Substance Use Disorder Group Topics for Recovery

Looking for substance use disorder group topics and activities? This article has a list of discussion topics and activities for those clinicians supporting clients with substance use disorders.

Nearly 49 million people in the U.S. aged 12 or older (just over 17%) had a substance use disorder (SUD) in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

What’s more, U.S. drug overdose deaths have numbered at approximately 100,000 per year since 2021.

Despite that, surveys show only between 6 to 23 percent receive treatment for their substance use and addiction. Alas, considering how prevalent addiction actually is, there’s still significant stigma associated with seeking treatment.

Focus on creating a safe space

As mental health providers, it’s important to create a safe space for growth and recovery. And, this is especially true when you work with people struggling with addiction and substance use disorder.

While individual counseling is essential in someone’s recovery, attending substance use disorder groups can also be beneficial. Listening to and learning from peers who are on the same difficult journey and also committed to sobriety brings an entirely different element into the counseling process.

Group therapy can encourage a deeper sense of self-reflection. It also teaches participants how to relate to others, challenge their own perceptions, and build relationships. These are all actions they may have had trouble accomplishing while struggling with the challenges of substance use disorder.

(Note: For therapists and counselors who see groups clients in-person or virtually via telehealth, SimplePractice makes it easy to book group therapy sessions, document notes for group appointments, and bill clients for therapy sessions with up to 15 clients.)

Choosing substance use disorder group topics that your clients connect with and are able to reflect on even after the sessions are over will help ensure your groups are engaging.

Here are eight topics and tools that you can implement in your group sessions. 

Substance use disorder group topics to try in your practice

1. Start with an icebreaker

Sometimes, the toughest part of group therapy is just getting your clients to open up.

Anxieties are high for new groups. And even groups that have been meeting together for a while can go stale over time and they may benefit from new activities and discussion topics to reinvigorate the atmosphere.

Including group therapy icebreaker questions at the beginning of any group will help to break the tension and facilitate more personal connections between participants. 

2. Discuss triggers

One of the most significant substance use disorder group topics is triggers.

Individual attendees will all have different triggers, which you should discuss to ensure they have adequate and appropriate coping mechanisms.

However, by listening to their peers, they might identify secondary, smaller triggers that they hadn’t considered in their own lives, and plan accordingly for those as well.

3. Make a list of stay-busy activities

Encourage your clients to keep a list of things they can do when they’re confronted with triggers or are feeling vulnerable or anxious.

Cravings can come on at any time and in any situation, so pass out index cards and pens.

Then, encourage the group to take notes on distractions and coping methods—such as phoning a friend, going for a jog, cooking a healthy snack or meal, listening to healing music, or writing in a journal.

4. Prepare a speech

Ask your clients to think about what they would say if they had the opportunity to speak to a group of middle-school children about staying away from drugs.

In this exercise, have them consider what stories would be appropriate to share.

You can also challenge them to think about whether their speech would change depending on who they were speaking to. What would they say to kids in high school or to college students? How about to other adults? 

5. Challenge their perceptions

Everyone perceives experiences and interactions differently.

For this topic, give each person a card detailing a situation or conversation. 

Next, have them each read their card to the group.

Ask them to explain what they think is happening or how they think the characters on their card feel.

Then, have the group follow up to discuss whether they agree or disagree with the reader’s perception and why.

6. Reflect on their role models

Ask everyone in the group who their role models are or were and what about their behavior or personality they admire.

If they bring up a person who used to be their role model, but no longer is, make sure they address why their opinion changed.

As the facilitator, you can ask follow-up questions such as:

“Do you think you could emulate these traits?”

“Do your heroes have faults?”

“How do their flaws make you feel about them?”

7. Practice mindfulness

Plan some mindfulness activities that they can do to help ground themselves and stay present in stressful situations.

First, walk through some of the basics of what mindfulness really means.

Some of your clients may be resistant to the idea of mindfulness initially, but encourage them to be open-minded.

Then, lead them through a mindfulness activity as a group together during one of your sessions.
Also, be sure to provide them the tips and tools to continue the practice after the session is over on their own time. 

8. Plan for self-care

Ask the group: “What’s the worst thing that could happen if you were to use drugs or alcohol again?”

Since everyone has their own experiences when using, this is bound to bring up different answers.

Then, follow up by asking how they plan on caring for themselves to prevent relapse.

Self-care means different things to different people, and some people might have trouble putting a plan in place.

Discuss some healthy ways they can take care of themselves while also remaining committed to recovery.  

At the end of the day, you know your clients and the group dynamics best.

You’ll know when an activity won’t resonate with your group or notice when another elicits an incredibly impactful and engaging conversation.

Having a large repertoire of substance use disorder group topics ready to go will make it easy for you to choose the one that’ll have the best outcome for your clients.

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