Worksheet
Uncovering the Root of Addiction: 10 Trauma-Informed Questions for Reflection
This trauma-informed clinical tool helps individuals explore the emotional origins of substance use and behavioral dependencies. Developed with the Trauma Therapist Institute, it focuses on self-compassion and inner exploration. By linking current urges to unresolved distress and attachment deficits, it provides a gentle roadmap toward recovery.
How to Use This Worksheet
Introduce these ten reflective questions slowly in individual or group therapy. Guide clients to move at their own pace, prioritizing emotional stability over completion. Use the prompts to track craving origins, isolate childhood attachment dynamics, and reveal how compulsions function as coping strategies. Transition to grounding practices if the client becomes flooded or numb.
Who This Worksheet Is For
This guide is for adults navigating dependencies, behavioral addictions, and unresolved trauma. It serves as a non-judgmental tracking manual for individuals, as well as a structured reflective tool for trauma specialists, addiction counselors, and psychologists looking to safely uncover root survival behaviors.
Expected Outcomes
- Increased insight into childhood attachment deficits and early self-soothing behaviors.
- Improved ability to view addictive habits non-judgmentally as functional attempts to escape emotional pain.
- Greater self-compassion achieved by engaging in supportive internal dialogue with parts of the self that crave relief
References
Schwartz, R. C. (2001). Internal Family Systems Therapy. Guilford Press. (Applied to the "parts work" framing of compassionate dialogue with internal aspects of the self that reach out for immediate relief).
Maté, G. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. North Atlantic Books. (Framing of addiction as a systemic attempt at self-regulation to escape core relational pain).
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company. (Applied to the tracking of somatic safety, trauma flooding, and relational co-regulation defenses).
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books. (Anchoring the analysis of early childhood self-soothing behaviors and dependency roots).
Frequently Asked Questions About Uncovering the Root of Addiction: 10 Trauma-Informed Questions for Reflection Resources
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