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Anyone who knows me will realise how important SMART Recovery is and has been in my recovery – so it is with sadness that I feel the need to comment in public about an organisation that I have (or had) genuine affection for.
Today in Edinburgh, two meetings were held. The first was for treatment providers and representatives (I use that term loosely) of SMART UK. The second was for board members and two volunteers. One of whom was invited by e-mail on Friday with no mention of travel costs etc.
It would appear the family silver – SMART Recovery a peer-led recovery group, is to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
I have worked as a volunteer for SMART for the last 12 months – travelling to London, Cumbria, Gateshead, Inverness, Warrington, Manchester, Bradford, Doncaster, Rotherham and many other places, many times.
I have loved every single minute spent helping anyone who was interested in SMART, including treatment providers who have supported the concept of peer support groups and helped the people they work with to have an abstinence orientated recovery group.
SMART has developed into a successful peer-led recovery group that has strong links with many interested parties. Many people who have never been any where near a treatment service have benefited through attending SMART meetings.
In Sheffield we have three meetings a week and 30 people attend regularly and benefit from mutual aid.
The Department of Health commissioned Alcohol Concern to run a SMART pilot scheme because Models of Care Alcohol Misuse (MOCAM) clearly states the benefits of peer-support groups, 12-steps and others. The pilot has been a success in my opinion in raising the profile of SMART.
So why does someone who’s integrity I can not discuss as I don’t even know his name, or background, or motives – think it is OK to try to professionalise a peer-led organisation. Without consulting or even speaking to its members? I have not had an e-mail or call from any of the new board of SMART.
If any treatment provider wants their clients to benefit from mutual aid – excellent. Give us a call. One of us will come and tell you and anyone who will listen anything you want to know. And support your clients to start a meeting.
SMART tried getting a treatment provider to embed it into its treatment pathway. The evaluation clearly states that it stifled its growth. Professional workers are trained and paid and do a good job providing treatment. That’s why they work for treatment providers, not peer support groups.
Laura Graham and Fraser Ross will hopefully soon share there infinite wisdom on Recovery, and why they think SMART should stay doing what it has been successfully doing for the last five years.
In the States 12-steps was turned into a professional recovery model (the Minesotta model). Maybe that’s OK for the States. But I want SMART to carry on doing what we do. Three times a week in Sheffield, helping people to recover from problematic behaviour.
If treatment providers want to use SMART tools – great. It’s not an original idea. It’s bit of CBT, REBT, relapse prevention etc. But please don’t call it Self Management and Recovery Training.
Recovery must have component of sustained and voluntary improvement in a person’s life. If you compel someone to attend or they will breach their DRR or ATR, or lose a script etc. you can not seriously call it peer support or expect its members to be honest, supportive or caring. Features that our members often say is the reason they keep coming back and take responsibilty for their behaviours and recovery.
Anyone who cares about Recovery or has contacts or experiences of peer support groups please help us. We are not going to sit back and let something we love be sold to the highest bidder. But we need your help.
Please note the above will not affect anything I am currently doing with any group to support and develop new SMART meetings across the country.
I am pretty stunned by this. I can see no sense in it at all. If Wired In can help in any way please shout and ditto for uchooseit.
Carl, what is SMART in the US saying about this?
Keith Humphreys in his amazingly good book “Circles of Recovery” says “the self-help ethos places the individuals who have the problem…in charge of the organisation”.
He also says “Whereas treatment professionals point to licenses, graduate degrees and book-learning to demonstrate their expertise with those they would help, self-help group participants emphasise that their expertise comes from ‘having been there too’.
One of the reasons that the anonymous fellowships have been so successful are continuing to grow around the world and have such longevity is their resistance to professionalising meetings. Minnesota Model treatment centres may point people to the steps, but they are not AA.
I support SMART recovery as a legitimate and welcome tool in the mutual aid toolbox. It would be a shame if it loses its way in the UK.
Carl, thank you so much for bringing this to people’s attention.
What I find incredible is that SMART Recovery UK has spread like wild fire since it’s arrival in the UK only a few short years ago. Much credit to Fraser Ross who worked so hard to make it what it is today, and to all the SMARTIES who continue to facilitate meetings and support each other.
With this growth, it is right that SMART HQ begin to take stock in order to maintain the momentum and continue to expand. However, since Fraser’s departure from SMART, they have decided to go back to the beginning and start again including the repetition of earlier mistakes of believing that peer-led recovery is suitably delivered by professionals in a treatment service!
What is even more incredible is that I am currently undertaking a review of current SMART Recovery UK progress – this review was commissioned by SMART Recovery UK and is very much focused on what group members think about SMART Recovery and future development. This is one of two reviews (the other is by Middlesex University) and both will be completed by March and should provide a good steer about the direction of SMART from the group members perspective. Yet the meeting was called today ahead of any sight of the early findings of either review!
can you give us some more details? who called the meeting? what are they trying to do? and what do SMART USA say about this? are we in a position to help? how can we help? sorry about the questions I do want to help if possible.
Carl i hope ur ok mate i dont understand how this can happen but i hope it works out ok for you mate coz i know how much this means to you and how much you put into this m8
keep your chin up lad :-D
Pucker of loading blog Carl c, yet to comment simply – what are you asking help for?
First of all a big fat Thank You to every Wiredin member who have responded and offered support.
Peapod thankfully for us – people like Keith Humphreys and Bill White have written and produced some excellent stuff about PSG or P-BRSS and this will be of benefit to our Recovery Community.
Laura thanks for your reassuring email last night I was slightly concerned that I might have been talking about things I had no right to, please get in touch with our “community based SMART group” which has a Saturday meeting in a deprived part of Sheffield and is well attended by many not in any form of treatment, we would love to be involved in the consultation.
Annemarie we are planning a strategy that hopefully the US will listen to, the details will be on Wiredin asap.
Mark thanks for the chin up message can you tell Andy to call me I can come to Doncaster on 23rd if thats ok.
And Michaela thanks for everything, it fills me with immense pride to be returning to my home town tomorrow to attend a SMART meeting and that I have played a very small part in giving people in Tameside another recovery option – something that was unavailable to me in my dark, dark days before I discovered the “R” word in Sheffield.
please watch this space today for more from the people I mentioned in my blog.
A big mancunian “hugs not drugs” hug from me to all of you, I am going to college now feeling motivated and empowered again thanks to you all and as my hero Che Guevara was quoted as saying.
“Better to die standing – than to live on your knees”.
I’m still a bit confused about the family silver – SMART Recovery a peer-led recovery group – auction?
-Who ‘owns’ it to sell?
-who wants to buy it?
-why do they want to buy it?
-how much is it likely to fetch?
I am not surprised that this is happening. I have taken a few calls from concerned people in the recovery world over the last few weeks about SMART and how easy it is for professionals to “infiltrate” SMART and use it for their own ends (in a way they simply cannot do with 12 step mutual aid). One guy described how professionals (who have a history of being anti-12 step mutual aid) are using SMART as a “trojan horse” to be able to say they are doing recovery or reseraching recovery.
I am a big supporter of SMART and would like to assist in any way I can in protecting the core principles of what (I assume) makes it work – namely one person who has been there helps another.
I would of agreed with all you’ve said yesterday believing that how can SMART remain as SMART if it is run through a professional organisation, how can it be a peer led mutual aid programme if it is strangled by abused by specific service providers, how could SMART remain automonous if it travelled towards the professional path? i believe their are other facts not available here and i believe everyone has their own hidden agenda, so question the so called trustees on their intentions and their agendas, just playing Devils advocate but what if your strings are being pulled for anothers goals ? and fact is as you’ve stated yourself multi partnership with providers to offer SMART is already happening, this is no bad thing for all concerned, SMART members get access to facilities needed to do the meetings i.e the room, kettle etc and the providers tick an important box for the contractors for very little effort (service user involvement) a trade off you could say.
What is going to be so different or so bad if Addaction adopt SMART ? for they won’t own or monopolise it, they may just use it as it is a peer led mutual aid support service in the same way that service providers are already doing, also please someone tell me how we can profit from being divisive ? this us and them approach, service provider versus service user, for am i being a little idealistic here but i thought our goal was the same i.e RECOVERY.
To all concerning themselves with this issue i once again state people have their own agendas and people will manipulate others for their own ends, you must be objective and know all of the facts, the truth is SMART is CBT under the banner of SMART no one owns CBT, and it’s common sense approach is there to be used by anyone for free, surely thats what keeps this recovery method automonous !
Now i can hear the cries of TRAITOR so i’ll leave it there yet please believe i’m using CBT thinking whist writing this comment.
I am a bit unsure who is doing the professionalising here. Can you let me know the details, please? I know the SMART team in the States and can contact them and find out what is happening and tell them what is happening here.
I received a phone call tonight to tell me about this blog. I have just joined WIRED In tonight and did so to support Carl. I know Carl Very well as I do all the valuable volunteers in SMART. I am the person who brought it over from the USA, tinkered with it and learned (I believe) what is best.
I have to be careful what I say I have been asked to have no involvement in SMART Recovery by the Trustees because my conduct was questioned because I had concerns about where it was being taken. I have a habit of talking passionately and people think it is an attack. I have tried to walk away and let SMART Recovery go on without me but it has been difficult. It is difficult because I have so many friends who have been contacting me (sometimes not getting an answer because I was not sure what to say).
I was successful in getting funding to get things moving in 2006 and left a safe job in a DAT as a Development Officer with a pension to follow my heart. I received a wage for working on SMART (and nothing near what was suggested I believe in another post). I also stopped counting at £20k of a personal committment over the years. Worth every penny to see people like Carl be so empowered to speak out like he did. If you calculate the hours I worked and not taking leave I was probably on a very small hourly rate. This was not important all I needed was some money to live while trying to give SMART Recovery a kick start.
I note with interest Tony’s comment about what would be so bad if ADDACTION adopted it. The independent evaulation of Ayrshire would tell you what. I am not for a moment saying that they were not providing a good treatment service but the evaulation clearly stated that because staff were running meetings it stalled the growth and put pressure on staff to fulfill the meetings. ADDACTION are a good organisation but not a mutual aid organisation. ADDACTION pulled out of the Alcohol Concern Pilot because there staff would not be able to run the meetings. Professor Nick Heather (Chair of the Steering Group and SMART Recovery Advisory Council Member) is very clear on what SMART Recovery as a mutual aid organisation should be.
I am not going to say too much at the moment because I am producing a paper on this subject that explains the Rational for not being treatment led. I would appreciate someone telling me how I can share it with folk on this thread. Can I upload it and post a link or something?
I also note Marks comments about “infiltration”. I had the pleasure of having Bill White and his wife stay with me for a few days when he was over last year. Bill told me that this “infiltration and professional take over” was the biggest threat to recovery community led approaches. I will show this in my paper. I have also seen emerging “Recovery Specialst Consultants” who when you look at there list of experience and work is all in treatment services. The real recovery experts are those who are experientially credentialled. Whether this is someone who had an addiction or someone affected by anothers.
For me SMART Recovery was people like Carl spread across the country taking the wounded healer approach to people in their communities. Treatment services by as evidenced partly because of their targets are not wounded healers. They treat people and move them on while mutual aid you help yourself while helping others and can stay together for years. There is a huge difference.
I have no gripe with the trustees of SMART Recovery and dont bear grudges. I probably made their life hell because I learned more from people in Recovery over the last few years than I could ever have dreamed. It is not their fault that they dont have this experiential learning yet.
The problem, if there is one, is that the trustees of SMART Recovery are experienced in service delivery and the targets of the treatment world. They may well be seeking funding from this very system that would put treatment measures on a recovery organisation. It is difficult to understand coming from that world that the ethics and measures of mutual aid and recovery are completely diferent. We dont have recovery measures yet. The more you try to make a service of SMART Recovery and micro manage it the more you slow it down and kill it. It took me a year full time to learn these mistakes that I hope they dont get repeatet.
What I think needs clarified is SMART Recovery UK a peer led mutual aid organisation or is it an Adjunct of a treatment service? It cant be both take from the voice of experience. If they decide to make it an adjunct of treatment it will leave a hole because every meeting in England was set up out of the need for a peer led mutual aid approach. And I cant see these volunteers willingly doing anything else.
I have advocated for SMART Recovery England to be set up and a fellowship type structure of area and intergroups and linked up with Scotland. I hope that both sides can come together and see the opportunity lies in Mutual Aid and not treatment adjunct.
As for me I am now driving a truck for the moment and enjoying it. I have no secret agendas or desire to take over anything. I was a Royal Marine and never trusted anyone to fire my bullets. I even have reserves about writing this but feel strongly about supporting Carl who I regard as a good friend. Again this is what is diferent about SMART you make life long friendships not client relationships that are time limited. Getting “to personally involved” was another adverse comment about me. I am sorry in mutual aid you can become personally involved. By lending some of your recovery capital to one bereft of it you have a placed a stake in their recovery. I am however willing to help out when I can and offer any guidance. I feel it would be tragic for all my learning to go to waste. I was always a do’er and not a leader.
I am confident that things will change but may take time. As Bill said to me “It can be a bit like herding cats” in the early days.
Appologies for any typo’s I have not long put my truck to bed after another long shift.
Mark and David and all the members of our community
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner to your comments first of all Mark
“selling the family silver” was the only way I could describe how it felt to me, what was happening to SMART recovery uk that the professionals were moving in.
In terms of how much for – who is buying it etc.. I am not actually sure if anyone is “buying SMART” sorry for any confusion there Mark and I will contact you later.
I would also like to clear up something tony a said about a treatment provider – I have not named any organisation not 1 – who have been helpful or unhelpful to the growth and development of SMART as a peer based recovery model. Many TP have got what SMART is about and see it as an addition to the services they provide and supported its growth in very practical ways.
On March 9th The SMART/Alcohol Concern pilot project evaluation which has been produced independently by Profs Susanne McGregor and Rachel Herring (from Middlesex University) will be published and made public on A/C website (details of the event are on this site on future events). I won’t comment on the findings but am hopeful they will support my belief that if TP support SMART and promote it as PSG it will grow and give their clients another choice in their recovery journey.
Fraser has just responded to my blog and is in my opinion the leading UK authority on SMART and a recovery expert (he won’t like that) and a very good friend so I will leave it to him to explain – where I have struggled trying to do so.
Thanks again for the support.
Tony
I will stand up for everyones right to free speech – even yours but I will also say if I think something is out of order and I think your personal attack and implications about the motives and reasons why someone spends most of their time and energy promoting SMART spending days and days away from their loved ones is not only incorrect but also out of order and you do damage to our wiredin community when you personally attack some one you have never met.
Can I suggest using one of the SMART tools STOP look it up- next time you want to play as you “devils advocate” and as I say “an incorrect and un-justified personal slur on a man you don’t know”.
Can I also suggest Tony that you use your writing skills in a more helpful way and train to become a fleet street journalist and highlight to you that you can try to delete something after you have said it but it doesn’t always work – it may be helpful to you to use that brain of use and engage it BEFORE you type. or get a job for the sun.
Ok guys (Carl and Tony) – I know passions are high, and rightly so, but lets focus on the issue.
There is a danger in sidetracking that the core of this debate is lost and it is an important one.
I would hate to see two great people fall out – so are you both OK to leave things where they are for now and get back to the peer led issue?
I sound like a bloody school teacher – do send me private e-mails telling me to get off my high horse (that is fine) but lets not muddy the waters on what could be quite a key principle for recovery.
Fraser – regarding the paper – I will send you an e-mail with some ideas for getting it on Wired In.
Michaela
I agree with Michaela, Carl and Tony. You are two great contributors who are doing a lot for the recovery field. Let’s not fall out. Please put it aside and move on gracefully. Shit, I sound like the schoolmaster.
No point getting at me – I’m too far away. Unless you want some sunshine.
I’M GUILTY yet again of creating debate and involving myself in politics (something i hate) i should not have used information that i didn’t know whether it was factual or not, i may have actually fired bullets for someone elses gain (something i was advising us not to do) i can understand your passion in your comments, and appreciate the advise about a possible career direction (made me laugh that Carl) i know my style of writing can be antagonistic and inciteful, i must check myself on this, i was wrong in my first draft of my comment, i made a mistake and with Michaelas help it was edited, i stand by my edited comment still though for it only poses reasonable debate, yet i’m not as personally involved with you both or with SMART as you both are so as i’ve said in other blogs i’ve no reason to trust or not trust you, i’m sorry if i’ve caused any upset and refuse to take this any further and to any further personal level, we must remain objective and focus on the real issue were is SMART heading and yet lets remember SMART is a mere brand name that offers something pure COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY, something that was passed onto me years before i’d heard of SMART, no matter what happens and how things evolve the core belief system i live by will survive because it’s bigger than personalities, it’s pure and real, it’s common sense, this will be my last response to this issue, yours with humility Tony A
Sorry folks especially Tony just got back from a day out at Uchoose and I to Tony should have practised what I was preaching – restraint.
We are all adults and I am sure we can put this behind and concentrate on what we all have in common – which is empowering people and ourselves to get better and rebuild our lives.
Michaela things have really moved on since my last visit 6 months ago and David I bet really you are missing the snow and -4c.
End of arguement.
Any humble pie left for me!!!!
Thanks Tony and Carl, you are a good example for the community. It is middle of the night here, couldn’t sleep. Facing a tough day today weatherwise – probably in 30s. Celsius of course. I love it! Some recovery writing planned after I finish Daily Dose.
I would like to set this discussion in a broader context. SMART Recovery was founded in the US. It has always been a partnership between professionals and participants. At this moment in time we are still learning how that partnership needs to function in the UK, due to differences between the UK and the US. Similarly, SMART Recovery Australia has needed to make adjustments to the model that works in the US.
Any organization that aims to evolve as scientific findings evolve needs to include professionals or scientists. However, the SMART Recovery board currently includes about 50% membership by individuals with a recovery history. I expect that in time the SMART Recovery UK board would have a similar percentage. I know through discussions with the UK Board that they aim to have this percentage as a minimum.
The approach SMART Recovery uses is innovative and apparently easily misunderstood. We recognize the expertise of individuals in recovery, but have also encouraged individuals not in recovery to volunteer as meeting facilitators. We have also encouraged professionals to facilitate meetings in order to get them established, but to turn over the meeting to a participant as soon as possible.
As I understand it, in some meetings established in the UK by professionals the transition to a non-professional has not occurred, leading to concerns that professionals were “taking over” SMART Recovery. We are working on how to transition professionals out of the facilitator role, and how to empower participants to take on the facilitator role. There will likely be some exceptions to the general plan that facilitators are non-professionals (just as there are exceptions in the US).
Because there have been recent leadership transitions in SMART Recovery UK, an extended time period may be required to accomplish the goal mentioned in the previous paragraph. In the meantime, I hope that individuals attending SMART Recovery meetings, however they are facilitated, will involve themselves deeply in their own recovery experience, and engage meaningfully in their meetings, in order to benefit themselves and the other participants.
As opposed to professionals “taking over” SMART Recovery UK, any individual may sign up for the SMART Recovery training which occurs every two months (details at smartrecovery.org), and once trained begin to facilitate a meeting. I encourage anyone in recovery who is solidly abstinent, or anyone without an addiction history who is looking for a highly meaningful volunteer opportunity (one which enhances personal development and leadership capacity), to consider this course of action.
The ideal scenario is for volunteers and professionals to work together on SMART Recovery. We need to increase the availability of SMART Recovery meetings for everyone, and to use all reasonable means to do so.
Tom Horvath
President, SMART Recovery
Tom I really appreciate this important clarification from you. I spent many hours contemplating writing the above and did so with some regret, although the Cost Benefit Analysis proved as always to be a useful SMART tool in helping me to decide.
I have a passion for SMART this is demonstrated by the hours I spend working as a volunteer and facilitator , helping, empowering and supporting individuals and treatment providers to establish new SMART meetings across England.
In my own city Sheffield we have 3 well attended meetings each week and 25/30 people now regularly attend a SMART meeting.
When we held our first one in March 09, SMART had no meetings at all in Yorkshire – there are now more than 10 across the region and the number is growing on a regular basis.
All but one of these would not have started without the support of Volunteers and Treatment Providers.
I did not make that clear in my earlier blog, I have a positive reciprocal working relationship with most of the largest TP in this country as do many of our facilitators across England.
As I am sure you are aware Tom the UK is currently on the crest of a “recovery” wave and I peronally feel SMART uk has a fantastic oppurtunity to expand and develop.
Much of the research and experience gained by the US recovery movement is copied here with obvious cultural differences and I see SMART recovery fitting in well with the UKs grassroots community based recovery movement, which has as one of its core values “choice”.
I agree with you that SMART should have a wide range of expeienced people from all walks of life both at board level and in its membership.
This meesage was not passed down from the new board in Scotland to the members of SMART meetings across the UK and communication between the above only resumed after my blog, obviously this could be coincidental and I am just pleased that this has started to happen.
Which was the main reason that I posted the above, thanks for responding and clarifying many issues and if I can be of any help to you or SMART please do not hesitate to contact me through Wiredin.
Thanks for the clarification Tom. Carl, we need to get this message out there. Take care both.
David I agree thats all seems so logical to me, communication or lack of clear communication appears to have been the main problem and if anyone in the recovery world needs a platform to be heard I can’t think of anywhere more powerful than Wiredin.
Thanks David
Guess what it’s snowing heavy again there is a pattern emerging. haha
Communication is a continuing challenge for all of us! I’m glad the WiredIn platform is here to assist.
Thanks,
Tom
Hi
This is Carol from Smart Recovery UK I am in the midst of updating the UK meeting list and would like to hear from all of the facilitators in the UK to be sure their meeting is added to the list on the Website.
I get many calls and emails daily from people asking where there local meeting is and would like to be able to promote all existing meetings and new ones as they become available.
Look forward to hearing from you all my email is chammond@smartrecovery.org.uk, new website is www.smartrecovery.org.uk, office number is 01463 729528.
Guess what it’s snowing here again today, we have had snow on the ground since the 18th December!
Hi
Carol again from Smart Recovery it is a real shame when you don’t know your own office telephone number!
The correct number is 01463 729548 sorry everyone having a bad day
