with what each person or service can help with. A short, usable list is enough; an empty space identifies a question to ask, not something you have failed to arrange.
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Download My Recovery Support Map (PDF) · Read onlineMy First Week After Leaving Treatment
Use this sheet to arrange the next few days around your care team’s instructions and your actual needs. It is a flexible planning window, not a required recovery stage or a test of success.
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Download My First Week After Leaving Treatment (PDF) · Read onlineA Difficult Day: My Next-Step Plan
Prepare this short plan when you have time, then keep it somewhere easy to find. It is a personal support aid, not a risk score or a substitute for a clinician-developed crisis plan.
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Download A Difficult Day: My Next-Step Plan (PDF) · Read onlineReturning to Care After Substance Use
Use this guide to ask for help after using again. Begin with safety and a direct account of what happened; you do not need to turn the conversation into an apology or wait until you can describe it perfectly.
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Download Returning to Care After Substance Use (PDF) · Read onlineFinding a Peer Support Group That Fits
Look for a meeting where the purpose, approach and practical arrangements fit the support you want. Use the organizer’s current information, then decide what you want to try.
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Download Finding a Peer Support Group That Fits (PDF) · Read onlineMy Boundaries at Work and Social Events
Prepare a few words for an invitation or personal question before you are put on the spot. You decide what you want to share; this guide does not determine workplace rights or disclosure requirements.
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Download My Boundaries at Work and Social Events (PDF) · Read onlineHousing and Recovery Support Questions
A place to live and a treatment program are different decisions. Ask what a recovery residence actually provides, which care you would receive elsewhere, and what the written agreement requires before moving in.
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Download Housing and Recovery Support Questions (PDF) · Read onlineRecovery Goals Beyond Abstinence
Choose an everyday change that would make life better for you. This sheet adds a practical goal to discuss alongside your substance-use and treatment goals; it does not replace or redefine those goals.
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Download Recovery Goals Beyond Abstinence (PDF) · Read onlinePlanning for Holidays, Travel and Celebrations
Plan for one event or trip. Choose what matters about attending, confirm the arrangements you need, and give yourself an alternative if those arrangements change.
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Download Planning for Holidays, Travel and Celebrations (PDF) · Read onlineGrief and Loss in Recovery
You do not have to make a loss fit a recovery milestone. This guide helps you ask for support with the days in front of you, without requiring you to tell the whole story.
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Download Grief and Loss in Recovery (PDF) · Read online
Supporting a family member and yourself
Family Support Starter Kit
Support someone you care about while making room for your own needs. Choose the section that fits today: ask for support, prepare a conversation, help with an appointment, or agree on practical arrangements. You do not have to complete every page.
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Download Family Support Starter Kit (PDF) · Read onlineI Am Worried About Someone: Preparing a Conversation
Use this guide to prepare a caring conversation about substance use. Focus on what you have noticed, what the person wants to share, and a realistic offer of help.
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Download I Am Worried About Someone: Preparing a Conversation (PDF) · Read onlineFamily Boundaries Without Punishment
Use this guide to describe what you can offer, what you cannot do, and what you will do yourself. It is written for family members and other supporters making ordinary practical arrangements with another adult.
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Download Family Boundaries Without Punishment (PDF) · Read onlineWhat Support Do I Need as a Family Member?
Your needs deserve attention while you support someone else. Start with the part of your own day that needs help; this is not an assessment of how well you are caring for another person.
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Download What Support Do I Need as a Family Member? (PDF) · Read onlineExplaining a Parent’s Treatment to a Child
Children need an explanation they can understand and a clear plan for who will care for them. Start with what they have noticed. Use the examples below as starting words, then answer the child’s actual questions.
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Download Explaining a Parent’s Treatment to a Child (PDF) · Read onlinePreparing for a Family Treatment Session
A family session can involve different hopes and concerns. Ask what the session is for, who is taking part, and how the clinician wants each person to prepare.
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Download Preparing for a Family Treatment Session (PDF) · Read onlineComparing Family Support Groups
You can seek support for yourself even while someone else is deciding about treatment. Compare the approach and practical fit of a meeting, then give yourself room to decide whether it helps.
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Download Comparing Family Support Groups (PDF) · Read onlineHelping With an Appointment
Ask what help the person wants before arranging it. You can offer a limited, useful task such as a ride, company in the waiting room, or help remembering a question.
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Download Helping With an Appointment (PDF) · Read onlineSupporting Recovery After a Return Home
Plan the ordinary arrangements of returning home together, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The person returning and the people at home can each name their own needs, offers and limits.
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Download Supporting Recovery After a Return Home (PDF) · Read online
Porn use and sexual behavior
My Plan for Changing Porn Use
Choose one situation involving your porn use that you want to handle differently. A useful first plan names what you want, an action within your control, and what you will notice afterward.
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Download My Plan for Changing Porn Use (PDF) · Read onlineTalking About Porn Use
Prepare a conversation about your own porn use without feeling you must explain everything at once. Choose the person, the purpose and the details that help them understand what you need.
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Download Talking About Porn Use (PDF) · Read onlineWhat US Pornography Research Tells Us
Two studies asked different questions about pornography use in the United States. Keep the population and the question beside every number: reported use, feeling addicted and a clinical diagnosis are not interchangeable.
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Download What US Pornography Research Tells Us (PDF) · Read onlineMy Plan for Changing Sexual Behavior
Choose a pattern in your own sexual behavior that concerns you and a change you want to explore. Focus on your choices and their effects on daily life or relationships, without assigning yourself a diagnosis.
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Download My Plan for Changing Sexual Behavior (PDF) · Read onlineTalking About Sexual Behavior
Use this guide to prepare for counseling about sexual behavior that concerns you. Begin with what matters in your life and the questions you want answered; write only what helps you prepare.
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Download Talking About Sexual Behavior (PDF) · Read online