What is the Living in Balance Curriculum? A Guide to What Each Session Covers

Living in Balance is a 12-session, evidence-based curriculum published by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, built to help people in recovery work through the practical, emotional, and relational sides of substance use, from understanding triggers to rebuilding stress and communication skills. At Skypoint Recovery, it’s used as part of aftercare, delivered through a combination of group education and individual therapy.

Here’s where the curriculum came from, what each of the 12 core sessions actually covers, how it’s delivered, and how it fits into a fuller recovery plan if you’re weighing it as part of your own aftercare.

Where does the Living in Balance curriculum come from?

Living in Balance grew out of research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and is published by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, one of the most established names in addiction treatment publishing. It’s described as a clinically validated, evidence-based program, studied and shown to help people stay in treatment longer and reduce alcohol and drug use, rather than a general wellness worksheet packet. It combines cognitive-behavioral, experiential, and twelve-step-informed approaches instead of sticking to a single treatment model, which is part of why it gets used across different levels of care, from inpatient to outpatient.

What does each of the 12 core sessions cover?

The core Living in Balance program is built around 12 sessions, each focused on a specific piece of what makes early recovery hard to sustain.

There’s a clear arc here. The first two sessions establish a shared vocabulary and an honest self-assessment, the middle sessions build the emotional and relational skills substance use often crowds out (stress, spirituality, anger, communication), and the program closes by circling back to relapse prevention with all of that groundwork in place.

How is it delivered, and can you get the session worksheets yourself?

Living in Balance is delivered through a mix of group education and individual therapy rather than as a standalone workbook someone works through alone. A facilitator leads each session, and the material is meant to be discussed and practiced with a clinician and peers, not just read.

If you’ve searched for a Living in Balance session 1 or session 2 PDF, it’s worth knowing the materials are part of Hazelden’s officially published, copyrighted curriculum. They’re provided to participants directly through a program licensed to use it, like Skypoint’s aftercare track, rather than distributed as free standalone downloads. The most reliable way to see the material firsthand is through a program actually running the curriculum.

Where Living in Balance fits into a fuller recovery plan

Living in Balance is designed to be used more than once rather than completed a single time and set aside. It works well early in aftercare, when triggers and stress management feel most immediate, and holds up just as well as a refresher months later when circumstances change. On its own, it doesn’t address every part of recovery. Hazelden’s broader curriculum includes separate components for ongoing recovery management and for co-occurring mental health conditions, and a program’s clinical team decides which pieces fit based on someone’s full history, not just where they are in the 12 core sessions.

Living in Balance aftercare support in Akron, Ohio

Skypoint Recovery uses the Living in Balance curriculum as part of our aftercare program in Akron, combining it with individual therapy and the rest of our continuum of care so it fits into a full recovery plan rather than standing alone. Skypoint accepts Ohio Medicaid along with a range of commercial insurance plans, and our admissions team can verify your coverage confidentially before you commit to anything. If you’re not sure whether Living in Balance or another part of aftercare fits where you are right now, reach out to our admissions team and we can walk through it together.

Frequently asked questions

1. Can I download the Living in Balance session 1 or session 2 PDF?

No, not as a free public download. The sessions are part of Hazelden’s officially published, copyrighted curriculum, and the materials are provided through programs licensed to use it, similar to how a textbook is provided through a course rather than posted publicly.

2. Is Living in Balance the same as a 12-step program?

No. Living in Balance draws on some twelve-step concepts, but it’s a separate, structured curriculum that also pulls from cognitive-behavioral and experiential treatment approaches. Twelve-step programs like AA or NA are peer-led fellowships with their own separate structure.

3. How long does the Living in Balance program take?

The core program most treatment providers use, including Skypoint, is 12 sessions. Hazelden also publishes extended components for ongoing recovery management and co-occurring disorders for programs that continue further. Ask your treatment team which parts apply to your plan.

4. Is Living in Balance only for people early in recovery?

It’s designed to address issues that commonly come up early in recovery, but it can be revisited more than once throughout someone’s path to sobriety rather than used only at a single point.

If you’re weighing whether Living in Balance or another part of aftercare fits your situation, that’s worth a real conversation rather than a search engine. Call Skypoint Recovery or email admissions@skypointrecovery.com. Freedom Is Just a Call Away.

This article is educational and is not medical or clinical advice. Talk with your treatment team about which parts of the aftercare curriculum fit your recovery plan.