SMART Recovery

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · 1994 · USA

What it is

SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) is a free mutual-aid and self-management programme for any addictive behaviour, with a separate strand for family and friends. Addiction psychologists founded it in 1994. Its weekly groups (in person and online) are run by trained volunteer…

Format

• Format and dose.
• Meetings are weekly and free (donations invited), 60 or 90 minutes long, in person or online. The UK structure runs: optional 30-minute pre-meeting → welcome/opening (5 min) → check-in (5–20 min) → agenda setting (5 min) → group discussion and tool work (45–60 min) → check-out (5–15 min) → closing…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Facilitator training and permissions. Running a meeting under the SMART name requires SMART facilitator training:
• 4-Point Training is online and self-paced, about 10 hours. It costs $199, carries 10 NAADAC CEs, includes a PDF facilitator manual and offers optional live Zoom sessions. It covers the 4-Point tools, meeting structure, basic MI and inclusive group facilitation.
• After training you attend meetings, then start your own or co-facilitate, and receive ongoing facilitator support.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Over-packed plans that collapse. Leave rest time.
• Newcomers who look anxious. Remind them they can pass.
• Overwhelm when every area scores low. Choose just one.
• Lists that are only external. Probe emotional triggers.
• Guilt after setting a boundary. Normalise it, and link it to values (3.2).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.