by Shari Allwood, SMART Recovery Executive Director Much like how long-time volunteers feel when they graduate and move on from SMART, my need to leave the employment of SMART elicits immense sadness and full acceptance as I realize the need to tackle recent challenges in my life. I have lived and breathed SMART for the… Continue reading Moving on from SMART after 23+ Amazing Years!

DISARMing the Trickster By Yvan Roy A workshop I designed suggests how to use the SMART tool DISARM – Destructive Imagery and Self-talk Awareness and Refusal Method – at a meeting or on your own. 1. Develop the Framework – Externalize the Addiction Talk about how the addiction has come to dominate the participants’ lives… Continue reading Defeating Urges Using the DISARM Tool

A guest post by William L. White I have tremendous respect for the work Dr. Alan Marlatt, Dr. Dennis Daley, Terrence Gorski, and others have done pioneering the field of relapse prevention (RP), but I have always been troubled by the relapse language and making RP a focal point in addiction treatment. My concern is… Continue reading Relapse prevention, recovery management, recovery transcendence

Celebrating the Holidays with Recovering Family Members and Friends Peter Gaumond, Chief, ONDCP Recovery Branch This time each year can be stressful for anyone, but the holidays present a special challenge for people recovering from a substance use disorder. Those in long-term recovery typically are adept at navigating the minefield of temptation at holiday social… Continue reading Celebrate the Holidays Safely, Comfortably, Joyously

Sleep disorders are a common struggle in recovery from addiction Guest blogger, Alisa, Nestmaven.com According to a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the incidence of insomnia is five times higher in early recovery than in the general population. Insomnia is not the only sleep disorder associated with addiction; contribute to the development of… Continue reading How to improve your sleep while in addiction recovery

Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2015, 225 pp. Review by Ted Alston, facilitator Bad feelings and bad habits fly together, and evasive maneuvers for one may serve for both. Accordingly, students of SMART Recovery may enjoy this book that addresses depression.… Continue reading Book Review: Alex Korb’s The Upward Spiral

A three part video series The SMART Blog editors received the following press release and link for a video addressing the opioid situation. The video does not directly pertain to SMART but could be of interest. “In the three part series, Getting A Fix presents an on-the-ground look at solutions to the devastating opioid epidemic… Continue reading Getting a Fix: Preventing Opioid Addiction

Author: Ted, SMART Recovery Volunteer Meeting Facilitator . Bringing SMART Recovery into state prisons has rewards but also poses bureaucratic challenges. Difficulties in regularly covering a Tuesday afternoon meeting in Massachusetts prompted the recruitment of a third volunteer facilitator. With obstacles, the new volunteer was able to schedule an in-person orientation class that was required… Continue reading The REBT Opp, a Useful Abbreviation

Talk with Dr. Bob Meyers about how families and friends can help when a loved one drinks or abuses drugs. Saturday, October 21, 5:00 pm EST Register for This Webinar As concerned significant others, families and friends, our intimate connection should make us natural allies, but we often don’t know how to talk with each… Continue reading Register: Helping Families Cope with Addiction webinar with Dr. Robert Meyers

Book review by A.Tom Horvath, Ph.D. Although harm reduction is commonly used in other countries, this approach to coping with problematic addictive behavior is unfortunately uncommon in the US. The authors are two US harm reduction leaders. They founded the Center for Harm Reduction Therapy in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000. This book… Continue reading Review of “Over the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide to Controlling Your Drug and Alcohol Use” (2nd ed.), by P. Denning and J. Little, published by Guilford Press, 2017