SMART
®
Recovery
Self-Management and Recovery Training
Krystal Jacob, PsyD
Humboldt State University
Counseling and Psychological Services
SMART Purpose
• “To support individuals who have chosen to
abstain, or are considering abstinence from any
type of addictive behaviors (substances or
activities), by teaching how to change selfdefeating thinking, emotions, and actions; and
to work towards long-term satisfactions and
quality of life.”
Not just for drugs and alcohol
• Appropriate for addictions involving substances
or behaviors:
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Alcohol
Drugs
Smoking
Gambling
Sex
Eating
Shopping
Self-harm
Abstinence based
• For substances & some behaviors (ex. Gambling,
self-harm)
• More complex for other behaviors like eating,
shopping, exercise, and sex
• If considering moderation, typically an initial
period of abstinence is recommended
• It is okay to attend meetings, even if you are not
sure abstinence is right for you
• Lapses/relapses are not considered failures
Meetings
• People in recovery are generally more successful
when they have support
• Online and in-person (free)
• NOT 12-Step based
• Focus is on providing skills and tools
▫ These are based on evidence-based addiction
treatments, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy
(CBT) and Motivational Interviewing
• No spiritual component
Face-to-Face Meeting Format
• 1 or 1.5 hours
• Some groups choose to have a 30 minute “premeeting” to introduce the program to
newcomers, answer questions, etc…
• @ HSU CAPS, meetings are 50-60 minutes
Face-to-Face Meeting Format
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Opening Statement and Welcome
Sharing Successes
Agenda Setting
Coping with Activating Events
Pass the Hat
Homework
Summarizing and Closing
Socializing
SMART’s Group Rules
1. Use of alcohol and drugs is seen as a personal matter
2. All participants agree to confidentiality
3. Participants are encouraged to take responsibility for
their own recovery
4. Socializing between members
5. Relapse is seen as a chance for practicing your new
skills, not something to be ashamed about
6. If you think someone in the group is having a serious
problem, contact the group’s advisor immediately
7. Although attendance is free, payment for the help you
receive can take many forms
SMART Program
• Focus on the present and goals for the future
• Discourages labels (ex. “addict,” “alcoholic”) that
define a person and instead, focuses on changing
behavior
• There is no “right way” to recovery
▫ Can be a stand-alone program or used in
conjunction with other programs, therapies,
treatments
• SMART is a program for a person to use as long
as they find it helpful
SMART Basis
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
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Rational: How we think, which influences…
Emotive: How we feel, which influences…
Behavior: How we act.
Therapy: The training to help us learn how to
change our thinking to feel and behave in
healthier ways
• Motivational Interviewing
▫ Uses conversation to enhance a person’s
motivation and commitment to change
Stages of Change
(Prochaska & DiClemente)
• Precontemplation
▫ May not believe change is necessary or that their
behavior is a problem.
▫ Come to meetings through external pressures (ex.
court, family, etc…)
• Contemplation
▫ Ambivalence
• Preparation
▫ Recognition that something needs to change
Stages of Change Cont…
• Action
▫ Actively taking part in making change happen
▫ Change becomes visible to others
• Maintenance
▫ Continue to use new behaviors with new
challenges
• Lapse or Relapse
▫ Can happen at any stage
▫ Often a normal part of the change process
SMART’s 4 Point Program
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1 – Building and Maintaining Motivation
2 – Coping with Urges
3 – Managing Thoughts, Feelings, & Behaviors
4 – Living a Balanced Life
1. Building and Maintaining Motivation
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Motivational Interviewing
Hierarchy of Values
The Three Questions
Change Plan Worksheet
Cost-Benefit Analysis
ABC
Three Questions
• 1. What do I want for my future?
• 2. What am I doing now?
• 3. How do I feel about what I’m doing now?
▫ What could I do differently to help me get what I
want?
▫ How would changing what I do or getting what I
want make me feel?
2. Coping with Urges
2. Coping with Urges - Misconceptions
Misconceptions
Truths
• Urges are unbearable
• Urges compel you to use
• Urges will not go away until
you do the behavior
• Urges will drive you crazy
• None of these have been
proven!
• If you can resist an urge, it will
get weaker over time
• Dealing with discomfort will
help you be in control
• Urges are a normal part of the change process!
• Accepting them as normal, rather than
catastrophes helps deal with them
2. Coping with Urges - Tools
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Mindfulness
Identifying Triggers
Urge Log
Distraction
ABC
Planning
DEADS
DISARM
Urge Log
Date
Time
Rate
1-10
Length
of urge
Trigger
(s)
Where/
who was
I with?
4/20
4:20
10
1 minute
Date and Redwood
time
park
Coping
with
feelings
about
coping
Alternative
activities,
substitute
behaviors
Told
friends
Plan other
activities
at/on 4/20
with nonsmoking
friends
ABC(DE)
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A = Activating Event
B = Beliefs (both rational and irrational)
C = Consequences
D = Disputing
E = (more) Effective ways to think, feel, & behave
ABC Example
Activating Belief about
Event
event
Consequence
of belief
Dispute the
belief
Effective
thinking
change
The event
What I believe How I feel and
that created about A
how I behave as
the urge
a result of B
A more
helpful belief
about A
How I feel
and act as a
result of D
My boss
yelled at
me today in
front of
everyone
Who says my
boss shouldn’t
yell at me? He
yells at
everyone else
too. Who says
life is always
fair?
While I don’t
like to be
yelled at and
feel upset, this
guy yells at
everyone.
He’s not
worth giving
up my
sobriety!
He shouldn’t
yell at me! He
has no right
to embarrass
me in front of
everyone. It’s
not fair!
I’m really mad
and I want to
stop at the bar
for a drink on
my way home.
DEADS
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D = Deny/Delay (Don’t give in to the urge!)
E = Escape the trigger
A = Avoid the trigger
A = Attack the urge
A = Accept the urge
D = Distract yourself with an activity
S = Substitute for addictive thinking
▫ Replace an irrational belief with a rational one
DISARM
• DestructIve Self-talk Awareness and Refusal
Method
▫ When urges come, ask yourself, “What is it telling
me now? How is it trying to trick me?”
▫ Once thoughts are identified:
 ATTACK this inner voice with powerful counter
statements
 FOCUS on other thoughts that are consistent with
personal goals and values
3. Managing Thoughts, Feelings, &
Behavior
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Disputing Irrational Beliefs
ABC
Coping statements during a crisis
Five steps of problem solving
Relapse prevention
Disputing Irrational Beliefs
• Irrational Belief
▫ Not true
▫ Doesn’t make sense
▫ Harmful
• Rational Belief
▫ True
▫ Makes sense
▫ Helpful
• Turn the irrational belief into a question & then
answer it
5 Steps of Problem Solving
• 1. Define the problem
• 2. Brainstorm
▫ Try to think out of the box
• 3. Evaluate
▫ Rate ideas from 0-10
• 4. Select
▫ Try it!
• 5. Create a written plan
▫ =more likely to follow through
4. Living a Balanced Life
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Lifestyle Balance Pie
Vital absorbing creative interest
Values, Goals, and Planning
Meditation
Self-care
Vital absorbing creative interest
• Look at what you got from using
• How can you feel similar with a healthy
behavior?
• What did you do for fun before using
(hobbies/interests)?
• Rate how much an activity interests you before
you do it and again after you do it
Goal Setting
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Specific
Measurable
Agreeable
Realistic
Time-Bound
www.SMARTRecovery.org
Find out more information, attend
online meetings, or get trained as
a facilitator for your campus here!