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Frequently asked questions about SMART Recovery®
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Meeting Outline at SMART Recovery®
Basic Meeting Outline
There are a number of advantages of consistency. A major component of
SMART Recovery® is meetings, whether face-to-face or online. If these
meetings vary widely, then who are we? If a Facilitator were having
momentary or longer lasting difficulties, how would a participant know
that the meeting was not typical, if there were no typical? How would
Facilitators know whether they were improving, if there were nothing to
compare with?
From another perspective, we have been in the business of providing
meetings under the name SMART Recovery® since 1994. We have learned a few
things, and we can incorporate the "tried and true" into a meeting format
that is powerful, yet flexible. By using that format, we can increase our
chances of reaching and helping the broadest range of participants.
Six basic elements of a SMART meeting
Welcome and Introduction
5 minutes
Check-in
10-20 minutes
Agenda Setting
3 minutes
Working Time
40-50 minutes
Pass the Hat
3 minutes
Check-out and Closing
15 minutes
TOTAL
90 minutes
For special circumstances, the Facilitator always has the authority to
delete one of these elements. Some Facilitators may also routinely add
other elements (such Sharing Successes, Developing Self-assigned Projects,
or Social Time). However, experience has shown that the routine
elimination of any of these elements is very likely to impair the
effectiveness of the meeting.
Welcome and Introduction
This element is needed to orient new and recent participants, and to
indicate to everyone that the pre-meeting chit-chat has ended and the
meeting has begun. Newcomers need to be clear about what is expected of
them. A simple version would be:
"Welcome! My name is Tom. I will be facilitating this SMART Recovery®
meeting tonight. SMART stands for Self Management And Recovery Training.
I'm passing around a meeting outline, so you will know what to expect.
This meeting will last 90 minutes. This meeting is open to anyone. You are
not required to participate or use your name if you don't wish to. There
is no charge for this meeting, but we will gladly accept your donation
when we pass the hat later. Our central topic is how to abstain from any
type of addictive behavior, including alcohol, drugs, and activities such
as gambling. “SMART Recovery® views addictive behavior as a complex
maladaptive behavior, not as a disease. We view recovery as our own
responsibility.
We teach self-empowering skills designed to help you:
a) build and maintain motivation,
b) cope with urges,
c) identify and solve the other problems in your life,
d) and achieve lifestyle balance in order to prevent relapse.
This meeting is confidential: we expect that what is said here, stays
here. If this is your first meeting you are welcome to mostly listen, or
to jump right in and join the conversation, whichever seems better to you.
We have literature explaining our fundamental ideas that you can purchase
after the meeting.
Okay, that was the Welcome and Introduction. Next is the Check-in."
Check-in
In a smaller meeting (e.g., only a handful of participants), the Check-in,
Agenda-Setting, and Working Time may merge into one item. It could seem
quite artificial to limit someone to a few minutes of Check-in, if the
meeting is small and the person is obviously "on a roll" and eager to
talk. In a larger meeting more structure will be needed. For a large
meeting, limit each participant to perhaps one to three minutes. Otherwise
Check-in will take up the entire meeting. Without a Check-in, you won't
know what issues are present in the room. Tell the group:
"In the Check-in we simply report for two or three minutes what has been
happening recently that is important for your recovery. If you are new,
you might want to tell us what led up to your coming here. Susan, let's
start with you, and then go around the circle."
When it is clear that someone has more than a few minutes of talking to
do, you might say:
"Let's finish the Check-in, and then we can get back to the issue you are
dealing with. We will have more time then and can get feedback from the
whole group."
Agenda-Setting
It may be clear after the Check-in who has pressing issues and needs more
time - or perhaps no one has a pressing issue. If there are several
participants ready to talk, identify the order they get to go in. It might
go like this:
"Several of you seemed to want to talk more. So, how about this as our
agenda? Mary, how about if you start, then Jamal can follow, and Shedonna
last. You will each have about 10 minutes."
If only one person has an issue, it would still be useful to state:
"Jaime, why don't begin, but after 10 minutes or so, I'm going to ask if
someone else has an issue to focus on."
Working Time
Many meetings will use this discussion time to construct an ABC at the
board or flip chart.
I propose that the ABC itself be optional, but that
all meetings use this time to listen and understand participants, and
suggest alternative perspectives for participants to consider. These
suggestions need to be made tentatively and considerately. Crosstalk is
great at our meetings. It is more important that a participant leave a
meeting feeling understood, than having been overloaded with a rational
perspective that may be too much to digest all at once.
If there are no pressing issues, have a prepared topic, such as one of the
four points (of the 4-Point Program™). It is not necessary that you
lecture about the topic. You might simply read a paragraph or two out of
the Member's Manual or other book from the Recommended Reading List, and
ask for reactions. After some period of discussion, it would be useful to
ask if someone has thought of an issue to focus on. If so, state the new
agenda:
"Great, Maria, let's look at this issue for about 10 minutes, then I'll
check to see if someone else has also thought of an issue."
Pass the Hat
It's hard to tell for sure which section of the meeting outline is most
difficult for most Facilitators, but this one is certainly a leading
candidate. If you find yourself not doing this, you have a great
opportunity to identify and correct inaccurate thinking! A suggested Pass
the Hat statement is provided on page 1-5 of the Facilitator's Manual. In
brief, this statement is:
"SMART Recovery® is a non-profit, but has expenses like any other
organization. There is no charge for this meeting, but we gratefully
accept any donation you can provide. The cost of a drink would be one size
donation to give."
Check-out and Closing
If you skip this step you lose a valuable opportunity to learn how the
meeting affected all the participants. Even those who have been silent
until this point typically will speak--and it now may be necessary to
limit them! Participants can also learn a great deal from each other. When
both a Check-in and Check-out are provided, everyone has two structured
opportunities to speak, which can be a great encouragement to those
feeling timid. You might say:
"It's time to Check-out. Let's go around the circle again. I'd like to
hear what was most meaningful for you about this meeting, or anything else
you want to tell us. You each have about 30 seconds. How about starting
with you John"
When everyone is finished you can simply say:
"Thanks for attending. If anyone has any questions, or wishes to purchase
literature, or needs a court card signed, I will be staying for a few
minutes. I hope to see you next week. Good night."
Just as it is important to know when the meeting has begun, it is also
important to know that the meeting has ended.
Options
Some facilitators may want to use the Check-out to let each person plan a
self-assigned project (an "experiment" or "homework") to do during the
week to advance her/his recovery. If so, more time will have to be
allocated to the Check-out.
Some groups may choose to run a half-hour pre-meeting to introduce the
program to newcomers, answer questions, etc.
Some facilitators may announce and encourage a social time after the
formal closing where participants can get to know each other and perhaps
exchange phone numbers. It can be especially useful for the facilitator or
a long time participant to assigned to speak to
a newcomer and find out her/his reaction to the meeting.
Want to start a meeting in your area?
Starting a Meeting
Advanced Meeting
| Pre-Meeting |
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Some groups may choose to run a half-hour pre-meeting to introduce the program to newcomers, answer questions, etc.
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| Welcome and Opening Statement
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5 minutes. The opening may be read by the Facilitator or another group member. An additional reading may be included.
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| Personal Update
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5-20 minutes. What has happened in your life since the last meeting? (Facilitator goes first.) Newcomers: Why did you attend?
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| Agenda Setting |
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5 minutes. Based on the Personal Update, establish a meeting agenda.
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| Coping with Activating Events |
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30-45 minutes. Focus on SMART's Four-Point Program:
- Building and maintaining motivation to abstain
- Coping with urges
- Managing thoughts, feelings, and behavior: Activating event, Beliefs, Consequences
- Balancing momentary and enduring satisfactions: Lifestyle balance (Reason and scientific knowledge are the highest authorities in SMART.)
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| Pass the Hat |
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5 minutes.
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| Meeting Review and Homework
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15 minutes.
What was most meaningful to you about this meeting, and what homework could you do this week? Homework can also be suggested by someone else in the group.
Facilitator goes last, and may also summarize the whole meeting.
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| Socializing |
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10 minutes.
Announcements; exchange of phone numbers; purchase publications; questions and answers; court cards; general socializing.
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| TOTAL |
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90 minutes. Note: For a 60-minute meeting, each section of the meeting is proportionally shorter.
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