The Recovery Space has created a free starter toolkit of practical recovery tools to support reflection, self-awareness, and safer next steps.
This free starter toolkit includes:
9 printable S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery worksheets
and
3 Recovery Reminder Cards
These tools are designed to help people pause, understand what is happening, reflect on thoughts, feelings, urges, choices, support, routine, and recovery direction.
They can be used during moments of urges, cravings, stress, emotional overwhelm, risky thinking, low motivation, reflection, or when someone wants to reconnect with recovery.
What is S.E.C.R.E.T.?
S.E.C.R.E.T. stands for:
Stop
Explore
Challenge
Reconnect
Exchange
Take Action
The framework is designed to help people slow down, understand what is happening, challenge risky thinking, reconnect with what matters, exchange harmful patterns for safer choices, and take the next safe step forward.
The S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery tools are informed by recovery-focused self-help approaches, including ideas often used in CBT and REBT.
This includes noticing the link between thoughts, feelings, urges, behaviours, beliefs, consequences, and choices. Many of the tools encourage people to pause, question unhelpful or risky thinking, reflect on what is happening, and choose a safer next step.
The tools are designed for education, reflection, and self-help. They are not CBT, REBT, counselling, therapy, mental health treatment, or a replacement for support from a qualified professional.
What is included?
The free starter toolkit includes a small selection of tools from the wider S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Framework.
The printable worksheets help with areas such as urges and cravings, thinking patterns, recovery strengths, support networks, routine, and next safe steps.
The Recovery Reminder Cards are quick visual prompts. They are not worksheets and do not need to be written on. They are designed to be looked at in the moment, to help someone pause before reacting.
The three free Recovery Reminder Cards are:
THINK — a simple check-in for questioning risky thoughts before acting on them.
RECOVERY — a personal recovery check-in for reconnecting with self, support, values, and the life someone is building.
The Hula Hoop of Control — a visual reminder for separating what is in your control from what is outside your control, helping you pause, gain perspective, and choose one healthy recovery step.
Together, these reminders help people question risky thoughts, reconnect with recovery, and focus on what is actually theirs to carry.
Free S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Starter Toolkit Guide
Alongside the free worksheets and Recovery Reminder Cards, The Recovery Space also provides a Free S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Starter Toolkit Guide.
This guide explains what the starter toolkit is, how the tools can be used, and the purpose of each worksheet and reminder card. It also includes important safety information, support guidance, and clear boundaries around what The Recovery Space does and does not provide.
The guide is designed to help you understand the tools before using them, so you can choose the ones that feel most relevant to your situation.
You may find it helpful to read the guide first, then download the individual tools that feel useful to you.
Download:
Download Free S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Starter Toolkit Guide PDF [HERE]
How to use these tools
These tools can be saved, printed, and used in your own time, or alongside your designated keyworker, support worker, recovery worker, counsellor, therapist, or another relevant professional.
You may find it helpful to use them:
when an urge or craving shows up
when thoughts feel overwhelming
after a difficult moment
when routine or motivation starts slipping
before making a risky decision
as part of recovery reflection
alongside support from a worker, group, sponsor, peer, or trusted person
There is no perfect way to use them. You can start with the tool that feels most relevant to what you are experiencing today.
Important note
The Recovery Space provides education, self-help tools, reflection resources, and signposting only.
We do not provide medical advice, mental health assessment, crisis support, detox support, safeguarding support, counselling, therapy, diagnosis, treatment, legal advice, or one-to-one support.
These tools are not a replacement for professional, medical, mental health, safeguarding, or emergency support.
Support services, opening times, contact details, and eligibility can change over time. Please check directly with each organisation for the most up-to-date information before using or sharing their details.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.
If you need urgent mental health help in England, contact NHS 111 online or call 111 and select the mental health option.
If you need someone to talk to, Samaritans can be contacted free, day or night, on 116 123.
If you are worried that a child or young person is at risk of harm, contact emergency services, children’s social care, the NSPCC Helpline, or another appropriate safeguarding route.
Free S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Tools Starter Toolkit
The free S.E.C.R.E.T. Recovery Starter Toolkit includes 9 printable worksheets and 3 Recovery Reminder Cards.
The worksheets are designed to support reflection, writing, planning, and safer next steps.
The Recovery Reminder Cards are quick visual prompts. They are not worksheets and do not need to be written on. They are designed to help people pause, reflect, and reconnect with recovery in the moment.
What is included in the free starter toolkit?
Category: Core S.E.C.R.E.T. Framework Tools
My Recovery Reset Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical reset tool to help you pause, reflect on what is happening, reconnect with recovery, and choose the next safe step forward.
This tool may help with:
Slowing down, emotional overwhelm, risky thinking, urges, reflection, and reconnecting with recovery.
Category: Recovery Motivation & Direction
ABC Problem Solving Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical tool to help you understand a situation, notice the thoughts or beliefs connected to it, explore the consequences, and choose a safer recovery-focused response.
This tool may help with:
Problem solving, risky thinking, decision-making, behaviour patterns, and understanding the link between thoughts, beliefs, actions, and consequences.
My Recovery Strengths Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A reflective tool to help you recognise your strengths, coping skills, progress, support, and what has helped you get this far in recovery.
This tool may help with:
Confidence, motivation, self-belief, recovery identity, recognising progress, and remembering what you can draw on during difficult moments.
Download:
Download My Recovery Strengths Worksheet PDF [HERE]
Category: Urge & Craving Support
My Urge Tracker Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical tool to help you notice urges and cravings, identify triggers, understand patterns, and reflect on what helped you get through them.
This tool may help with:
Urges, cravings, triggers, emotions, high-risk situations, relapse prevention, and understanding patterns over time.
Pause, Distract & Choose Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical tool to help you create space between an urge, craving, impulse, or risky thought and the action that follows.
This tool may help with:
Delaying urges, grounding yourself, choosing safer distractions, reducing impulsive reactions, and taking the next safe step.
Download:
Download Pause, Distract & Choose Worksheet PDF [HERE]
Category: Mind, Mood & Behaviour Skills
Thinking Traps in Recovery Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A reflective tool to help you notice common unhelpful thinking patterns that may affect your mood, choices, urges, and recovery.
This tool may help with:
Unhelpful thoughts, emotional reactions, risky thinking, self-awareness, behaviour patterns, and relapse prevention.
Download:
Download Thinking Traps in Recovery Worksheet PDF [HERE]
Unhelpful Thought Challenge Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical tool to help you question unhelpful or risky thoughts and create a more balanced, recovery-focused response.
This tool may help with:
Challenging negative thoughts, reducing emotional overwhelm, creating perspective, and making safer choices.
Download:
Download Unhelpful Thought Challenge Worksheet PDF [HERE]
Category: Balanced Living & Wellbeing
My Support Network Map Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A reflective tool to help you identify safe support, trusted people, recovery connections, professional support, and gaps in your support network.
This tool may help with:
Reducing isolation, asking for help, building connection, identifying support options, and strengthening recovery stability.
Download:
Download My Support Network Map Worksheet PDF [HERE]
My Routine Reset Worksheet
Type: Worksheet
Purpose:
A practical tool to help you notice when routine, self-care, wellbeing, or recovery habits are slipping and choose a small reset step.
This tool may help with:
Routine, structure, self-care, low motivation, emotional wellbeing, stability, and getting back on track.
Download:
Download My Routine Reset Worksheet PDF [HERE]
Category: Recovery Reminder Collection
THINK Recovery Reminder
Type: Recovery Reminder Card
Purpose:
A quick visual prompt to help you question risky thoughts before acting on them.
THINK stands for:
T — Thought
H — Helpful Or Harmful?
I — Is It True?
N — New Perspective
K — Keep Recovery First
This reminder may help with:
Risky thinking, urges, cravings, emotional reactions, difficult decisions, and pausing before acting.
Download:
Download THINK Recovery Reminder PDF [HERE]
RECOVERY Recovery Reminder
Type: Recovery Reminder Card
Purpose:
A personal recovery check-in to help you reconnect with yourself, your support, your values, and the life you are building.
RECOVERY stands for:
R — Reconnect
E — Evaluate
C — Coping
O — Open Up To Support
V — Visualise
E — Explore
R — Rediscover
Y — You
This reminder may help with:
Reflection, motivation, reconnecting with recovery, emotional overwhelm, support, values, coping, and long-term recovery direction.
Download:
Download RECOVERY Recovery Reminder PDF [HERE]
The Hula Hoop of Control Recovery Reminder
Type: Recovery Reminder Card
Purpose:
A quick visual reminder to help you separate what is in your control from what is outside your control, so you can pause, gain perspective, and choose a healthier recovery-focused response.
This reminder focuses on:
In my control: my thoughts, my actions, my boundaries, how I respond, my recovery choices, asking for support, my self-care, and what I say yes or no to.
Outside my control: other people’s opinions, other people’s choices, how others react, the past, the weather, delays or traffic, sudden invitations, what other people think, world events, and whether others understand.
This reminder may help with:
Boundaries, emotional overwhelm, stress, frustration, urges, cravings, risky thinking, people-pleasing, letting go, perspective, and choosing one healthy recovery step.
Download:
Download The Hula Hoop of Control Recovery Reminder PDF [HERE]
Need more direct support?
If you need immediate help, local support groups, or trusted UK helplines, our signposting directory is always open.
The Recovery Space Press is the publishing imprint of The Recovery Space.
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