celebrating ten years clean and get through one single ...and get through one single night without...

Inspirations

Celebrating Ten Years Clean and Soberby Questor7

My Dear Smarties,

Today I celebrate ten years free of alcohol and drugs. Getting here has been filled with a few treacherous events but never once did I break my commitment to stay clean and sober. I owe a great deal to you people in this wonderful commu-nity and don’t think I could have gotten here on my own.

It took me a long, long, time to come to the conclusion that I had a problem with drugs and alcohol. I had been in AA many years before, and after I left

he SMART Recovery® (Self-Management And Recovery Training)

program helps individuals gain independence from addictive behavior.

Our efforts are based on scientific knowledge and evolve as scientific knowledge evolves.

The program offers specific tools and techniques for each of the program points:

Point #1: Building and Maintaining Motivation

Point #2: Coping with Urges

Point #3: Managing Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors

Point #4: Living a Balanced Life

TThe SMART Recovery

4-Point Program®

conscious decision to never drink again. And that was that.

Since that fateful morning, a great deal has transpired. I faced many harrowing experiences including putting down dogs, evacuating from bush fires, losing a ton of money on a creative project, going through a life threatening car crash, facing

Inside:InspirationsCelebrating Ten Years Clean and Sober . . . . . . . . . . . .14-Point Program® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

People PowerOnline Update: Meet HeidiM, Online Meeting Volunteer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2SMART Recovery® Annual Conference . . . . . . . . . . .4SMART Idea: Donate Stocks, Get a Tax Break . . . . .4SMART Recovery® Online: Update on Freedom Fortnight 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

SMART IdeasSome Aids to Living a Valued Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Collegiate Recovery Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5SMART Champion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

SMART ProgressWe’re Growing – Major Improvements to be Unveiled for Online Meetings! . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Bringing SMART Recovery® to a New Area . . . . . . .8Have You Attended an In-Person Mutual Help Group Meeting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Free CBA iPhone App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Events Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Regional Coordinator Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

President’s LetterPresident’s Letter: The 13th Step and The Business of Recovery: Two Films of Interest . . . .11

International DevelopmentAugust 2015 UK SMART Recovery® Update. . . . . .12SMART Recovery® in Denmark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13SMART Recovery® Training in Sweden . . . . . . . . . .13SMART Recovery Alberta Update September 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14News and Views – Australian Report (September 2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

that organization, I was able to stumble my way through each day, functioning to some degree on jobs, going in and out of relationships, often appearing to have control over my life. But, appear-ances, as we all know can be very deceiving. Underneath it all, I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t get through one single night without getting high on something.

On July 4th weekend of 2005 I decided to see if I could go for 30 days without a drink. And I got through it. I didn’t sail through it but I survived the test. On the eve of the 30th night I did what a lot of people would do, I grabbed my bottle of scotch and drank myself into oblivion. That night, lost in my numerous trips back and forth to the bathroom, I fell over and landed hard on my ankle. It was broken and so was I. I was done. I didn’t find SMART for a few days but deep down I knew I was making a choice. The door slammed shut inside me. I made a

Bringing Science and Reason to Self-help with Addictive Behaviors Volume 21, Issue 4 • October 2015

A. Thomas Horvath, PhD, President Rosemary Hardin, EditorWe would like to thank Rosemary Hardin for volunteering the past three years to edit News & Views. She is moving on to focus in other areas of her life and we wish her well. In the meantime, please excuse us if you notice the less-than-perfect editorial excellence until our replacement editor is in place.

http://www.smartrecovery.org/donate/


Published by the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Self-Help Network, Inc. dba SMART Recovery®

7304 Mentor Avenue, Suite F, Mentor, OH 44060 • Phone: 440/951-5357 • Fax: 440/951-5358 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.smartrecovery.org

SMART Recovery® News & Views Volume 21, Issue 4 • October 2015

the loss of my dearest partner who died suddenly from a brain hemorrhage and more recently a diagnosis of CLL, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. That’s a lot isn’t it? But I did it all clean and sober, not because I possess more will power than anyone else, not through mantras or prayers. I got through it all because I made a choice to stay clean and sober no matter what. That’s it. That’s my magic formula. And it works.

There’s a saying that I’m particularly fond of. It goes like this. “But besides all that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” You’ve got to have a sense of humor, right? Life just happens.

The support here at SMART has been invaluable to me throughout the journey. There were times when I just clung to the website and the help that was forthcoming from so many people. And there were times when I gave what I could to people who needed it. Although I don’t spend much time here at SMART anymore, I know that the door always remains open to me and I truly appreciate the ongoing invitation to return whenever I want to.

As for the tools, there are so many and they are all very important. For me, playing the tape to the end of the story has been my most life- saving tool. I’ve used it a lot over the years to remind myself of what the consequences would be if I picked up a drink again. In fact I used it a couple of days ago when that crazy little voice in my head popped up inside me and said, “So, you’ve made it through ten years, you know you can do it. How about we get completely wasted tonight to celebrate all this? Then you can get sober again in a few days and keep going.” My response was simply to chuckle and say “Really? You’ve got to be kidding, right? Not now, not ever.”

It’s wonderful to be here today, alive, clean and sober and full of joy and gratitude.

Thank you for being here for me.

Much love to all of you.Questor7

I’m never too sober to come to SMART meetings.

People Power

Online Update: Meet HeidiM, Online Meeting Volunteerby Kalar, SMART Recovery® Online Volunteer

How did you learn about SMART?

I found SMART through an online search “How effective are alcohol recovery programs?” or something like that.

What prompted you to seek help?

I developed a serious drinking problem during a very difficult time while my father was dying. I thought this was unusual but I have since learned that it’s not uncommon, especially for women, to “take up drinking” after a traumatic event or loss. When I finally acknowledged that I needed help, I searched the internet for information about programs. I did not feel that the AA approach would help me for a variety of reasons. I was especially drawn

to SMART with its emphasis on science-based techniques and also on the idea of being empowered to help yourself. I have never responded well to feeling powerless.

I actually stopped drinking a few days before I found SMART but I believe that the SMART tools allowed me to continue in a healthy recovery. I was working with a therapist at the time and I found it very helpful to bring in pieces of my smart tool exercises to discuss with her. I had assigned myself “recovery homework” - every day I did at least a few minutes of exploring a new tool, working on a write-up of a tool, listening to a podcast or reading some recovery related material.

How long have you been active on-line with SMART?

3 ½ years

How long have you been a volunteer?

2 ½ years

What volunteer responsibilities do you have at SMART?

I am a facilitator, meeting helper and chat volunteer.

What areas of SMART Recovery Online (SROL) have you personally utilized in your own recovery and growth?

The online meetings are wonderful. I always, personally, get something out of them even when they are about early recovery issues. I love the support and I enjoy the humor.

When I first stopped drinking, I used the 24/7 chatroom all the time. I found that the support was wonderful and I enjoyed the joking and chatting. I used it to distract myself when I starting thinking “Why bother? Why am I doing this?” Or when I had a bad day, it was a reward to go online and chat. Even when we weren’t talking directly about recovery issues, it was great.

Like many people, I had a lot of insomnia in early recovery and it was

Inspirations Continued

mailto:info%40smartrecovery.org?subject=

http://www.smartrecovery.org






great to have a place to go (24/7 chat room) when I woke up and felt like I was the only person in the world who was awake.

I like the online meetings you can attend in your PJs. I especially like early morning meetings which fit my lifestyle (not sleeping) very well. Also, I have some social anxiety and online meetings work really well for me. I don’t have to leave the house to attend.

What aspects do you find most helpful as you volunteer?

The tools. The support. The other amazing volunteers. The inspiring founders/leaders/podcasters.

What has surprised you most about the on-line peer support aspect of recovery?

This is going to sound arrogant. I don’t know how to say this other than, I really didn’t think I would have much in common with a bunch of drunks. I was

“unique” my problem wasn’t “that bad”, I had never done anything “really bad” as a result of drinking. I put quotations on these because they are all fallacies I held.

One interesting aspect of the online meetings, chat and message board is that you often don’t know much about people that you interact with. You don’t (usually) know where they are from; you almost never know their race, or their age. Sometimes you don’t even know their gender!

Two examples: a few years ago, there was a regular participant in meetings that I could really relate to. I imagined that this person was a woman about my age. Nope, it was a guy in his 70s. In a face-to-face meeting, I might have made assumptions about both of us and never realized how much we had in common.

Second example: every now and then, something comes up in a meeting and

you realize that a participant is attending while in jail (BIG advantage of SROL, imo) Many times I have been surprised to find out that this person who I really relate to is living in an environment very different from mine. Also true for some of the volunteers whom I greatly admire.

So here is an unexpected benefit: I have realized that I am not so different from the rest of the SMARTies and therefore the rest of humanity. I don’t mean that my opinion of myself has changed, but I feel that I am less likely to be judgmental about someone else’s situation. I feel more connected to people that I have, at least on the surface, very little in common with. I also have on-line friends who are home-less, in jail; and who have different political opinions than me (don’t go there). I have SMART friends all over the world; some in very remote places.

Is there anything that you would like to share about your experience of being a SMART volunteer?

I have gotten so much more out of volunteering than I would have dreamed. It’s one of the most rewarding experi-ences I have ever had.

In my opinion, the discussion aspect of text meetings is a huge advantage, it is very unique to the medium. Everyone can say what they want to say; no one gets shouted down. Sometimes the texts

come fast and furious and it’s hard to keep up. Sometimes there are a lot of

“balls in the air” but I love facilitating that kind of meeting. People are ENGAGED and that is really exciting. But it also takes some getting used to! Even seasoned face-to-face facilitators have told me that they found it confusing at first.

Are you involved in face-to-face meetings or just SROL?

Just SROL. I’ve been meaning to go to a new face-to-face here in Dayton but....social anxiety, injury, inability to talk myself into leaving the house after about 6 p.m....always an excuse.

One advantage of having on-line meetings is that people who are house-bound whether because of legal restrictions or because of physical handicaps can attend online meetings, the chatroom and work with the tools and message boards. This is HUGE for some people and it was very helpful to me following a difficult recovery from surgery.

How has your life changed since you’ve been involved in SMART?

As a person who suffers from lifelong anxiety issues and depression, I had gotten into many ways of distorted thinking about things. I was terrific at awfulizing. All or nothing thinking. For instance, lots of “shoulds”; “ I should be perfect, I should solve other people’s problems.” The REBT/ABC tools have literally changed my life and improved my marriage. My husband has read some SMART stuff and we have had wonderful discussions about some of the tools or about something that I read that I thought he would enjoy. He really likes the stuff about how to deal with procras-tination and perfectionism (which are not as far apart as you might think).

Articles are welcome!If you have a story or information you would like to see published in News & Views, please submit it to

Christi Farmer, [email protected] Unsolicited

material is most welcome!

People Power Continued



mailto:christif%40smartrecovery.org?subject=

mailto:christif%40smartrecovery.org?subject=






SMART Recovery® Annual ConferenceSeptember 18 - 20, 2015SMART volunteers, meeting partici-pants, clinicians, and friends from around the world gathered for our Annual Conference in Cincinnati, OH.

Mindfulness, SMART’s international and domestic development, a demo of the upgraded website, and tool training were the focus of the weekend.

Watch for more conference news, including the announcement of this year’s recipient of the Joe Gerstein Award for Exemplary Service in the January edition of News & Views.

SMART Idea: Donate Stocks, Get a Tax Break1. Are you planning to make a cash gift

to SMART Recovery?

2. Do you have common stock that you have owned for longer than a year on which you have a gain?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, then consider transferring shares of stock to our new brokerage account. You’ll receive credit for the

value of the stock on the date of transfer and avoid paying capital gains tax. Consult your tax advisor to see if this option is right for you.

Information about the SMART brokerage account is provided upon request. Contact Executive Director Shari Allwood, 440-346-0048.

Join in Bringing a Family & Friends Meeting to your Community contact

[email protected]

SMART Recovery® Online: Update on Freedom Fortnight 2015In early July, the SMART Recovery Online Community hosted the 2nd annual “Freedom Fortnight”. It was an event to celebrate freedom from addic-tion, and invited online participants to

“be a hero”, by choosing to:

1. Speak Up for Freedom of Choice! Inspire others by telling how you found freedom from addiction with SMART Recovery! Result: 9 new inspiring success stories were posted to our Message Board

2. Support Freedom from Addiction! Help protect the online support base of thousands as they seek freedom from addiction! Result: $1560 in donations to support our programs

3. Be a Leader Online or in Your Community! Be a hero and help others in the fight against addiction! Result: No way to accurately measure this one. We’re going with

“priceless”!

A huge thank you to all who partici-pated in July’s “Freedom Fortnight” FUNdraiser.

Our online donors rock!

SMART Ideas

Some Aids to Living a Valued Lifeby Hank Robb, Ph.D., ABPP

What I would call, “living a valued life,” starts by asking yourself if there is ANYTHING you actually give a crap about. That question is rather different than asking yourself if there is anything you SHOULD give a crap about. Your mind will give you plenty of those

“should’s,” but your body is the clue to what, as they say, “really gets you in your gut.” It’s that “get’s me in my gut” experi-ence that I am suggesting is the place to start.

People Power Continued



mailto:family%40smartrecovery.org?subject=






If you can’t come up with anything, then, at the end of each day WRITE DOWN your answer to this question,

“What did I do today that, as I look back on it, was actually worth my time?” Yes, you HAVE TO write it down or this process won’t work! And remember, the time to make this evaluation is AFTER you do the activity, not before or during. Notice, the question is not “was it fun” or “did I like it?” The question is about whether what you did was worth the time you spent doing it.

If after a month, you don’t have much, then add this question, “What would I be WILLING to do tomorrow that I don’t usually do?” Doing whatever you pick unwillingly, or grudgingly, isn’t really helpful. If you keep adding a new thing each day, the chances of having something to write down in answer to the first question goes up. Why? Because SEARCHING TENDS TO INCREASE FINDING. And, if you persist in finding stuff you actually give a crap about, there is a good chance that you will find some.

If you can’t tell when you give a crap about something and when you don’t, spend some time with people who seem to be doing things THEY actually give a crap about and get some coaching from them about how to tell the difference between actually giving a crap and not. Hopefully, there will be some folks like this at your SMART Recovery® meetings.

Once you have contacted at least one thing you actually do give a crap about, the next move is to come up with a symbol for that something. At this point, I often think of European medieval crests because they have both pictures and words that are meant to symbolize what the clan or family is supposed to be

about. The exact content of the symbol isn’t important. What’s important is that FOR YOU it somehow catches the essence of what you have found you actually give a crap about. If there is more than one thing, make a symbol for each.

Next, hold your arm out with your palm facing you and project that symbol onto your palm. When working well, you will literally be able to see the image on the palm of your hand. If the symbol is functioning properly, you will also be able to look down your arm and see quite a number of behaviors that, liter-ally, “line up” with your symbol. This is one thing “minds” are good for. They help us see the connections between our desires and how to fulfill those desires. Off to each side of your arm will be plenty of behaviors that don’t line up. And, by doing the behaviors that “line up,” the behaviors that don’t take care of themselves. This is worth repeating. If you stay focused on the “do do’s,” the

“don’t do’s” are nothing more than “back-ground noise” if even that. Keep your

“eyes on the prize” which is symbolized by what you’ve projected on your palm.

When functioning properly, the symbol will be both “energy evoking and directing,” a phrase I stole from Joseph Campbell. In other words, you will be

“energized to pursue.” OK, maybe some-times only a “tiny bit” energized but if the symbol is really about something that “gets you in your gut,” it will likely carry energy with it. What lines up on your arm is the “directing” aspect. It tells you what pursuing the stuff you care about actually looks like. When this activity works well, you literally “see what to do.”

We can say that the symbol isn’t “important” in and of itself. Rather, you

are “making it important” by doing the behaviors that line up with it. The fact that you “give a crap” about something isn’t the same as actually making that something important in your life. The emphasis here is that nothing “is impor-tant” in and of itself, but rather your behavior MAKES things important. Said another way, the “importance” is not “out there” or even “in here.” Importance is “in your own behavior.” Each of us has the opportunity to make ANYTHING important. How? By how we move your hands, arms, feet and mouth! That means we have the oppor-tunity to make important the stuff we actually give a crap about instead of stuff we don’t.

The “proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Thus, I invite you to give these practices a serious try. Discussing each aspect in your SMART Recovery meeting can help you and others stay on track with the process. Put these prac-tices in place and, soon enough, you will know if they are, indeed, aiding you in living, what is for YOU, a valued life.

Collegiate Recovery Programby Matison McCool, SMART Facilitator

Collegiate Recovery Programs are growing quickly across the United States, with over 140 universities giving young people a chance at recovery and an education all in one place. Here at the University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for Students in Recovery (CSR), we believe in including as many pathways to recovery as we possibly can. That is why I went through the SMART Recovery® Distance Training in June of 2015. When I was reentering college for the second time, I was extremely nervous about coupling my education with my recovery. How was I going to make my

SMART Ideas Continued








normal meetings? What kind of commu-nity could I be involved in that was around recovery? I couldn’t foresee recovery and education being on the same road; I viewed them as separate. Luckily, I was informed that our CSR was in it’s infancy at the same time I began my schooling. I began to hangout and study there in my spare time, getting to know our Collegiate Recovery Manager, and eventually it led to a student worker position.

During our first year, we decided to focus not on one pathway to recovery, but to be open to ALL pathways of recovery. We knew about SMART, just didn’t know how we would be able to hold a meeting. After some research, I found that I could go through the Facilitator training and begin holding our own meetings here at UT Dallas. The training was a great! After an in-depth understanding of SMART Recovery and the tools used, the training then began to focus on tools necessary to be an adequate facilitator. These active listening tools have not

only allowed me to facilitate a great meeting, but they have also taught me tools in which I can be a better friend, person, and family member. The online training allowed me to go through at my own pace, ask questions to the trainers when needed, and the option to go back over the material to truly understand it. The online session with all the trainers and the other trainees at the end, allowed ample time for questions on the fears and concerns of starting to facili-tate a SMART Recovery meeting.

A task at hand for any person going through the facilitator training is to find a place in which they can hold a meeting. For me that was simple, I already had a large room, all the white-boards, and it was RENT FREE! With so many universities offering collegiate recovery programming, a large amount of those universities already have a dedi-cated space for recovery. If you are near a small college or a large university, do some research, see if they offer any type of Collegiate Recovery Programing. If they do, see if they offer a SMART

Recovery Meeting. With SMART Recovery still growing, chances are they don’t have one yet and are looking for someone who is trained and able to facilitate a meeting. Even at small community colleges, the counseling center will deal with many students who are seeking recovery, a quick email can land some free space and great partici-pants. Most of all, universities and colleges can take away the stress of having to come up with rent every month, especially if the group is small. They also have a large population of people ranging from undergraduates to doctoral candidates that could use the opportunity for a meeting right on campus to couple their education and recovery together.

That is what we have here at the CSR at UT Dallas, a population of students who are in recovery, open minded, and ready to participate in meetings. The SMART Recovery meeting list added our meeting promptly to the website. I have already had numerous emails from the general public

These

tools

include:

SMART Recovery® Tools & TechniquesSMART’s 4-Point Program® uses many tools and tech-niques that may help you gain independence from addictive behavior.

• Change Plan Worksheet• Cost-Benefit Analysis• ABCs of REBT for urge coping• ABCs of REBT for emotional upsets• DISARM (Destructive Images Self-talk

Awareness and Refusal Method)• Brainstorming• Role-playing and Rehearsing• Hierarchy of Values

We encourage you

to learn how to use

each tool and to

practice the tools

and techniques

to help you

progress toward

Point 4: Living

a Balanced Life.









asking if it is OK for them to come to our meeting on campus. My answer will always be, YES! Not only are we able to reach out to the students on campus with flyers and adding the SMART Recovery meeting to our website, but we also take in the general public. For we do not want to close off a meeting to someone who is looking to abstain, this could be the only meeting in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex that they can make. We do not want to cut anyone off, there is always someone who is in need of help, and here at the Center for Students in Recovery, our SMART meeting will always be here to help them.

SMART Championby Nathan David, UKSR Facilitator

I first heard about SMART Recovery® when Leigh Proctor came to Gwent to deliver a presentation to professionals about the groups and the SMART community. Straight away I bought into the concept of addictive behaviour being a choice that people can choose to engage with or more importantly choose not to engage with.

My organisation Drugaid agreed to fund a license to enable the Phoenix Centre to deliver SMART Recovery groups and it was agreed that I would complete the training to deliver groups. The online training gave an overview of the principles of SMART and many of the interventions to use when delivering the four point programme. Some of the assignments were challenging, however the online support was extremely useful and the feedback was gratefully received.

I was able to attend an online meeting to observe a SMART group in operation which was extremely useful. I was extremely pleased to receive my certifi-cate and facilitators manual and was ready to start delivering groups.

To promote the groups, posters were displayed in local GP surgeries, drug and alcohol services, libraries and other places where people with addictive behaviours were likely to attend. The initial groups were small and as the participants were new to SMART the first few sessions involved introducing the SMART tools.

As the participants became familiar with the tools they became more confi-dent with the concept of cross talk and as a facilitator my role changed from introducing the techniques to guiding the meetings with the participants sharing their experiences of how the SMART tools had worked for them.

The groups started to grow but then some of the participants found employ-ment, some moved out of the area and for a while some of the meetings were very quiet. This did get a bit disheart-ening for a while; however, after contacting Leigh for advice I revisited some of the services where SMART was initially promoted. The groups again started to grow. Some of the participants became very passionate about the groups and particularly the power of choice. When facilitating meetings a number of participants have said the most empow-ering thing that has happened when addressing their addictive behaviour is realising that they have a choice. Challenging statements such as “I can

never drink again”, “I’m an addict” and “I’m powerless” often shocks participants but introducing the concept of choice can be very powerful, and on a number of occasions participants have stated that they feel their recovery started when they realised this.

Everyone that attends meetings is encouraged to join the online commu-nity. Having benefitted personally from SMART meetings and feeling part of the SMART community, one of the participants has now completed the facilitator training. Keen to implement his newly developed knowledge they assisted me and co-facilitated a couple of meetings and they are now starting to take the lead. I am confident that they will be able to facilitate independently and they are looking to set up additional meetings. This has inspired another participant who attends SMART meetings to complete the Get SMART training and they have also registered to complete the next stages.

Over the year I have found delivering SMART recovery groups extremely rewarding. It has been difficult at times particularly when the groups are small; however, I have had a great deal of support from Leigh Proctor and know that I can contact her at any time for advice and assistance. From a facilitators perspective I feel people share more about themselves when with their peers than perhaps they would in a one-to-one session and it is pleasing when participants mention that they have used the tools to good effect; however, the most rewarding part for me, person-ally, is when participants state that they have discovered the “Power of Choice”.









SMART Progress

We’re Growing – Major Improvements to be Unveiled for Online Meetings!For years, our US and UK organizations have relied on third-party platforms to deliver online recovery meetings. While these third-party platforms have been cost-effective, there have been a number of ongoing issues and challenges with them. That’s soon to change!

Thanks to a generous gift from the Autumn Ridge Foundation, we are now able to move away from the third-party platforms and create our own single infrastructure for all online meetings. Our new system is being designed to strengthen and grow our capacity for delivering SMART Recovery® meetings via the internet. It includes a new dedi-cated web server to provide for greater stability and faster tech support, along with a customized meeting platform which is designed to enrich the online experience for our participants.

The new system is expected to be rolled out later this year. Keep your eye on your inbox for future announcements. We are extremely grateful to the Autumn Ridge Foundation for their enthusiastic and generous support for this project.

Bringing SMART Recovery® to a New Area by Rose Barbour, SMART Recovery Facilitator from Prince Edward Island(PEI), Canada

While searching for different programs for my son, who didn’t connect with the 12-steps programs, I stumbled upon SMART Recovery. There were no meet-ings offered in my area so I signed up for the training with the plan to start one. I was excited about it because I knew that my son wasn’t the only one without a program he could relate to. SMART Recovery would give them a choice.

I shared information about SMART Recovery with Nicole Publicover. As an addictions worker at the Reach Centre (a youth recovery centre), she loved the idea of starting something new, which would give her clients a different option to try. She took the training, too, and we became the first two members of our SMART team that would grow to eight people in a short period of time. We started our first meeting in February 2015. By May, we were offering three meetings per week, including one at our provincial residential treatment facility.

Nicole and I promoted SMART Recovery at every opportunity, including through my blog (Living in the Shadows in Prince Edward Island), the Reach Centre’s website and various Facebook groups. We also had our meetings listed in the weekly self-help section of our local newspaper.

Karen Mair, the host of CBC Radio’s Mainstreet, was following our journey with SMART Recovery. She thought that her listeners might like to hear more about the program since it was something completely new to PEI. She invited us to be guests on her show. We had a wonderful interview and this really helped to spread the word about our meetings.

We were also invited to give presenta-tions on SMART Recovery to several groups, including family support groups, the management and staff at our Provincial Addictions Treatment Facility (Addictions Services), the staff and residents at two recovery homes, and more. We welcomed every opportu-nity to do a presentation.

To reach our goal of growing SMART Recovery on PEI, we knew that it would be important to have a positive relation-ship with Addictions Services. We also needed their support in two key areas. With this in mind, we submitted a proposal, which provided information about SMART Recovery and asked for the following: 1) that SMART Recovery be added to the list of approved meet-ings for their clients who have to attend a certain number of meetings per week; and 2) that we be able to offer SMART Recovery meetings once per week at the provincial residential treatment centre so that clients could experience a meeting before they got out of treatment. We were delighted when both of our requests were approved.

We continued to share about SMART Recovery at every opportunity. As a result, we heard from several people who were interested in taking the Facilitator training. We held an information session so that we could tell them about SMART Recovery and answer any ques-tions they had. We were delighted when they all registered to take the training to become SMART Recovery Facilitators. By early summer, we had eight trained Facilitators on our team and two more having just finished their training. We have truly built an amazing team of caring individuals who want to make a difference. We plan to hold another recruiting session soon.

When we were beginning our SMART Recovery journey, there were no other open meetings available east of

Coming Soon








Quebec (we are still the only ones!). This meant that if we wanted to see a SMART Recovery meeting in action, Nicole and I would have to drive 18 hours to do so! This was not possible with our busy schedules so we just had to do it. We did the meetings together in order to support each other. We liked the co-facilitator model so much that we kept it. All of our meetings have two facilitators, even though you only need one facilitator for a meeting.

SMART Progress Continued

Have You Attended an In-Person Mutual Help Group Meeting?We invite you to participate in an important study funded by the National Institutes of Health to learn more about the nature and effectiveness of SMART Recovery®, LifeRing, and Women for Sobriety (WFS). The study will also provide new information on traditional 12-step groups, such as AA. The study could help to inform more people about alternatives to AA.

Earn $80 in Amazon gift certificates and help advance addiction science by participating in the PAL study

You may be eligible to participate if you: • Have attended an in-person WFS/SMART/LifeRing/AA/NA

meeting within the past 30 days • Are willing to take an online survey (beginning Oct 1st) and able

to read English• Are over 18 years and a U.S. citizen

To learn more about the study, visit www.thepalstudy.org.We encourage you to take part in this important study!

Free CBA iPhone AppThe SMART Recovery® Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a tool for helping people recover from all types of addiction and addictive behaviors. A CBA is divided into 4 sections:

1. Advantages of using/doing: What do I enjoy about my addiction, what does it do for me?

2. Disadvantages of using/doing: What do I hate about my addiction, what does it do to me?

3. Advantages of NOT using/doing: What do I think I will like about giving up my addiction?

4. Advantages of NOT using/doing: What do I think I won’t like about giving up my addiction?

This is not a do once and forget about it exercise. It is an ongoing project. Most people simply can’t remember all of the positive and negative aspects of addiction and recovery at any one time. Furthermore, seeing all the negative consequences of addiction listed in one place is very powerful. On the positive side, no one really knows what they like or don’t like about living free of their addiction until they have done so for some time. SMART Recovery has members who have continued to add items to all four questions for a full 6 months.

Earlier this spring, a volunteer named Aaron Schachter, developed a Cost Benefit Analysis as an app for use on the Apple iPhone. Aaron volunteered his time and skills while taking sabbatical with his employer, DoSomething.org.

The feedback has been very positive from Addictions Services, our partici-pants and the general public who are happy that people now have a choice in programs.

Being a SMART Recovery facilitator has been such a rewarding experience. We hope that other people will also take the training and start meetings so that SMART Recovery will be available across the Province and, of course, in many other areas around the world.



http://www.thepalstudy.org

http://DoSomething.org






It runs on iOS 8.2 or higher and opti-mized for iPhone 5, 6, or 6 plus. It has been released as a free app on the Apple app store if you search SMART Recovery. To view the app via the website in order to get a general idea of what it looks like click on the following link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smart-recoverycostbenefit/id988593978?ls=1&mt=8 (you won’t be able to navigate it unless you download it onto your Apple iPhone)

It is published as”open source” which will allow other developers to modify the app. This means they would be able to look at the code, contribute to it, and develop the app for an Android, for example. The other benefit to the open source code is that it widens the funnel for others to volunteer for us (creating other apps, for instance).

Besides thanking Aaron for his hard work and efforts, we would like to give Jonathan von Breton a “thank you” for coming up with the sample CBA that was used in the iTunes store.

You can find the free app under the Health & Fitness category in the iTunes store.

Events Updateby Dolores Cloward (Dee), Special Events Coordinator

We were privileged to be host Dr. Bill Knaus in August for a talk on Anxiety, where he answered what anxiety is and gave practical steps to better cope with it.

We have a surprise, previously unannounced event! On December 5, 2015 at 5:00 PM, Dr. Tom Horvath will present: SMART Directions. He will spend time with us sharing some important updates about SMART and its future direction, including our exciting new Hosted meeting option!

Since it will be so close to the holidays, we may try to squeeze in some tips for enjoying and thriving during the holiday season as well. We will announce this soon. You can check our Events webpage: www.smartrecovery.org/events for registration and information in early November.

Please check out all of our previous podcasts from earlier in the year (and prior). We’re very pleased at how the Podcast Library has been shaping up, and we want to share it with everyone we know www.smartrecovery.libsyn.org. Pass it on!

Regional Coordinator Updateby Darryl Mizer, Chair-Regional Coordinators

To begin, what is a Regional Coordinator and what is their function? Briefly, a Regional Coordinator (RC) is an individual who has a good working knowledge of SMART Recovery®, the organization, its approach to recovery,

and its vast array of resources and materials. In addition, an RC is or has recently facilitated SMART Recovery meetings. The RC is a 100% volunteer position. Regional Coordinators are volunteers who assist and support facilitators in their area. SR has 13 regions determined by area size and meetings within their area. For example, the San Diego area may have a Regional Coordinator while another coordinator’s area may include a number of states.

RC’s contributions include:

• Attend and participate in quarterly Regional Coordinator meetings

• Make contact with meeting facilitators in assigned regions.

• Follow up, develop, and mentor volunteers expressing interest in starting new meetings.

• Encourage facilitators to organize and participate in Recovery Month activities.




https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smart-recoverycostbenefit/id988593978?ls=1&mt=8



http://smartrecovery.libsyn.com/webinar-on-anxiety

http://smartrecovery.libsyn.com/webinar-on-anxiety

http://www.smartrecovery.org/events

http://www.smartrecovery.org/events

http://www.smartrecovery.libsyn.org

http://www.smartrecovery.org/Misc/contactx.php






• Represent facilitators in communi-cating back to Central Office “field” questions, ideas and organization issues.

• Assist Volunteer Advisors and Central Office personnel with communicating and explaining SMART Recovery policies, positions and perspectives on recovery matters.

The RC community is a conscientious assembly of people dedicated to supporting the SMART Recovery program.

It is our privilege to offer a warm welcome to Marc Kern and David Weidman, co-Regional Coordinators of Greater LA, and Charlotte Miller, RC of Illinois. Their generous donation of time and talent enhances the mission of SR.

A special “thank you” to the following Regional Coordinators who have moved on due to other activities in their lives: Nick Gubernator, Chris Courington, Brad L., and Anna Koper. We wish you luck in your new endeavors!

President’s Letter

President’s Letter: The 13th Step and The Business of Recovery: Two Films of Interestby Tom Horvath, SMART president

I encourage you to be on the lookout in the coming months for both of these documentary films. They will likely be released via special screenings, rather than by placement in regular theaters.

Even better, you can organize your own screening of The Business of Recovery now (instructions on the website), and possibly The 13th Step in the future.

If both films reach a large audience of clients, families and addiction treatment providers, the impact on the extended recovery community will be substantial. A large audience is easy to imagine because, if people like controversial films, they won’t be disappointed. These films are not controversial because they are sensational. They are controversial because they are factual. They speak to crucially important facts that have been generally ignored.

SMART Recovery® is mentioned in both films. I supported both productions, which began in approximately 2011. I am interviewed in both films.

The 13th Stephttp://www.the13thstepfilm.com/

From the trailer page of the website:

“The explosive new documentary film by Monica Richardson that exposes the criminal and sexually predatory behavior that occurs systematically within Alcoholics Anonymous.”

Although the technical quality of this film is less than ideal, its message is likely to compel you nevertheless. The film is an intense experience. It presents several actual (very unfortunate and sad) cases.

Through the miracle of editing I get one of the funnier lines. A little comic relief will probably be welcome to most viewers.

The call to action is to both courts and AA. Courts need to stop mandating people to AA. In some cases individuals who didn’t even have substance prob-lems were sent. AA needs to do more to protect its participants. The challenge

now is for legal and social pressure to continue until changes are made.

The Business of Recoveryhttp://thebusinessofrecovery.com/

From the trailer page of the website:

As drug and alcohol addictions skyrocket, The Business of Recovery examines the untold billions that are being made off of families in crisis. With little regulation or science, the addiction treatment industry has become a cash cow business that continues to grow while the addiction death rates continue to rise.

The technical quality of this film is comparable to Hollywood feature films. The call to action is to improve regula-tion of the addiction treatment industry, especially the sober living component, increase the diversity of services offered (not just 12-step based treatment), and stop promising a success or cure to loved ones, when instead a long process of recovery may just be beginning.

This film was shown at the SMART Recovery annual conference last month. The producer of this film is coincidentally named Greg Horvath. We are not related.

Why Now?The facts in both films have probably

been in evidence a decade or two or longer. Why do these films appear now?

It is increasingly acceptable to ask probing questions about AA, addiction treatment, sober living, and other components of the recovery system. In part because of the efforts of SMART Recovery, it is now much more widely (though far from universally) recognized that there is more than one way to recover. With increasing diversity it is more reasonable to ask questions about any aspect of the system.




http://www.the13thstepfilm.com/

http://thebusinessofrecovery.com/






Lessons to Learn for SMART Recovery?AA privileges sober time. Someone

with 10 years is more respected than someone with two years. By not focusing significantly on “length of sobriety” SMART reduces the risk of abuse, as would happen if “senior” participants were given special status.

By allowing private meetings with sponsors, the setting for abuse is estab-lished in 12-step groups. Private meetings combined with a hierarchy based on sober time create significant risk for vulnerable newcomers. All meet-ings in SMART Recovery are group meetings. Participants are free to meet privately, of course, but such a meeting is no longer “official.”

SMART Recovery needs to continue to be modest about describing how effec-tive we are. We have little scientific basis for claiming any effectiveness (more research may modify this state-ment somewhat). Our tools are based on ideas found in some evidence-based addiction treatments. How helpful the tools are to each participant is a conclu-sion best reached by the participant. We are one way to recover, but certainly not the only way.

On the one hand SMART was founded as a partnership between “peers” (individuals seeking recovery support) and professionals. This partnership is one of the foundations of our success. Any approach to recovery that evolves as the science evolves needs to have professionals involved, who can help guide the changes SMART needs to make to stay current. On the other hand, we need to be careful about our alliances with the treatment industry.

Related to this idea is that SMART needs at times to employ top-down authority. We need to monitor what is

consistent with SMART, and what is not. When a meeting or a treatment facility claims to be doing something in the name of SMART Recovery, SMART itself may need to determine the accuracy of the claim. If the claim is inaccurate, SMART needs to act, in some cases by ending our affiliation with the volunteer, the meeting, the facility, or the organization.

As the prominence and influence of SMART Recovery grows, we need to steer clear of the grievous mistakes identified in these two documentaries. They are a “must-see” for any serious student of addiction treatment and recovery, and a guide for how SMART Recovery needs to operate.

International Development

August 2015 UK SMART Recovery® Update(Reprinted with permission from the UK SMART e-letter)

Dear Partners, Champions, Volunteers, Programme Participants and Friends:

Many thanks for your unending support during our organisational transi-tion over this past year. There is no doubt that the SMART Programme is

consistent with the contemporary addictions treatment evidence base. Your ongoing commitment to SMART is a testimony as to how UK SMART Recovery (UKSR) can employ the evidence to change lives. We are very grateful for your confidence in the Programme as we continue moving forward.

It’s my privilege to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director of UKSR, Angie King. Angie has worked in the voluntary sector for over 20 years. She has a wide range of experience in management in the public and third sectors, finance and building partnerships with the statutory, private and voluntary sectors. She has particular expertise in service development and indeed led her last organisation from 8 to 55 staff with a £1.2 million turnover. Her passion is helping people live life to the full, whether they are on their recovery journey, staff or volunteers. On a Wednesday evening she can often be found volunteering at Celebrate Recovery meetings in her hometown of Stoke on Trent.

On August 24th, Trish Allan will be joining us as National Coordinator - Scotland. Trish has an extensive service background in addiction recovery, most recently as a Rehabilitation Worker for the Fife Intensive Rehabilitation of Substance Misuse Team (FIRST). Trish has served as a Champion for SMART Recovery and a meeting facilitator for both SMART Family & Friends and general SMART meetings. With the continued support of our Scottish Volunteer Regional Coordinators, Colin and Sandra, we look forward to expanding UK SMART support throughout Scotland. Thanks also to Jardine who worked tirelessly for SMART Recovery in this role for four years, and I wish him well as he has moved on to a new opportunity.

President's Letter Continued








SMART activities in England and Wales continue to flourish under the guidance of National Coordinators Steve Crawley and Leigh Proctor and the Volunteer Regional Coordinators, all of whom remain busy and committed to expanding relationships, partners and SMART champion- and peer-led meetings. We’ll bring you more news about activities in England and Wales in future updates.

I would also express gratitude to my colleagues on the UK SMART Recovery Board who have helped to guide the formation of UK SMART Recovery and steered us through this time of change. We are now seeking to expand the Board to include an indi-vidual who has personally overcome an addictive behavior using the SMART Recovery Programme. If you are a peer and have the skills and background to make a contribution the UK SMART Board, kindly complete the application found here by September 15th. (Note: link was deactivated as application dead-line has passed – there were many excellent candidates who kindly volun-teered to serve on the board and provide their time, energy and talents.)

More news and updates will be coming soon. In the meantime, we are excited about having a full complement of staff and Board and look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Robin Davidson President, UK SMART Recovery

SMART Recovery® in DenmarkEvery six months, members of the organizations funded by the Danish government to bring SMART Recovery to Denmark provide a progress report. We are pleased to share some of the highlights provided by the SMART Team leaders, including: • Klavs Morville, Project Manager

SMART PILOT, Copenhagen and Frederiksberg

• Peter Olsen, Project Leader and Facilitator, Volunteer Center Varde

• Lone Jensen, SMART Recovery Faaborg

• Frank Brodde, Project Leader, Vælg Friheden, Esbjerg

• Cathrine Sort, Project Manager, FriSe Selfhelp

Each of the project leaders are ensuring the recruiting and training of new facilitators to begin new meetings. It has been a challenge to close the gap between the desire for new meetings and trained facilitators to begin new meet-ings, but the above-noted SMART team are focused on providing more meetings throughout Denmark.

Of the existing meetings, attendance for the most part has been steady and/or on the rise.

Some are finding a preference for the more well-known AA or NA amongst some of the treatment centers, so continuing to create awareness of the SMART Recovery program and tools remains high on the list for each of the team leaders. Some note that the best

“advertisement” for SMART Recovery is those who have benefited from the program and serve as ambassadors when reaching out to others struggling with addiction, and to treatment professionals.

Facilitators are also enthused about and touting the SMART Recovery program in their communities. Some of the team are trying local advertising in newspa-pers to seek volunteers and participants.

A couple of teams are branching out to try a Woman’s meeting or youth meetings.

Work is beginning on a SMART Danish website. Bendt Skjold Hansen (a long-time friend of SMART and many have met Bendt at the SMART Annual Conference in San Diego and Washington, DC) continues to provide overall coordination and collaboration amongst the teams, for which SMART Recovery is grateful.

We look forward to continuing to update you on the continued expansion of SMART Recovery in Denmark.

SMART Recovery® Training in SwedenThe participants were two very positive employees from Linköping Kommun, and five very positive and engaged former

“clients” who all had more or less connec-tion to the different 12-step communities in the areas and they were all eager to start up SMART Recovery to secure a broader range of options in “the battle against addiction” and to have a serious and effective alternative for those who do not use or feel that they fit in the 12-step communities.

Everybody was excited as well as fired up when we arrived. It was such a joy being able to pass on our knowledge as well as our devotion to a bunch of people who simply could not get enough, and who were so eager to get started.

The staff from Linköping Kommun, who were behind this great initiative as well as supplying the overall logistics,

International Development Continued








were very, very pleased and claim that they got much more value from their investment than they had ever expected. We are sure that they will deliver the necessary support needed to move this thing on forward as well as assist us in spreading the knowledge about SMART Recovery to the rest of Sweden.

SMART Recovery Alberta Update September 2015Hello from Calgary, Alberta, Canada,

Things in Alberta are going well, with 2015 shaping up to match 2014’s numbers with attendance, book sales, and collections. Wonderful news to report!

We have two new meetings starting up! The first one will be on September 15, 2015 in Innisfail, Alberta. A huge thanks to Don who set this new meeting up. Innisfail is about 30 minutes south of Red Deer and will be a Tuesday night meeting. Red Deer’s Thursday meeting is established and this is the perfect time to open a new meeting, so members in and around Red Deer and Innisfail will now have two meetings a week to attend. Trevor and Amanda will be helping out with the new meeting. It is nice to have three facilitators cover the two weekly meetings, that’s for sure. Thank you team!

The second meeting is set to open October 4, 2015 at the South Health Campus in Calgary, Alberta. The South Health Campus is a new hospital in south Calgary. Michaelle was instru-mental in helping to get this new location set up. The meeting will be on Sundays. The new meeting will be in their Wellness Centre which focuses on providing options to help individuals live a balanced, self-directed life. A perfect fit for SMART! The biggest

bonus is that the Wellness Centre is providing the meeting space free of charge . We only need to supply the coffee supplies. When this news was announced on the mental health unit, the doctors, nurses, and patients literally cheered out loud in appreciation of a SMART meeting coming to the hospital!

This will mean Calgary will have meetings six days a week. A dream of mine 10 years ago was to have SMART meetings operate meetings seven days a week. We will get the two new meetings established, and look at expanding to seven days a week, with a Tuesday meeting in South Calgary. We will be looking into the seventh meeting in the first half of 2016. Hopefully, when we establish a good track record with Alberta Health Services, we will have an opportunity to open an eighth in Calgary’s Northeast, at the Peter Lougheed Hospital!

Things are great in Alberta!

I look forward to posting more positive news in the December News & Views!

Looking forward to the annual Conference in Cincinnati!

Curtis BoudreauExecutive Director, SMART Recovery Alberta

News and Views – Australian Report (September 2015) SMART Recovery Australia® (SRAU) has commenced a more advanced facilitator training combining an online pre-training component with the two-day face-to-face training course. All the SMART Recovery materials have been refreshed. SRAU is trialing a new structure partly on how we collabo-

rate with partner organizations; partially modeled on the successful United Kingdom SMART Recovery Partnership Scheme: www.smartrecovery.org.uk/partners/partnership-scheme. The other portion of the structure is the involve-ment of individuals who voluntarily run SMART Recovery groups. Within the next six months both facilitators and participants will have access to a dedicated online support community in Australia.

SMART Recovery Australia has been recently reaching some remote areas in Australia assisting our indigenous peoples. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Indigenous Australians) have poorer health than other Australians, as reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2014. There has been facilitator training in Darwin and Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory. (Nhulunbuy (pictured), in northeast Arnhem Land near the top of Australia has been home to the Yolngu Aboriginal people for at least 40,000 years). SRAU also presented at the Northern Territory Alcohol and Other Drugs Sector Forum in Alice Springs (Alice Springs is known as the red centre of Australia) and a National Aborigines and Islanders




http://www.smartrecovery.org.uk/partners/partnership-scheme

http://www.smartrecovery.org.uk/partners/partnership-scheme




©2015 ADASHN, Inc., 7304 Mentor Avenue, Suite F, Mentor, OH 44060, all rights reserved. All statements regarding self-help in this newsletter are the views of the author and are not an official endorsement

of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Self-Help Network, Inc.

SMART Recovery® relies on volunteer labor and donations. Please be generous with your time and money!

Day Observance Committee week event in Sydney.

The second survey on SMART Recovery Participants and Facilitators in Australia undertaken by the University of Wollongong has been completed. The findings will be presented as part of a Symposium Presentation titled, ‘Smart Recovery: The Evidence Base Worldwide, And How Research Into Facilitators’ and Other Stakeholders’ Experience of the Groups Informed Programme Development’ at the Annual Scientific Alcohol and Drug (APSAD) Conference in November 2015. Other presentations in the symposia will be on a systematic literature review on the evidence-base for SMART Recovery worldwide and talking about the process of acquiring feedback from stakeholders and trans-lating that into smarter practice. The Symposium is to be chaired by Professor Anthony Shakeshaft, member of the SMART Recovery Australia’s Research Advisory Committee and

Deputy Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Last year SMART Recovery Australia started building a solid and talented Board of Directors. Zoe Trueman, a Public Relations and Communications specialist is the newest Director. Zoe has held management positions with global firms such as Macquarie Group and Barclays. A new person to join the SRAU staff team is Peter Bly as the Fundraising and Donor Liaison

Manager. Peter has been the Grants Manager for the Bangarra Dance Theatre for 2.5 years. Prior to that position he was the Relationship Manager with the Westmead Medical Research Foundation and a similar role with the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia over a further 2.5 years. SRAU needs to develop diverse income streams and become sustainable in order to achieve our mission to “make SMART Recovery accessible to all people living in Australia.”

SRAU National Program Coordinator Josette Freeman with Aboriginal community members in Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory.

“Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's learning to dance in the rain”

— Vivian Greene




celebrating ten years clean and get through one single ...and get through one single night without...

Documents