Frequently Asked Questions about SMART Recovery®
TOP
What is SMART Recovery®?
What is the
SMART Recovery® program of recovery?
What does SMART
Recovery® stand for?
What is addictive behavior?
How is SMART Recovery® different from Twelve Step programs?
How do I contact SMART
Recovery®?
How do I find out
about local meetings?
How do I obtain
a meeting verification?
What is the SMART
Recovery® website?
How do I order
SMART Recovery® publications?
Is SMART Recovery® as
effective as AA?
What are
the other non-Twelve Step support groups?
What is the foundation on which SMART Recovery® is built?
What is the history of the relationship between SMART Recovery® and
Rational Recovery?
What are the differences between SMART Recovery® and Rational Recovery
(RR)?
Can SMART Recovery® be used successfully with "bottomed-out" individuals?
Isn't SMART Recovery® primarily for those whose problems are not severe?
Does SMART
Recovery® have groups for "codependency"?
Where does SMART Recovery® get its money, and how does it spend it?
What is ADASHN (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Self-Help Network), and what is its
relationship SMART Recovery®?
Sometimes I see SMART®, and sometimes SMART Recovery®. What is the
difference?
Acronyms Used in
the SMART Recovery® Program
Q. What is SMART Recovery®?
A. SMART Recovery® is a nationwide, nonprofit organization which offers
free support groups to individuals who desire to gain independence from
any type of addictive behavior. SMART Recovery® also offers a free
Internet Message Board discussion group, and sells publications related to
recovery from addictive behavior.
TOP
Q. What is
the SMART Recovery® program of recovery?
A. The SMART Recovery® approach to recovery is summarized in the
Four-Point program.
SMART Recovery® teaches how to:
1) Enhance and maintain motivation to abstain
2) Cope with urges
3) Manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
4) Balance momentary and enduring satisfactions
TOP
Q. What does SMART
Recovery® stand for?
A. SMART Recovery® is an acronym that stands for Self-Management and
Recovery Training.
TOP
Q. What is addictive behavior?
A. Addictive behavior is over-involvement with substance use (e.g.,
psychoactive substances of all kinds, including alcohol, nicotine,
caffeine, food, illicit drugs, and prescribed medications), or
over-involvement with activities (e.g., gambling, sexual behavior, eating,
spending, relationships, exercise, etc.). We assume that there are degrees
of addictive behavior, and that all individuals to some degree experience
it. For some individuals the negative consequences of addictive behavior
(which can involve several substances or activities) become so great that
change becomes highly desirable.
TOP
Q. How is SMART Recovery® different from Twelve Step programs?
A. SMART Recovery® has a scientific foundation, not a spiritual one. SMART
Recovery® teaches increasing self-reliance, rather than powerlessness.
SMART Recovery® meetings are discussion meetings in
which individuals talk with one another, rather than to one another. SMART
Recovery® encourages attendance for months to years, but probably not a
lifetime. There are no sponsors in SMART Recovery®. SMART Recovery®
discourages use of labels such as "alcoholic" or "addict".
TOP
Q. How do I contact SMART
Recovery®?
A. The national office is:
7304 Mentor Avenue
Suite F
Mentor, Ohio 44060
Phone: 440-951-5357. FAX:440-951-5358.
Contact Us by email (click here), or contact your local SMART® chapter.
TOP
Q. How do I find out about local meetings?
A. If SMART Recovery® is not listed in your local telephone book, click
here to view the SMART Roster.
Q. How do I
obtain a meeting verification?
A. Verification forms are used to provide documentation that an individual has participated in a substance abuse recovery meeting. These may be desired for a variety of reasons, including good faith evidence in pre-court hearings, to satisfy an employer stipulation or court sentence, to fulfill a component of probation, etc.
You can either ask your Face to Face Facilitator for a verification or...
For online meetings follow the these instructions:
Most facilitators will tell you during the meeting exactly when and how to to contact them regarding your verification form. Some prefer requests be made at the beginning, and some prefer to get the information from you at the close of the meeting.
In your message or email to the facilitator, ask for a verification form and be sure to provide your correct email address. Following the meeting, the facilitator will email the verification form to you at the address you provided. If the email address contains errors, your form will not arrive in your email box.
Some facilitators, but not all, prefer to receive their meeting verification request forms via email. The attendee need only send an email to that address asking for a meeting verification. Please also provide the date and time of the meeting as well as the screen name used.
(You can also find these instructions on our message board as well)
TOP
Q. What is the SMART
Recovery® website?
A. www.smartrecovery.org/
TOP
Q. How do I order
SMART Recovery® publications?
A. You can place your order through our secure online bookstore located on our website.
Orders can also be placed over the phone, fax or mailed to the Central Office.
Your local meeting facilitator may also carry some publications for sale.
TOP
Q. Is SMART Recovery®
as effective as AA?
A. From a scientific perspective, the effectiveness of all support groups
for addictive behavior is unproven. The only way to answer that question
is to attend meetings from all available groups, and reach a personal
conclusion about the best approach to recovery.
TOP
Q. What are
the other non-Twelve Step support groups?
Women for Sobriety (WFS): (215) 536-8026 www.womenforsobriety.org
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (S.O.S.): (323) 666-4295 www.sossobriety.org.
Moderation Management (MM): (212)871-0974 www.moderation.org.
Men for Sobriety (MFS): (215) 536-8026 www.womenforsobriety.org.
TOP
Q. What is the scientific foundation on which SMART Recovery® is built?
A. There are literally hundreds of scientific references that might be
used to provide a foundation for the SMART Recovery® Program. A good place
to begin reviewing them is, in particular,
Hester & Miller, 1995 (Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches:
Effective Alternatives, Boston: Allyn & Bacon). This provides a good
overview.
TOP
Q. What is the history of the relationship between SMART Recovery® and
Rational Recovery?
A. SMART Recovery, a non-profit corporation, was originally named the
Rational Recovery Self-Help Network, and was affiliated with Rational Recovery Systems, a for-profit
corporation owned by Jack Trimpey. In 1994, the non-profit changed its name
to SMART Recovery, and ended all affiliation with Trimpey. This change
occurred because of disagreements between Trimpey and the non-profit's
board of directors about the program of recovery to be offered in the
self-help groups.
TOP
Q. What are the differences between SMART Recovery® and Rational Recovery
(RR)?
A. The ultimate organizational authority in SMART Recovery® is the Board
of Directors. The ultimate program authority is scientific knowledge and
rational thought, as interpreted by the Program Committee and Board of
Directors. In RR, the ultimate authority for all issues is the owners.
SMART Recovery® has a broad program that includes attention to motivation,
urges, problem-solving and lifestyle balance. From the perspective of the
SMART Recovery® Program, RR (as of 1997) appears to have a narrower focus,
primarily on urge coping. Earlier RR (as expressed in The Small Book,
which is on the SMART Recovery® Recommended Reading List) had a broader
focus. SMART Recovery® offers groups, publications, and an Internet
listserve discussion group. RR offers educational workshops and
publications.
TOP
Q. Can SMART Recovery® be used successfully with "bottomed-out"
individuals? Isn't SMART Recovery® primarily for those whose problems are
not severe?
A. SMART Recovery® is not for everyone, but rationality does have a broad
appeal! The expression
"street smart" in part refers to this. Rational does not have to be
complicated. Simple is best. Even children can grasp the basics of
rational thinking. If someone is truly beyond any rational thinking, he or
she may also be beyond any help (but this seems unlikely).
SMART Recovery® can reach out to all levels of society. SMART Recovery®
meetings currently occur in homeless shelters, inpatient mental health
units, prisons, and other places frequented by individuals with
substantial addictive behavior (and other) problems. The Facilitators who
lead these meetings report significant success in teaching SMART Recovery®
concepts, and significant gratitude from those who learn them.
TOP
Q. Does
SMART Recovery® have groups for "codependency"?
A. SMART Recovery has a Family & Friends online group and a message board forum for Concerned Significant
Others (CSO). The participants are encouraged to read the book Get Your Loved One Sober, and employ the tools of the Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT) program. CRAFT is a scientifically-based intervention designed to help concerned significant others (CSOs) to engage treatment-refusing substance abusers into treatment.
Significant others could also attend SMART Recovery meetings aiming to
abstain from specific behaviors that they may have
developed in (maladaptive) response to the addictive behavior. SMART
Recovery is intended for all addictive behavior (substances and activities),
and enabling behavior can be considered as a form of addictive behavior.
If your locality has several individuals with these issues, you may wish
to get involved with our SMART Recovery Family & Friends online group, and work toward creating your own local group.
TOP
Q. Where does SMART Recovery® get its money, and how does it spend it?
A. Primary funding is obtained from individual contributions, sale of
publications, group donations to the Central Office, grants, and corporate sponsor-level contributions.
Primary expenses include general Central Office expenses (mailing, e-mail, phone, copying), and full and part-time staff members: Shari Allwood, Executive Director, Jodi Dayton, Manager, Network Services.
Primary services include communications -- quarterly News & Views
newsletter, quarterly Facilitator's & Advisor's Letter, responses to
phone, fax and email inquiries; volunteer support (face-to-face meeting
volunteers and the online volunteer community); development and support of
new meetings (national and international); an annual training program; and
new product development.
TOP
Q. What is ADASHN (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Self-Help Network), and what is
its relationship SMART Recovery®?
A. In August, 1994, when the Board of Directors decided to end its
affiliation with Rational Recovery Systems (RR), it was necessary to
change our name, which had been Rational Recovery Self-Help Network.
Because there had been insufficient time to identify a suitable name, Joe
Gerstein, M.D., President at that time, suggested ADASHN as a name that
would not bring us into conflict with the name of any other organization.
It was understood by all that in time a better name would be established.
Rob Sarmiento, Ph.D., a Board Member, suggested SMART Recovery® several
weeks later, and this name was adopted in October, 1996. However, because
a number of documents and accounts had already been established under the
name ADASHN, we became ADASHN dba (doing business as) SMART Recovery®. In
time changing all of our documents and accounts over to SMART Recovery®
may become a priority, but for now all of our efforts have been directed
toward building our network.
TOP
Q. Sometimes I see SMART, and sometimes SMART Recovery®. What is the
difference?
A. When informally referring to our organization, we use SMART. When
formally referring to our
organization, we use the full name, to emphasize that the name is an
acronym (Self Management and Recovery Training). The full name often also
includes the service mark symbol, which clarifies that only SMART
Recovery® offers the SMART Recovery® Program.
SMART Recovery® is a registered service mark of ADASHN.
For informal use we recommend SMART Recovery® (rather than SR or SMART-R)
because it helps differentiate us from other groups.
TOP
Acronyms Used in
the SMART Recovery® Program
SMART = Self-Management And Recovery Training
REBT = Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
USA = Unconditional Self Acceptance
UOA = Unconditional Other Acceptance
ABCs
A = Activating event, something happens
B = Beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes about "A"-These beliefs can be
rational (rB), reality-based, logical and self-helping, or irrational (iB),
demanding and wishful based thinking, illogical, and self-defeating. C =
Consequences-the emotions (mad, sad, scared, glad, etc.) and behaviors
that are the result of A
(Activating Event) + B (Beliefs)
D = Disputes-arguments against irrational beliefs
E = Effects of the disputes-new emotions and behaviors that result from
replacing irrational beliefs with rational ones
CBA = Cost/Benefit Analysis
DIBS = Disputing Irrational BeliefS
DISARM = Destructive Self-talk Awareness and Refusal Method
LFT = Low Frustration Tolerance
PPP = Practice, Patience, Persistence
REI = Rational Emotive Imagery
VACI = Vital Absorbing Creative Interest
ATW = Absolute Thought Warning !!!!…Look for the Should…Must…Have
to…Cant…Ought…All…Need…Always…Never…Awful…Terrible…Horrible…or CAN'T
STAND's !!!!!
For more information on this topic, see the SMART Recovery Dictionary.
SMART Recovery® is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and we depend on
and welcome donations.
Follow Us
Quick Links
SMART Recovery News
News & Views Newsletter
Volunteer Training
Contact SMART Recovery
SMART Recovery
7304 Mentor Avenue
Suite F
Mentor, OH 44060
Toll free: 866-951-5357
Tel: 440-951-5357
Fax: 440-951-5358
Contact Us by Email
