FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Q. What is S.M.A.R.T. Recovery?
A. S.M.A.R.T. Recovery is a nationwide, nonprofit organization which offers free 
support groups to individuals who desire to gain independence from any type of 
addictive behavior. SMART also offers a free Internet listserve discussion group 
(SMARTREC), and sells publications related to recovery from addictive behavior.
 
Q. What is the SMART program of recovery?
A. The SMART approach to recovery is summarized in the Four-Point program. 
SMART teaches how to:
1) Enhance and maintain motivation to abstain
2) Cope with urges
3) Manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
4) Balance momentary and enduring satisfactions
 
Q. What does SMART stand for?
A. SMART is an acronym that stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training.
 
Q. What is addictive behavior?
A. Addictive behavior is over-involvement with substance use (e.g., psychoactive 
substances of all kinds, including alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, food, illicit 
drugs, and prescribed medications), or over-involvement with activities (e.g., 
gambling, sexual behavior, eating, spending, relationships, exercise, etc.). We 
assume that there are degrees of addictive behavior, and that all individuals to 
some degree experience it. For some individuals the negative consequences of 
addictive behavior (which can involve several substances or activities) become 
so great that change becomes highly desirable.
 
Q. How is SMART different from traditional Twelve Step programs?
A. SMART has a scientific foundation, not a spiritual one. SMART teaches 
increasing self-reliance, rather than powerlessness. SMART views addictive 
behavior as a maladaptive habit, rather than as a disease. SMART Recovery 
meetings are discussion meetings in which individuals talk with one another, 
rather than to one another. SMART encourages attendance for months to years, but 
probably not a lifetime. There are no sponsors in SMART. SMART discourages use 
of labels such as "alcoholic" or "addict".
 
Q. How do I contact S.M.A.R.T. Recovery?
A. The national office is: 24000 Mercantile Road, Suite 11, Beachwood, OH 
44122. Phone: (216) 292-0220. FAX: (216) 831-3776. E-mail: 
srmail1@aol.com, or contact your local SMART chapter.
 
Q. How do I find out about local meetings?
A. If SMART is not listed in your local telephone book, contact the national 
office (information above).
 
Q. What is the SMART website?
A. Old address: http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/mike888/
New address: http://www.smartrecovery.org/
 
Q. How do I subscribe to the SMARTREC Internet listserv discussion group?
A. Send the message on the next line to listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu
subscribe smartrec yourfirstname yourlastname
 
Q. How do I order SMART publications?
A. Contact the SMART national office for SMART publications. Other publications 
on the reading list are available in local bookstores. Your local meeting 
coordinator may also carry some publications for sale.
 
Q. How big is SMART compared to AA?
A. Compared to Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART is very small. AA offers about 90,000 
meetings worldwide each week. SMART offers about 250 weekly groups, almost 
entirely in the United States.
 
Q. Is SMART as effective as AA?
A. From a scientific perspective, the effectiveness of all support groups for 
addictive behavior is unproven. Yes, that's right: even though AA is the 
dominant force in U.S. addiction treatment, its effectiveness is essentially 
unknown. The crucial question for each individual is: which group would be more 
effective for me? The only way to answer that question is to attend meetings 
from all available groups, and reach a personal conclusion about the best 
approach to recovery.
 
Q. What are the other non-Twelve Step support groups?
A. Women for Sobriety (WFS): (215) 536-8026.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (S.O.S.): (310) 821-8430.
Moderation Management (MM): (313) 930-6446.
Men for Sobriety (MFS): (215) 536-8026.
Rational Recovery (RR): (916) 621-4374.
 
Q. What is the scientific foundation on which S.M.A.R.T. Recovery is built?
A. There are literally hundreds of scientific references that might be used to 
provide a foundation for the SMART Program. A good place to begin reviewing them 
is with the works listed in "Is SMART as Effective as AA?", in the July, 1996 
newsletter (Vol 2, #3). In particular Hester & Miller, 1995 (Handbook of 
Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives, Boston: Allyn & Bacon) 
provides a good current overview.
 
Q. What are the differences between SMART and Rational Recovery (RR)?
A. SMART is a non-profit corporation. RR is a for-profit corporation. The 
ultimate organizational authority in SMART is the Board of Directors. The 
ultimate program authority is scientific knowledge and rational thought, as 
interpreted by the Program Committee and Board of Directors. In RR the ultimate 
authority for all issues is the owners. SMART has a broad program that includes 
attention to motivation, urges, problem-solving and lifestyle balance. From the 
perspective of the SMART Program, RR (as of 1997) appears to have a narrower 
focus, primarily on urge coping. Earlier RR (as expressed in The Small Book, 
which is on the SMART Recommended Reading List) has a broader focus. SMART 
offers groups, publications, and an Internet listserve discussion group. RR 
offers educational workshops, groups and publications.
 
Q: What is the history of the relationship between S.M.A.R.T. Recovery and 
Rational Recovery?
A: Jack Trimpey founded Rational Recovery Systems in the late 1980s. In 1991 he 
invited an informal group of Professional Advisors for a meeting in Dallas, 
Texas. A second meeting occurred in Sacramento, CA, in August, 1992. There the 
group agreed that incorporation of a nonprofit organization, which would have 
primary responsibility for managing Rational Recovery support groups, was 
desirable. This incorporation, under the name Rational Recovery Self Help 
Network, occurred at the end of 1992. The nonprofit corporation was granted a 
license in perpetuity by Trimpey to use the name Rational Recovery. 
In 1993, the informal group of Advisors, now transformed into the Board of 
Directors of the nonprofit corporation, met in Boston, Massachusetts, and 
elected officers: Joe Gerstein, President; Tom Horvath, Vice President; Dave 
Trippel, Secretary; and Peter Bishop, Treasurer. Trimpey was elected interim 
Executive Director, and he announced his intention to phase out of that position 
as soon as a suitable replacement could be selected.
In 1993 and continuing into 1994 there was increasing disagreement between 
Trimpey and the nonprofit corporation about how the corporation should be 
managed, and the nature of the recovery program that it was offering. In 
particular, the transformation that was occurring in Trimpey's approach to 
recovery was perceived by many as a significant and undesired departure from the 
approach presented in Trimpey's first book, The Small Book.
These disagreements culminated in August, 1994, with a mutual agreement between 
Trimpey and the nonprofit corporation to separate. This separation was 
accomplished by changing the nonprofit corporation's name, originally to the 
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Self Help Network, and later to S.M.A.R.T. Recovery. A 
telephone conference call meeting in August 1994 voted on the question of the 
name change. There was a unanimous vote (including both Jack and Lois Trimpey, 
who were members of the Board) to change the name of the organization from RRSN 
to the ADASHN. 
By this action the nonprofit corporation also withdrew from its licensing 
agreement with Rational Recovery Systems, the for-profit corporation owned by 
Jack and Lois Trimpey. From that point forward, individual support groups were 
free to make their own decisions about which corporation, if any, to remain 
affiliated with. The S.M.A.R.T. Recovery Purposes and Methods statement, adopted 
after the name change as the fundamental document of the organization, indicates 
that the SMART Program is based on scientific knowledge, and will evolve as 
scientific knowledge evolves. 
Since August, 1994, SMART views Rational Recovery (as presented in Trimpey's 
most recent work) as it views itself and any other approach to recovery: each 
may be helpful for selected individuals. The Small Book, written by Trimpey and 
originally published in 1989, is on the S.M.A.R.T. Recovery Recommended Reading 
List (Core Reading List).
 
Q. Can SMART be used successfully with "bottomed-out" individuals? Isn't SMART 
primarily for those whose problems are not severe?
A. SMART is not for everyone, but rationality does have a broad appeal! The 
expression "street smart" in part refers to this. Rational does not have to be 
complicated. Simple is best. Even children can grasp the basics of rational 
thinking. If someone is truly beyond any rational thinking, he or she may also 
be beyond any help (but this seems unlikely).
SMART can reach out to all levels of society. SMART meetings currently occur in 
homeless shelters, inpatient mental health units, prisons, and other places 
frequented by individuals with substantial addictive behavior (and other) 
problems. The Coordinators who lead these meetings report significant success in 
teaching SMART concepts, and significant gratitude from those who learn them.
 
Q. Does SMART have groups for "codependency"?
A. SMART is in the preliminary stages of developing a "SMART Relationships" 
program. This will not be available until 1998 at the earliest. For the moment, 
individual counseling is one option for the significant others of individuals 
recovering from addictive behavior. 
Significant others could also attend SMART meetings aiming to abstain from 
specific behaviors ("codependency") that they may have developed in 
(maladaptive) response to the addictive behavior. SMART is intended for all 
addictive behavior (substances and activities), and enabling behavior can be 
considered as a form of addictive behavior by the enabler. 
If your locality has several individuals with these issues, you may wish to 
experiment with a specialized group for them. Then write a newsletter article 
telling us how it turned out.
 
Q. Where does SMART get its money, and how does it spend it?
A. Primary funding thus far has come from individual contributors. Additionally, 
a $50,000 grant to run training workshops for Coordinators was received in 1996. 
This money was not available for ongoing operational expenses. Starting in 
mid-1996, each local group was asked to donate $10 per month (or more). If we 
have 300 groups donating per month, we can be an entirely self funding 
organization.
Currently we operate on an annual budget of about $30,000. Our primary expenses 
are basic office expenses (mailing, e-mail, phone, copying), and staff time: 
Shari Allwood, Manager of Network and Member Services, 8 hours per week, and 
Randy Cicen, Executive Director, as needed. Most of our effort is devoted to 
internal communications (newsletters, responding to inquiries) and getting new 
groups started and maintained (and there are always more inquiries than groups 
that ultimately start). We are still too dependent on (expensive) snail mail and 
copying, and are trying to move to more e-mail, but not everyone has it yet.
Local groups manage their own expenses, but have the option of keeping their 
surplus funds at central office. 
In future years it is hoped that there will be sufficient income at the national 
level to reimburse travel expenses for Board members to attend meetings, to 
offer more training workshops, to develop more publications, and to develop 
additional boards and councils within the organization (such as one composed of 
Coordinators, and an International Advisory Board).
 
Q. What is ADASHN (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Self-Help Network), and what is its 
relationship SMART?
A. In August, 1994, when the Board of Directors decided to end its affiliation 
with Rational Recovery Systems (RR), it was necessary to change our name, which 
had been Rational Recovery Self-Help Network. Because there had been 
insufficient time to identify a suitable name, Joe Gerstein, M.D., President at 
that time, suggested ADASHN as a name that would not bring us into conflict with 
the name of any other organization. It was understood by all that in time a 
better name would be established. Rob Sarmiento, Ph.D., a Board Member, 
suggested SMART several weeks later, and this name was adopted in October, 1996. 
However, because a number of documents and accounts had already been established 
under the name ADASHN, we became ADASHN dba (doing business as) S.M.A.R.T. 
Recovery. In time changing all of our documents and accounts over to SMART may 
become a priority, but for now all of our efforts have been directed toward 
building our network.
 
Q. Sometimes I see SMART, and sometimes S.M.A.R.T. Recovery. What is the 
difference?
A. When informally referring to our organization, we use SMART. When formally 
referring to our organization, we use the full name including periods, to 
emphasize that the name is an acronym (Self Management and Recovery Training). 
The full name often also includes the service mark symbol, which clarifies that 
only SMART offers the SMART Program. 
S.M.A.R.T. Recovery is a registered service mark of ADASHN.
 
For informal use we recommend SMART (rather than SR or SMART-R) because it helps 
differentiate us from other groups, and because we like the sound of it! 
SMARTREC is our Internet listserve discussion group.
SMART Recovery Table of Contents