MORE THAN THERAPYTHE RESOURCE LIBRARY

Recovery Relationships & Repair / GRP824

Boundaries with Old Contacts — Cooperative Planning Workshop

Compare contact options, personal goals, safety concerns, and support needs without judging entire relationships.

40 minutes · 3–12 people · Adults with trained group facilitation

Facilitator PDF · Fillable participant PDF · Open activity / add to session

UNDERSTAND THE IDEA

Trust depends on patterns over time.

A repair conversation may identify impact, responsibility, and an observable next action. It cannot guarantee forgiveness or restore trust immediately. Recovery and relationship repair may move at different speeds, and boundaries remain valid.

Facilitation lens: Choose a low-stakes fictional example. Include follow-through and consent, and avoid joint repair exercises where coercion or retaliation may be present.

Explore the conceptual background · Broad background, not validation of this original exercise.

Try a different interactive experience in the Activity Lab →

Fictional example

A member is deciding how much contact fits an old friendship.

Open with choice — 3 minutes

Explain the purpose, privacy limits, and the option to observe, use fiction, adapt, or pass. Check access needs and group readiness; do not promise absolute confidentiality.

Meet the fictional case — 4 minutes

A member is deciding how much contact fits an old friendship. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.

Practice: Planning workshop — 26 minutes

Compare contact options, personal goals, safety concerns, and support needs without judging entire relationships. In pairs or small groups, create two possible plans for the fictional case. Compare access, effort, likely tradeoffs, and consent. Choose one reversible trial with a backup and a review point; allow an observing role.

Reflect and compare — 4 minutes

What degree of contact supports current choices? Ask what fits, what does not, and what external conditions or supports affect the options. No personal disclosure is required.

Close and integrate — 3 minutes

Invite an optional observation, support request, or small next step. Passing is welcome. Agree how to revisit questions and seek appropriate help outside the exercise.

Practice output

A feasible plan with a support, a backup, and a review question.

Scope and adaptation

Use ordinary or fictional examples, not graphic substance-use stories or cue exposure. No competitive abstinence scoring, forced disclosure, or required pathway. These plans do not manage intoxication, overdose, withdrawal, or medication changes; follow individualized care and appropriate medical assessment. Joint exercises are unsuitable where coercion, violence, fear, or retaliation may be present; arrange private clinical assessment and appropriate support.

Offer reading aloud, typing, drawing, pointing, or observation. Avoid mandatory movement, eye contact, touch, and body focus.

Original AI-assisted educational draft; independent clinical review pending.

Conceptual background

References inform broad principles and do not validate or endorse this original plan.