Specialist perspectives · Practical resources

One useful change this week

Understanding a pattern can be valuable, but a workable next step also needs the right skills, circumstances and support. This weekly review helps you notice what helped, choose one realistic action and adjust your plan without turning the week into a pass-or-fail test.

Use the practical sheet Download the sheet (PDF, 1 page)
Use this when

Use this when you know something needs to change but your plans become hard to carry out in everyday life.

Understanding and doing are different tasks

Knowing why something happens does not automatically make a different response available at a difficult moment. You may need to practise a skill, change a practical arrangement or ask for support. Difficulty carrying out a plan is useful information about the plan and its circumstances, not a verdict on your character.

For example, intending to contact someone when you are struggling is easier to act on if you have agreed who to contact, how and when. The aim is to make an appropriate action more available when you need it.

Review the whole week

Notice what mattered as well as what was difficult. A steadier routine, attending an appointment, accepting help or repairing a conversation may deserve attention. Progress is not captured by one number or by comparing yourself with someone else's recovery.

Then choose one thing worth working on. It could be a practical task, a coping skill you are learning in treatment or a question you have been avoiding. If a care plan is already in place, work within it. A weekly sheet is not a reason to start withdrawal or alter prescribed treatment yourself.

Make the action small enough to use

Describe something you can actually do, rather than an outcome you cannot fully control. 'Ask my GP about the sleep problem' is more workable than 'fix my sleep'. Decide when the action fits, what might interrupt it and who could help. A smaller version can keep the task possible when energy or circumstances change.

At the next review, ask what happened and what you learned. If the action did not happen, examine the obstacle before making a bigger promise. If difficulties or risks are increasing, bring that to your clinician. Revising the care plan may be more useful than asking yourself to try harder.

For health professionals

A place in the clinical conversation

Use this as an original discussion aid alongside individual care. It draws on practical behaviour-change and coping-skills principles, but has not been validated as treatment. Review opportunity, support and current risk as well as the chosen action.

Use the sheet alongside your clinical assessment. It does not produce a diagnosis, measure risk or determine treatment. If seeking a specialist opinion, state the clinical question and relevant history using the usual referral pathway.

A sheet to use, keep and revisit

My weekly recovery review

Return weekly, or at another realistic interval agreed with your clinician. Keep the focus on learning and adjustment.

Download blank PDF Blank sheet: one A4 page · Longer answers may print over more pages

You can use the blank sheet on paper or type into it here. Typed answers stay in this open tab: they are not sent to the practice or saved by this website. Keep notes brief and leave out names and other identifying details. Print or save a PDF before leaving or refreshing the page. Use a private device and keep completed copies secure.

DR ERIC HADINATA ADDICTION MEDICINE SPECIALIST

My weekly recovery review

Choose a week or another manageable period. If you have a care plan, choose an action that fits it. A brief note is enough; this is not a scorecard.

Safety first. If you may be dependent on alcohol or another substance, get medical advice before stopping suddenly or making a large reduction. Do not use this sheet to plan withdrawal. Seek help promptly if your health or safety is worsening. Call 000 for immediate danger, a seizure, severe confusion, unconsciousness or abnormal breathing. In Victoria, DirectLine offers counselling and referral on 1800 888 236.
Date / period:

1. What mattered, and what helped?

Notice something worth continuing or protecting.

2. What made things harder?

Include practical barriers, feelings, health or missing support.

3. What is one useful action?

Say what you will do and when it could fit.

4. What could get in the way?

Choose a smaller version or practical adjustment.

5. What support or review do I need?

Name a person to contact and when to review the plan.

Next time: what happened, what did I learn, and what needs adjusting?

An original discussion aid, not a diagnostic test or treatment plan. Do not delay urgent care to complete it. Call 000 in an emergency.

dreric.net/practice-resources/from-insight-to-action/Edition 1.0 · 27/09/2026

Putting the picture together

Some patterns need a fuller assessment.

Your General Practitioner remains central to ongoing care. If difficulties persist, overlap or are hard to make sense of, discuss what support or further assessment would be useful. A specialist consultation can consider your substance use, mental and physical health, previous care and goals together.

If you are considering care with Dr Hadinata, the clinical referral information explains suitability and the process, including private fees and funding.

Related reading: Recovery for Real Life: book and public contents. This guide and sheet can be used on their own. The related book offers more detailed reading.

Sources & further reading

These sources inform the guide. The companion sheet is an original discussion aid and has not been validated as a clinical instrument. Sources checked on 27/09/2026.

General educational information. It cannot determine what is safe or appropriate for an individual. Do not change prescribed treatment without advice from your treating clinician.