Walk into your next recovery group already prepared.
Five ready-to-run opening activities: grounding, an honest check-in, emotional body mapping, protective factors and ecological supports. Each comes with facilitator notes and a client handout you can print today. Free, from a licensed addiction specialist who runs these groups every week.
Five openers, ready to run.
Thirteen print-ready pages. Every opener gets a facilitator page with the goal, a script and the theory, plus a client handout you can print. Here is what's in the kit, and one piece you can use tonight.
-
1
15–20 minGrounding TechniquesRegulation: arriving in the body. Four skills, each with a script you can read aloud.
-
2
15–20 minWhat I Mean When I Say I'm Doing OkayAn honest verbal check-in. Clients map what their "okay" is made of.
-
3
15–20 minEmotional Body MappingSomatic awareness, with a body map and an emotion-sensation wheel.
-
4
20 minProtective FactorsA strengths inventory across seven domains.
-
5
20 minEcological SupportsMapping the support network, from family out to culture.
Also inside: why the first ten minutes decide the whole group, and how to run the five in order as a session arc.
A jump-start for the nervous system: hold something cold in one hand (like ice) and something warm in the other (like a cup of tea), and focus on the contrast.
One skill from the handout, as your clients will read it.
Hot and Cold is one of four grounding skills on the Activity 1 handout. The kit adds the script I read aloud to walk a room through it, the theory behind it and four more openers built the same way.
A clinician who's been in the room.
"I built this collection after burning out on the daily grind of planning groups: the endless search for ideas and the nights wondering if my content would land. I want you to reclaim that time for good."
Is this for your groups?
Written for the clinicians who run the room.
A good fit if…
- ✓ You run substance-use, IOP, residential, aftercare or court-mandated groups
- ✓ You want an opening that settles the room before the session's main work
- ✓ You are a counselor, social worker, MFT, nurse, peer specialist or supervised intern
- ✓ You are tired of building check-ins the night before
Probably not if…
- — You only do individual work and never facilitate groups
- — You want a full curriculum rather than opening activities
Good to know.
The questions clinicians ask before they download.
01Who is this for?+
Licensed and supervised clinical professionals who run groups: counselors, social workers, MFTs, nurses, peer specialists and interns under supervision.
02Is it really free?+
Yes. The kit is five activities from my library, 100 Group Therapy Activities, in the same format. No card and no trial.
03What happens after I enter my email?+
The download page opens right away. A confirmation email follows; click the link in it and a few clinical notes from me arrive over the next week. Unsubscribe anytime.
04Can I use these with my clients?+
Yes. Print the handouts for your own groups as often as you like. Please do not resell or repost the kit.
05Who built it?+
I did. I am Makayla Lechnowskyj, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist and clinical supervisor, and these five are the openers I use in my own recovery groups.
Your next group opens in ten minutes.
Five openers, facilitator notes and printable handouts. Enter your email and the kit is yours.