Recovery Dharma

1. Introduction

Version followed: the current Recovery Dharma programme as Recovery Dharma (RD) publishes it on its own website: "The Practice" (long version), the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path page, the Beginners Guide, the Friends/Mentors/Inquiry Circles page, the RD FAQ, the RD Meeting Format, and the community document "RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries" (Eugene, Oregon sangha, reordering essay by Kit Stardancer). The current book is the one RD calls "Recovery Dharma 2.0"; the first edition (2019, 128 pp.) is listed by the Buddhist Recovery Network. The book's text itself is not drawn on here, so book-only content (the full meditation scripts, the original inquiry questions and their order, and the personal stories) is marked [uncertain] where it matters. [source: RD Book page; BRN book listing]

What it is. Recovery Dharma is a peer-led mutual-aid fellowship, not a therapy a clinician delivers. It is a non-profit founded in 2019. It came out of the settlement that split Refuge Recovery after allegations against Noah Levine: Refuge Recovery World Services stayed with Levine, and RD took in former Refuge Recovery board members. [source: Wikipedia, citing Tricycle and the RD joint statement] RD describes itself as Buddhist-inspired but not a religious belief system. It has no teachers or authorities, and membership has no requirements. It welcomes substance addictions and process addictions, for example compulsive eating or food restriction, codependency, excessive worry, compulsive lying, gaming, sex, love, pornography and shopping. [source: RD FAQ] The book was written collectively by anonymous volunteers and is free in digital form under a Creative Commons licence. [source: Wikipedia; RD Book page]

Core idea of change. RD frames addiction as intense craving and compulsive use of substances or behaviours to escape "present-time reality", whether by clinging to pleasure or running from pain. [source: RD The Practice] It applies the Four Noble Truths to this. Suffering is something people in recovery already know and now commit to understanding. Craving is its cause. Less craving means less suffering, which members come to know through experience. The way out is a path of ethical living, meditation and growing wisdom and compassion. [source: RD 4NT & 8FP page] The beginners material adds that everyone who chooses recovery has a wise, uncorrupted part of themselves that addiction cannot reach. [source: RD Beginners Guide] Change is expected to come from renunciation, daily meditation, structured written inquiry shared with peers, taking responsibility and making amends, and belonging to a sangha (community). [source: RD The Practice]

How this guide is written. Following the house rule for fellowships, it describes RD's own practices as RD publishes them, paraphrased, so the clinician can refer to and work alongside them. The clinician's own procedures (assessing fit, preparing the client, integrating RD into treatment) are my synthesis and are tagged [synthesis].

2. Framework

RD has no clinical phases. Its structure has three parts: the seven-part Practice, an ongoing meeting rhythm, and a time-limited inquiry process. [source: RD The Practice; RD Friends/Mentors page]

The Practice: seven components members commit to [source: RD The Practice; Wikipedia]

Renunciation. An intention to abstain from alcohol and other addictive substances. For process addictions, where total abstinence may not be possible, members identify harmful behaviours and set wise boundaries, ideally with a mentor or therapist.
Meditation. An intention to build a daily practice and use it to examine actions, intentions and reactivity, with balanced effort.
Meetings. Attending in person and/or online, as often as possible in early recovery (for many, daily). Members become active by sharing and offering service. Other fellowships and Buddhist communities may be added.
The Path. Deepening understanding of the Four Noble Truths and practising the Eightfold Path daily.
Inquiry and Investigation. Writing and sharing detailed inquiries into the Four Noble Truths as they relate to one's addiction, with a mentor, trusted friend or group. This includes accountability, direct responsibility and amends for past harm.
Sangha, Wise Friends, Mentors. Building relationships that support one's own and others' recovery. After significant inquiry work, an established meditation practice and renunciation, members may mentor others.
Growth. Lifelong study through reading, dharma talks, sanghas and meditation or dharma retreats.

Formats and "dose"

Meetings. Online, hybrid or in person. They can be filtered by format, identity group or topic. [source: RD Beginners Guide] Each meeting adapts a suggested template: opening, readings, introductions, a guided meditation, literature study or a speaker/topic, group shares of about 3 to 5 minutes with no cross-talk, closing, dana (voluntary donation) and announcements, and the Dedication of Merit. [source: RD Meeting Format] The template sets no total length [uncertain].
Inquiry circles. Closed small groups of 3 to 10 wise friends who meet weekly for at least six months. Members write on the questions individually, then share collectively. [source: RD Friends/Mentors page; RD Beginners Guide] One community sequence (RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries) runs 20 weekly sessions plus a 21st closing celebration, fitted to six months with four floating holiday weeks. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Mentorship. One-to-one or in mentorship circles. Pairings can end, and a member can have several mentors. [source: RD Friends/Mentors page; RD FAQ]

Transition points RD names

Newcomer to active member: attend often, then share and take service roles. [source: RD The Practice; RD Friends/Mentors page]
Into inquiry: once the member finds wise friends or a mentor and commits to a weekly six-month circle. RD sets no entry criterion [uncertain]. The FAQ says mentoring has no minimum sobriety requirement. [source: RD FAQ]
Within inquiry (reordered version): understanding and self-compassion come first, then hope and a foundation of practice, then harm done and amends. A mentor or wise friend is advised before amends. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Mentee to mentor: after significant inquiry work, an established meditation practice and renunciation. Elsewhere RD says anyone with some time in renunciation and practice can serve. [source: RD The Practice]

Clinician frame (my synthesis) [synthesis]. Run your own work as five steps: (1) assess fit; (2) orient and prepare the client; (3) link them to a first meeting with a plan; (4) integrate RD into therapy through meditation, inquiry and boundary-setting; (5) review engagement every 4 to 6 sessions. Move from step 3 to step 4 once the client has attended at least a few meetings and can say what they got from them. Bring up inquiry circles only once the client is stable enough to write about harm and shame without destabilising.

3. Guiding principles

These are RD's principles, each with what it means for the clinician. [source: RD The Practice; RD FAQ; RD Meeting Format; RD Friends/Mentors page]

Peer-led, no teachers or authorities. Facilitators are community members, not teachers. Do not present RD as "treatment" or a meeting leader as a clinician.
Non-hierarchical mentorship. Mentors, also called "Dharma Buddies", are peers who support and guide. They are not teachers, authorities or sources of money, housing or other material help. Help clients set realistic expectations of a mentor.
Buddhist-inspired, not a belief system. The Buddha is presented as an example to follow, not a deity. Clients of any faith or none can attend. Check how comfortable they are with Buddhist language and ritual.
Renunciation as intention. Abstinence is the intention for substances. For process addictions, the aim is wise boundaries set with a mentor or therapist. RD invites the therapist into boundary-setting for behaviours such as eating, sex, gaming or shopping.
Craving and escape as the target. Addiction is understood as fleeing present-time experience. Link RD language to your own formulation of avoidance and urges.
Daily meditation with balanced effort. The aim is regularity, not intensity. Help clients set small daily practice goals rather than long sessions.
Accountability, responsibility and amends. Inquiry includes owning harm and making amends without attachment to being forgiven, and checking that amends cause no new harm. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries] Screen amends plans for safety (abusers, legal exposure, or contact that is unwelcome).
Gentleness and non-judgement. Harm inventories are to be revisited with gentleness and non-judgement, and self-compassion is cultivated. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries] Counter shame spirals that clients bring from inquiry.
Speak from your own experience, no cross-talk or advice. Shares use "I" statements, and members do not comment on others' shares. Prepare clients who expect feedback for this.
Confidentiality. What is shared and who attended stay in the room. Reassure clients and model this in your own handling of what they tell you about meetings.
Inclusion and acknowledgement of harm. Meetings open by acknowledging Buddhist heritage and Indigenous lands. They explicitly welcome people harmed by discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability. Identity-specific meetings exist, so offer them to clients who feel unsafe in general meetings.
Autonomy of meetings. The format is a suggestion that each group may adapt. Expect meetings to differ, and encourage trying several.
Generosity (dana) and service. Donations are voluntary, and service roles such as setting up and cleaning up are a route into connection. Service is a low-threat way for socially anxious clients to belong.
Compatibility with 12-step. RD is not based on the 12 Steps but is compatible with them. [source: RD FAQ] Clients can attend both.
Lifelong growth. Recovery is framed as an ongoing path of practice and awakening. Do not frame RD as something to "complete".
Friendship as the core. The friends and mentors page opens with the Buddha's teaching that admirable friendship is "the whole of the holy life". Relationships, not reading alone, are the active ingredient. Plan who the client will connect with.

4. Intervention inventory

This inventory has two parts. Part A covers the fellowship's own practices, described as RD publishes them so you can explain them to clients and work with them. You do not run these; members do. Part B covers the clinician's procedures for referring to RD and working alongside it [synthesis]. All example language is illustrative.

Part A: Fellowship practices (as published by RD)

A1. Renunciation commitment

Purpose / when. The member sets an intention to abstain from substances, or to keep wise boundaries around process behaviours. It is the foundation of RD membership. [source: RD The Practice; RD FAQ]
Steps (as RD describes). (1) For substances: commit to abstaining from alcohol and other addictive substances. (2) For process addictions: identify the specific harmful behaviours and set boundaries around them, ideally with a mentor or therapist. (3) Return to the intention at each meeting, where The Practice is read aloud. [source: RD The Practice; RD Meeting Format]
Example language (illustrative). "In RD, renunciation is an intention you keep renewing, not a test you pass or fail. For your eating, let's work out together which behaviours are inside the boundary and which are outside it."
Watch for. Whether the client understands boundary-setting as concrete and behaviour-specific. Rigid all-or-nothing rules for eating behaviours can worsen restriction. Coordinate with eating-disorder care and avoid numeric targets [synthesis]. RD publishes nothing on prescribed medication or opioid agonist treatment [uncertain]. Prepare the client to decide for themselves, with their prescriber, how they describe medication in meetings [synthesis].

A2. Meeting attendance and format

Purpose / when. Community, modelling, and the regular rhythm of practice. From the first week, as often as possible in early recovery (daily for many). [source: RD The Practice]
Steps: the suggested sequence [source: RD Meeting Format; each group adapts it]:
1. Opening. The facilitator welcomes everyone and explains that the meeting is peer-led and draws on Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. It acknowledges Buddhist heritage, Indigenous lands and communities that have experienced harm. The facilitator states they are a community member, not a teacher.
2. Readings. Volunteers read The Practice and the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.
3. Introductions. First name only, pronouns optional.
4. Guided meditation. The facilitator chooses it. Eyes may be closed or softly open. People can pause, adjust, or leave quietly.
5. Main content. Either reading from a Buddhist recovery text in turns, then discussion, or a speaker or topic, then discussion. In the version used here, the literature named is The Dharma of Recovery. That copy is hosted by a third-party site (shareselfhelp.org), so it may be a local adaptation [uncertain]. RD also publishes a speaker template.
6. Sharing. By tag-pass, by the facilitator choosing, or "popcorn" style. About 3 to 5 minutes each, using "I" statements, on one's own experience, practice or the topic.
7. No cross-talk. Members do not comment on, judge or advise about another person's share.
8. Closing. A confidentiality reminder, encouragement to keep practising, and volunteers offered to talk with newcomers.
9. Dana and announcements. A voluntary donation basket, then group news (service roles, contact lists, retreats).
10. Dedication of Merit. Read together, or in the group's own wording.
Meeting types. Online, hybrid and in-person meetings, plus identity-group and topic meetings, found through RD's meeting finder. [source: RD Beginners Guide] Some sanghas also use silent meditation, walking meditation or chanting. [source: RD FAQ]
Example language (illustrative). "You'll only be asked for your first name. If you don't want to share, you can just say 'I'll pass'."
Watch for / working. The client attends repeatedly, can name one person they talked to, and reports feeling less alone. If they leave meetings flat or ashamed, explore what happened (see Section 5).

A3. Meditation practice

Purpose / when. A daily practice used to examine actions, intentions and reactivity. It also builds the ability to pause before reacting and to sit with discomfort. [source: RD The Practice; RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Steps (as RD describes).
1. Start with RD's recorded guided meditations.
2. Beginners are advised to start with the "heart practices" of forgiveness and lovingkindness.
3. Build a regular daily practice with balanced effort.
4. In meetings, follow the facilitator's guided meditation. Grounding options are offered if strong emotion comes up: open the eyes, breathe slowly, put a hand on the heart or belly, focus on a soothing object or image, or change position. [source: RD Beginners Guide; RD Meeting Format]
5. The inquiries on wise mindfulness and wise concentration ask members to notice the mind's stories, refocus gently when distracted, and observe that fear passes. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
The book's appendix of "selected meditations" is not drawn on here, so its scripts and exact list are [uncertain]. [source: BRN book listing]
Example language (illustrative). "RD suggests starting with the lovingkindness and forgiveness recordings. Would five minutes a day this week be realistic for you?"
Watch for. Trauma survivors may experience dissociation, flashbacks or panic during eyes-closed or body-focused practice. Teach the meeting's grounding options in advance and agree that leaving or opening the eyes is fine [synthesis]. Working signs: the client practises regularly, even briefly, and reports a pause between urge and action. In an RD member survey, how often members meditated (not how long) predicted recovery capital. [source: Wikipedia, citing the 2023 study]

A4. The Path: Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path

Purpose / when. The conceptual map for recovery, read at every meeting and studied over time. [source: RD 4NT & 8FP page]
Content (paraphrased). The truths: understand suffering, see craving as its cause, experience that less craving brings less suffering, and commit to the path. The path factors are wise understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. They rest on ethical living, meditation, wisdom and compassion. [source: RD 4NT & 8FP page]
Example language (illustrative). "When you say you 'had to' drink to get through the evening, how would the Second Truth describe that?"
Watch for. Use RD's vocabulary only if the client finds it helpful. Do not teach dharma yourself [synthesis].

A5. Written inquiry (Inquiry and Investigation)

Purpose / when. Detailed written reflection on the truths and path factors as they relate to one's addiction. It covers accountability, responsibility and amends. [source: RD The Practice] The book contains reflection questions that can be used alone, with a friend or in a group. [source: RD FAQ] The original questions and their order in the book are [uncertain].
Steps (RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries version: 20 weeks plus a closing week). Each week has about 3 to 6 reflective questions plus a standing prompt to list 1 to 3 admirable actions from the week, in self-care or service. Themes by week (paraphrased) [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]:
- Wks 1–2 Wise Understanding: seeing situations clearly; desire versus need; compulsions driven by "musts"; karma and the aftermath of past actions.
- Wk 3 Wise Self-Speech: harmful self-talk; self-deception; speech used to control oneself or keep up a false image.
- Wks 4–5 Second Noble Truth: behaviours used to avoid feelings; grief or shame under the craving; what was given up to the addiction; clinging and "should" beliefs.
- Wk 6 Third Noble Truth: obstacles to stopping; resources; reasons for hope and doubts; practising letting go.
- Wk 7 Wise Effort: reaching out to mentors; balanced effort; hindrances; avoidance through withdrawal or over-busyness.
- Wk 8 Wise Mindfulness: regular practice; pausing; sitting with discomfort; questioning the mind's stories; the impermanence of fear.
- Wk 9 Wise Concentration: distraction in meditation; gentle refocusing; using concentration to see clearly.
- Wk 10 Wise Speech: harm through speech; dishonesty or harshness; speech used to control or get attention; claiming knowledge one lacks.
- Wks 11–12 First Noble Truth: listing harmful behaviours and their costs to self and others; patterns; addiction as a response to trauma and pain; healing responses. The lists are revisited gently and without judgement.
- Wk 13 Fourth Noble Truth: one's own path; behaviour changes; what taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha means.
- Wks 14–16 Wise Intention: motives (selfishness, aversion, craving); cultivating generosity and forgiveness; harm done; amends.
- Wks 17–19 Wise Action: the Five Precepts (non-harm, not taking what isn't freely given, sexual conduct, honesty, intoxicants).
- Wk 20 Wise Livelihood: harm through work; mindful work; greed; service to the community.
- Wk 21: Recap and metta celebration; review of how the circle went; new intentions.
Why reordered. The original sequence felt daunting to some people. The reordering builds understanding, self-compassion and hope before the heaviest material. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Example language (illustrative). "Which inquiry week is your circle on? Is there anything from your writing you'd like to bring here, where we have more time to work through it?"
Watch for. The First Noble Truth and harm/amends weeks are the riskiest for shame, trauma memories and relapse. Plan extra support around them [synthesis].

A6. Inquiry circles

Purpose / when. Small, closed groups for doing inquiry together. They offer mutual support, structure, accountability, friendship, co-mentorship and safety. Some members do inquiry with a single mentor instead. [source: RD Beginners Guide]
Steps. (1) Find people who want to meet weekly for at least six months. (2) Form a group of 3 to 10. (3) Each member writes on the week's questions individually. (4) Members share their writing together. (5) Optionally use a community sequence, such as the reordered inquiries. (6) Close with a review and celebration. [source: RD Friends/Mentors page; RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Example language (illustrative). "A circle means committing to about six months of weekly meetings. Does that fit your life right now?"
Watch for. RD's web pages set no confidentiality, safety or session-length rules for circles [uncertain]. Ask clients how their circle handles these [synthesis].

A7. Wise friends, mentors (Dharma Buddies) and mentorship circles

Purpose / when. One-to-one or group peer guidance, much like a sponsor in purpose but non-hierarchical. [source: RD FAQ; RD Friends/Mentors page]
Steps to find one (RD's suggestions). (1) Become active: listen, learn names, arrive early and stay late, take service roles, contact people before meetings, practise short shares, and leave contact details in the online chat after the Dedication of Merit. (2) Ask openly at meetings or in forums. Expect some refusals and keep asking. (3) Pairings can end if they are not helping, and a member can have several mentors. [source: RD Friends/Mentors page; RD FAQ]
Limits. Mentors are not teachers, authorities or sources of money, housing or other material support. [source: RD FAQ] A local mentorship guide (RD PDX) is referenced, but its content is [uncertain].
Example language (illustrative). "Who have you noticed in meetings whose shares speak to you? What would it be like to ask them for coffee?"
Watch for. Mentors drifting into a quasi-therapist or crisis role, romantic or financial entanglement, or power imbalance. Help the client keep the relationship peer-level [synthesis].

A8. Amends

Purpose / when. Taking direct responsibility for past harm. In the reordered sequence this comes in the Wise Intention weeks, after foundational work. [source: RD The Practice; RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Steps (paraphrased). (1) Identify the harm done. (2) Ask what can be done in the present. (3) Check that the amends will not cause new harm. (4) Make them without attachment to being forgiven. (5) Get support from a mentor beforehand. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]
Example language (illustrative). "Before you contact your ex, let's check whether reaching out could harm them, or you."
Watch for. Amends to abusers, contact barred by court orders, legal self-incrimination, or amends that disclose a third party's secrets. Review these in therapy first [synthesis].

A9. Service and generosity

Purpose / when. Connection and practising generosity. [source: RD Meeting Format; RD Friends/Mentors page; RD The Practice]
Steps. Give dana voluntarily. Take roles: set-up and clean-up, facilitating, reading, welcoming newcomers. Later, mentor others or join RD's outreach and volunteer service. [source: RD Meeting Format; RD Friends/Mentors page; RD Beginners Guide]
Watch for. People-pleasing or over-commitment, the "over-busyness" that the Wise Effort inquiry names as a form of avoidance. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries]

A10. Growth: study, dharma talks and retreats

Purpose / when. Lifelong deepening of practice. [source: RD The Practice]
Steps. Read the RD book (free PDF, e-book and audiobook) and other Buddhist literature. Attend dharma talks and other sanghas. Go on meditation or dharma retreats when they support understanding. [source: RD The Practice; RD Book page; RD FAQ]
Watch for. Intensive silent retreats can trigger destabilisation in people with trauma, psychosis risk or early withdrawal. Discuss timing and choice of retreat before the client books [synthesis].

Part B: Clinician procedures for working with RD [synthesis]

RD publishes no clinician protocol. Everything in Part B is my synthesis, built on the RD features cited in Part A.

B1. Assess fit

Purpose / when. Before suggesting RD, or when a client is unhappy with 12-step programmes or with theistic language.
Steps. (1) Ask what mutual-aid groups the client has tried, and what helped or put them off. (2) Gauge their interest in, or discomfort with, meditation and Buddhist terms and rituals: readings, the Dedication of Merit, refuge language. (3) Clarify the target behaviour. A substance means an abstinence intention; a process behaviour means boundary work (A1). (4) Screen for meditation-related risks: trauma symptoms, dissociation, psychosis, severe withdrawal. (5) Check practicalities: in person or online, timing, identity-specific meetings. (6) Discuss medication and the client's stance on abstinence. RD's published pages do not address medication [uncertain].
Example language (illustrative). "RD is a peer group that uses Buddhist ideas but doesn't require any belief. Meetings include a short guided meditation and sharing without feedback. Which parts of that sound appealing, and which sound off-putting?"
Watch for. Clients who want structured skills teaching or professional guidance from the group. RD is peer-led, so it is not a fit for that need.

B2. Orient and prepare the client

Purpose / when. Before their first meeting, to reduce anxiety and drop-out.
Steps. (1) Walk them through the meeting sequence (A2). (2) Explain no cross-talk and that passing is allowed. (3) Rehearse a first-name introduction and a one-line share, or a pass. (4) Teach the grounding options for meditation (A3) and agree they may open their eyes or step out. (5) Point them to the free book and the recorded meditations. (6) Suggest they stay after the meeting to talk to a volunteer.
Example language (illustrative). "You can say, 'Hi, I'm Sam, I'm new, and I'll just listen today.' That's completely normal."
Watch for. Avoidance disguised as "I'll go next week". Set a specific meeting, date and time.

B3. First-attendance plan and debrief

Steps. (1) Choose a specific meeting together using RD's meeting finder. Consider an online meeting first for clients with social anxiety, and an identity-group meeting for marginalised clients. (2) Agree on attending at least three different meetings before judging fit. (3) At the next session, debrief: what they noticed, whom they spoke to, and how the meditation felt.
Example language (illustrative). "Meetings vary a lot, because each group adapts the format. Let's give it three different meetings before you decide."
Working signs. Repeat attendance, a named contact, and some RD language used naturally.

B4. Integrate meditation into therapy

Steps. (1) Review the client's daily practice briefly each session. (2) Link it to urge moments: practise pausing during the session, rehearse brief practice for high-risk times. (3) Adapt for trauma: eyes open, external anchors, shorter periods, movement such as walking meditation, which some sanghas use.
Watch for. Practice used to suppress or avoid feelings, or a rise in intrusive symptoms. Reduce the dose and adjust the practice.

B5. Support written inquiry and amends

Steps. (1) With the client's consent, ask which inquiry topic their circle or mentor is on. (2) Offer therapy time for material that is too heavy for the circle, such as trauma and shame (First Noble Truth weeks) or harm done (Wise Intention weeks). (3) Do safety checks on amends plans (A8). (4) Reinforce the admirable-actions prompt as a self-compassion practice. (5) Do not take the place of the peer process. Keep sharing with peers at the centre.
Example language (illustrative). "Your circle is the place to share your inquiry. Here we can slow down on the parts that bring up the trauma."

B6. Collaborate on process-addiction boundaries

Purpose / when. RD names the therapist as a possible partner in setting boundaries. [source: RD The Practice]
Steps. (1) List the behaviours. (2) Sort them into harmful (outside the boundary), risky (warning signs) and healthy (inside the boundary). (3) Write the boundary down and share it with the mentor if the client wishes. (4) Review and revise it after any slip.
Watch for. Boundaries that become rigid rules, especially around food, which call for eating-disorder-informed care.

B7. Coordinate with a mentor and with other services

Steps. Coordinate only with the client's written consent. Clarify roles: the mentor is a peer, not a clinician, and not responsible in a crisis. Make sure the client has a separate crisis and safety plan. Make clear that RD can be combined with 12-step groups, other fellowships and professional treatment. [source: RD The Practice; RD FAQ]

B8. Review engagement

Steps. Every 4 to 6 sessions, review: meetings per week, daily meditation (any length), mentor or circle status, inquiry week, service roles, and changes in craving and use. Treat drop-off as information to explore, not as non-compliance.

5. Handling problems

RD's published pages address only a few of these problems: reordering the inquiries for people who find them daunting, persistence when a mentor request is refused, meditation grounding, and ending mentor pairings that aren't helping. Those points are cited. Everything else is [synthesis].

Client won't go, or stops after one meeting. Explore what put them off: the ritual, a specific person, the meditation, the online format. Meetings are autonomous and vary, so suggest a different meeting or an identity-specific one, and agree on three different meetings before deciding (B3). [source: RD Meeting Format; RD Beginners Guide for meeting types] [synthesis]
Discomfort with Buddhist or religious content. Explain RD's own framing: Buddhist-inspired, not a belief system, with the Buddha as an example rather than a deity. [source: RD FAQ] If the discomfort persists, respect it and look at other options (other secular or faith-based fellowships, or professional groups) rather than pressing [synthesis].
"Stuck" in inquiry, or overwhelmed by it. Suggest the reordered sequence, which puts understanding, self-compassion and hope before harm and amends. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries] Slow the pace, use the floating weeks, and bring the heaviest material into therapy (B5) [synthesis].
Trauma activation in meditation or sharing. Use the published grounding options: open the eyes, breathe slowly, put a hand on the heart or belly, focus on a soothing object, change position, or step out. [source: RD Meeting Format] Add trauma-sensitive adaptations and pace the trauma work in therapy, outside the group (B4) [synthesis].
Shame spiral after a harm inventory. Remind the client of RD's emphasis on gentleness, non-judgement and self-compassion, and of the admirable-actions prompt. [source: RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries] Assess for depression and suicidality and update the safety plan [synthesis].
Relapse or a boundary breach. RD frames renunciation as an intention [source: RD The Practice]. Encourage the client to go back to meetings rather than withdraw. Do a functional review of the lapse in therapy and revise the boundaries (B6) [synthesis].
Can't find a mentor. Follow RD's suggestions: become active, take service roles, ask openly, expect some refusals and keep asking. A group of wise friends can stand in for a mentor. [source: RD Friends/Mentors page; RD The Practice]
A mentor relationship isn't working. Pairings can end, and members can have several mentors. [source: RD FAQ] Help the client rehearse ending it respectfully [synthesis].
Boundary violations by a mentor or member (romantic or sexual pressure, financial requests, coercion, a mentor acting as a therapist or authority). RD says mentors are not authorities or sources of material help. [source: RD FAQ] Validate the client's concern and help them disengage, change meetings, and raise it with the group's trusted servants or RD centrally through the RD contact page. Report crimes and safeguarding concerns through the usual channels. RD's own reporting procedure is [uncertain] [synthesis].
Confidentiality worries, especially online. Name only, pronouns optional, and a confidentiality reminder at close. [source: RD Meeting Format] Advise on online privacy settings and screen names [synthesis].
Medication or opioid agonist treatment. Not addressed on RD's pages [uncertain]. Support the client's prescribed treatment, prepare them for varied peer opinions, and remind them that what they disclose in meetings is their choice [synthesis].
Over-involvement (daily meetings, many service roles, retreats crowding out work, family or therapy). Use RD's own idea of balanced effort and the Wise Effort inquiry's warning about over-busyness. [source: RD The Practice; RD1.2 Reordered Inquiries] [synthesis]
Rupture with the therapist over RD (the client feels pushed into it, or feels the therapist disrespects it). Acknowledge it, return to the client's goals, and make clear that attendance is their choice. Show respect for the peer process, and do not compete with the mentor [synthesis].
Client in crisis at or after a meeting. RD meetings are not crisis services. Make sure the client has a crisis plan and crisis lines, and does standard risk assessment with you [synthesis].
Retreat-related destabilisation. Before any intensive retreat, review the client's history of trauma, dissociation or psychosis and how stable their withdrawal is. If needed, plan a shorter or non-residential option [synthesis].

Sources

Sources:

Books cited:

Recovery Dharma (2019). Recovery Dharma: How to Use Buddhist Practices and Principles to Heal the Suffering of Addiction. Independently published. Contents known from the BRN listing.
Recovery Dharma (n.d., current). Recovery Dharma 2.0. Free PDF and e-book on Google Drive. Not drawn on here.

Further reading (not drawn on): the Recovery Dharma 2.0 book PDF, the RD PDX Mentorship Guide, and the RD Practice + 4NT + 8FP PDF. The book's meditation scripts, original inquiry questions and order, and mentor ethics are therefore [uncertain].

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