Subject: News & Views: May 2021

In This Issue:

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Podcast

The Intersection of Mental Health and Addiction

Mike Massey has been facilitating SMART Recovery Online (SROL) meetings since 2013. His professional experience as a teacher and union leader, as well as his personal experience with substance use, gave him the skills and abilities to help meeting participants. When many participants said they also were dealing with a mental health disorder, he struggled with how best to help them. He decided there needed to be a reference guide for facilitators on how to handle this aspect of recovery. So, he and several others created one: Facilitator Best Practices for Addressing Mental Health Disorders and Suicide in SMART Recovery Meetings.

In this podcast, Mike talks about:

What led to writing Facilitator Best Practices for Addressing Mental Health Disorders and Suicide in SMART Recovery Meetings
Most facilitators are not experts or professional therapists, but should have a familiarity with mental health disorders
People coming to the meeting for hope and inspiration
Reframing the terms of mental health
Two types of stigma: self and society
Searching for patterns and reasons for addictions
Asking participants, “What do you need to get through this?”
The mystery and magic of being in a meeting
Doing a better job of helping others help themselves
How to handle the mention of suicide
Contributors in writing the guide, including the QPR Institute
Finding the guide on VolunteerHQ

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Guest Blog by Kevin Minnick

Diagnosis and Addiction: A Thorny Path to Recovery

Many times over the last bunch of years, I’ve run into someone who is making a recovery attempt and has a “diagnosis” of a mental health issue. Knowing full well that something like that would complicate treatment, I’ll inquire: “So tell me, what were you diagnosed with? And when was that?” To which the response goes something like this: “Well I was diagnosed with Bipolar when I was 15.” And the person is 30 years old now. Wait, what?....

Podcast

Older Adults: Unseen. Untreated. Misdiagnosed.

Brett Saarela’s personal and professional experience led her to find her passion in helping older adults with mental health and addiction issues. She is a licensed clinical social worker in New York and has devoted her time and efforts to ensuring the older population is seen and treated properly. Brett is the Vice President of the SMART Recovery Board of Directors and serves on the SMART International Board of Directors.

In this podcast, Brett talks about:

Why the word geriatrics is a challenging term
Her heart and passion are working with older adults
Her personal and family history of mental health and substance use
Discovering SMART Recovery and ultimately changing careers
Modifying SMART tools for each client
Barriers to detection among the geriatric population
Motivational interviewing being a cornerstone of SMART
Guidance for family and friends whose older loved ones have a substance use problem
Goals for SMART for helping older adults
Future of mental health and addiction services for older adults
And much more....

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Video Content

Tips & Tools for Recovery That Works

12 Tips for Greater Happiness (Part 1)

Health and happiness are desired outcomes of successful recovery, and SMART Recovery has compiled a list of 12 tips for greater happiness that can help anyone. In part one of this two-part Tips & Tools episode, we discuss the first six tips. Tune in next month when we present the next six tips.

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Life Beyond Addiction

Patrik Finan

Hear the amazing story of how Patrik Finan overcame a decades-long methamphetamines addiction through courage, hard work, and using SMART Recovery to lead his Life Beyond Addiction.

SMART views addiction as a behavior that can be corrected, not a condition that defines a person’s identity. We discourage the use of labels such as “addict” or “alcoholic,” unless it is found to be helpful to the person recovering.

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Facilitator Spotlight

Matthew Rubin

Matt Rubin’s substance use and maladaptive behaviors were hurting him and those he loved. But after attending his first SMART meeting three years ago, Matt felt empowered to make choices for a better future for himself. Matt is now a SMART facilitator and is happy seeing the positive changes his participants are making in their lives and paths to recovery.

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Film Review by Facilitator, Ted Perkins

Another Round

As a veteran of the film industry who’s also a SMART Recovery meeting facilitator, I enjoy finding films that tackle the subject of alcohol abuse. I’ve rented every film there is, from dark and daring classics like Lost Weekend and Days of Wine & Roses, to contemporary popcorn movies like 28 Days and Clean & Sober – to name just a few.

I always wondered if films or TV series could be useful discussion topics for other people in recovery besides myself, so I decided to open a discussion about this possibility with my weekly SMART Recovery participants.

Opportunities to Join Us

SMART Recovery International

Global Research Network

Join the Global Research Network

To ensure that SMART stays adaptable and innovative on best scientific evidence in the field of addictive behavior, we have established a network of renowned international researchers who are aligned with SMART Recovery.
We welcome applications to join the Research Network from established and early career researchers and from anyone interested in research, mutual aid, and SMART Recovery.

Learn More and Apply