The Minnesota Recovery Options Act has recently been introduced as a means to require courts to provide a secular alternative for individuals ordered to participate in substance use treatment and as a way to provide information and resources to counselors about secular recovery. Alison Gill is Vice President, Legal and Policy, for American Atheists, one of the organizations involved in the effort to get the bill passed in Minnesota (disclosure: SMART Recovery is also part of the coalition supporting the bill). In this conversation, she talks about the issues involved in advocating for individu ..read more

Including lived experience in a recovery ecosystem often adds an effective dimension of support for those trying to make changes in their lives. The field of peer recovery coaching has been growing nationwide and many states now offer certification programs. In Utah, the Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) employs a network of peer coaches that work closely with individuals who are seeking recovery. In this podcast, we are joined by two USARA peer coaches, Elizabeth Myers and Kelsey Pierce, who share their lived experience and love of helping others with us. Special note ..read more

Billy Hoffman works with compulsive gamblers as a certfied counselor. His lived experience and clinical skills combine to provide hope for those who have reached a critical point in their negative spiral of financial and emotional consequences. In this podcast Billy points out that despite compulsive gambling being recognized as problem for decades, there is still a relative lack of resources for those who are trying to get help. The recent meteroric rise in legal sports betting has only compounded the issues involved. Here are links to potential resources: APA article on inclusion of problem ..read more

SMART Recovery is based on cognitive tools rooted in addressing how we think and react to life circumstances. For therapist Bruce Burleson, combining the cognitive aspects of behavior management with staying present in the moment is a recipe for successful treatment of addictions and compulsive behaviors. He calls his approach Mindfulness-Based Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and he authored a workbook all about it.  Burleson has worked in a variety of mental health and recovery settings in the course of his more than 25 years in the field. In this podcast he explains how he helps clie ..read more

Jan Folk was a high powered businesswoman for years, battling sexism in the male-dominated insurance industry. At the same time she was struggling with alcohol-use disorder and kept ending up in crisis.   After a couple of attempts to stop drinking she finally realized that the only way she was going to change her behavior was if she looked deep inside and made the decision for herself. That is when she learned about SMART and has embraced recovery.  Jan decided to share her story by writing a memoir, Hell in High Heels: How I Conquered My Demons, about her life as a business ow ..read more

Keith Johnston is the Founder and Executive Director of Running2bwell, a nonprofit organization that helps those struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues become more physically and socially active. He decided to start the effort after a friend lost his son to heroin addiction and he wanted to try and contribute something positive to society. Keith turned to exercise, since it had always been helpful when he was attempting to manage his own meantal health and addictions, and now facilitates walking/running groups and SMART meetings. In this podcast, he talks about research that lin ..read more

Jonathan Hunt-Glassman struggled with drinking too much for years, and tried many ways of changing his relationship to alcohol. But it wasn't until a doctor suggested he try medication that things got better. Based on his experience, he decided to start a company, Oar Health, which offers a way for individuals to investigate whether medication might be useful in their own recovery.  In this podcast, Jonathan is joined by Oar Health's Chief Clinical Advisor Dr. Josh Lee, an addiction medicine specialist, researcher, and Professor of Population Health and Medicine at the NYU Grossman School ..read more

Courtney Anderson insists on having plenty of fun in life. After she quit drinking, she wasn't quite sure what that really meant or how to make it happen. Now 11 years later, Courtney not only continues to have fun in life, she coaches others about how to make the most of their new sober lives. Courtney's website, https://www.courtneyrecovered.com/, includes links to all kinds of resources. In this podcast, Courtney shares how she ended her "toxic relationship with alcohol" and the key role her rescue cat played. She also talks about her new book and the great satisfaction she gets from h ..read more

September is National Recovery Month and we welcome Keegan Wicks to the podcast. Keegan is the National Advocacy and Outreach Manager for Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington D.C.  Keegan has worked in the recovery field for 10 years as an advocate and counselor, and has been in long-term recovery since 2009. He works with policy makers and legislators at both state and federal levels and speaks regularly on recovery topics before a variety of organizations. In this podcast Keegan shares some of his personal story of recovery ..read more

Besides being SRUSA's Executive Director, Pete Rubinas is a SMART Family & Friends meeting facilitator. He says he reaps many benefits by joining with others to share experiences and work on developing positive responses to challenging circumstances.  SMART Family and Friends meetings are available both in-person and online, and provide participants with the tools they need to effectively support their loved one, without supporting the addictive behavior.  In this podcast Pete talks about the healing that takes place in meetings and the practice of self-compassion, pointing to th ..read more