We are pleased to announce the release of our newest Tips & Tools for Recovery that Works! video Let’s Talk About Urges. In this video we define urges, identify misconceptions about urges, and offer tools for coping with urges. Checkout the SMART Toolbox for additional resources. Click here to watch this helpful video on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to […]

David Weidman is fond of a quote by past SMART Recovery president Dr. Tom Horvath: “There are as many paths to recovery as there are people trying to recover.” For Weidman, a nontheist who wanted to conquer his OxyContin addiction on his own terms, the path to recovery led directly to SMART. “I read that […]

Provided by SMART Family & Friends Facilitator, Kerry Hammell In the fall of 2018, I started the SMART Recovery Family & Friends meeting in Campbell River on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada.  It quickly developed a regular following of 10-15 participants that often reported that the meetings were providing each of them with tremendous support and encouragement. Then came COVID-19 in March […]

When Dennis Rosenfeld, of LaGrangeville, New York, realized he needed help, he found it through SMART Recovery.  SMART worked so well for Dennis, that he decided to give back. In 2017, he became an online volunteer.  Dennis now facilitates four meetings a week and since 2018 is on the SMART Recovery Online (SROL) Leadership Team.  […]

Join the Delaware/District of Columbia/Maryland Region of SMART Recovery for the 5th Annual SMART Recovery East Coast Conference: What Sets SMART Apart! on Saturday, October 24, 2020. The morning keynote speaker will be Dr. Christopher C. Wagner, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.  His scholarship focuses on motivational interviewing and interpersonal processes […]

Charles Novak, MS, MLADC, learned about rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) while in prison. The approach to overcoming addiction made sense to him, but when his five-year sentence ended, Novak discovered there wasn’t a similar treatment readily available. “There only seemed to be 12-step programs,” he recalls. While studying to be an addictions counselor, he learned more about […]

Provided by SMART Family & Friends Facilitator, Kathy Lang Surely one of the lessons of the past few months in dealing with COVID-19 has been the value of developing patience.  In our Family & Friends meetings here at SMART, we often stress the importance of patience.  Why?  It’s because we recognize that it takes time for change to happen.   […]

Like the The SMART Recovery program for individuals, the Family & Friends program provides science-based tools for self-empowered solutions. This introduction video shows why peer support is just as important to you as it is your loved in recovery. It also encourages taking the next step of attending a meeting where everyone is welcome. View […]

Jerianne Klein tried “tough love” approaches to deal with her loved one’s substance abuse issues. Support groups and one-on-one sessions left her feeling directionless. Searching for a family-focused option that would instill hope, Jerianne discovered SMART Recovery. “I held onto every word,” she says.  SMART Recovery tools helped Jerianne and her family stay calm and rational through the “dark days […]

Provided by SMART Family & Friends Facilitator, Ellen Kolton, MPH Laura arrives a few minutes late to the Family & Friends meeting that I facilitate, looking like a seasoned country singer in her wide-brimmed suede hat. A bit breathless, she comes from her weekly volunteer job, distributing surplus food from supermarkets to local food pantries and homeless […]