Some SMART Recovery® Ideas
Introduction to a Meeting
SMART® stands for Self Management and Recovery Training. We are a network of self-help groups dedicated to providing theraputic techniques to help individuals who want to eliminate addictive behaviors such as the misuse of alcohol and other drugs, as well as compulsive gambling, eating, sexual activities and the like.
SMART is a non-profit national organization started in 1994 by members who were previously associated with Rational Recovery. SMART Recovery conducts weekly, 90-minute long discussion meetings which are open to the public and supported by voluntary donations collected at the end of the meeting. Each meeting is led by a coordinator, a non-professional volunteer who usually has firsthand experience with recovery using the SMART process. His or her job is to guide the discussion and encourage participation among the attendees.
What are some of SMART Recovery®'s principles?
SMART views addiction as a learned behavior which can be modified through
practice, rather than as a disease. We reject powerlessness and rely on
our own efforts to change our behavior. Addictive behaviors can be successfully
eliminated and for this reason we do not encourage people to define
themselves as alcoholics or addicts -- humans are more than labels.
SMART is an abstinence-based program; our goal is to eliminate the unwanted behavior. We recognize lapses as the unfortunate consequence of underestimating the effort required to learn and practice new behaviors. But, though they are undesirable, lapses can be useful learning tools; in the end, persistence and practice will pay off.
What happens in a SMART Recovery® meeting?
A SMART meeting is a forum to study and use powerful mental tools that will
help you develop the faculties of self-observation and self-examination. For
this purpose we promote and use cognitive/behavioral approaches such as
Rational Emotive Therapy.
A SMART meeting focuses on these four areas of living:
- We seek to create, enhance and maintain our motivation to abstain from our unwanted behavior.
- We learn to cope with the urges that plague many of us.
- We study our thinking and its effect on our feelings and behavior.
- We strive to achieve a balance between our short-term and our long-term
needs for pleasure, keeping in mind our life goals.
| Book Title - Link to purchase | Author, additional Info |
|---|---|
| SMART Recovery® Member's Manual | Practical information designed to assist the reader in attaining the ultimate goal of recovery |
| SMART Recovery®: A Sensible Primer |
William Knaus Ph.D. William Knaus Longmeadow, MA - 1995 |
| When AA Doesn't Work for You: Rational Steps to Quitting Alcohol |
Albert Ellis Ph.D. & Emmett Velten Ph.D. Barricade Books Inc., Fort Lee, NJ - 1992 |
| Alcohol: How to Give it Up and Be Glad You Did A Sensible Approach |
Philip Tate Ph.D. See Sharp Press, Tucson, AZ - 1993 |
| Changing for Good |
James Prochaska Ph.D., John Norcross Ph.D. & Carlo DiClemente Ph.D. Wm.Morrow & Company, New York, NY - 1994 |
| The Small Book: A Revolutionary Approach to Overcoming Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
Jack Trimpey LCSW Delacorte Press, New York, NY - 1992 |