SMART Recovery® Podcast

The range of recovery support has been expanding rapidly at the intersection of an individual's personal experience and the larger world of AI recovery companions. To catch up with the latest trends and impact we welcomed Alex Weber of OpenRecovery, the Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships for this digital first recovery platform. OpenRecovery unapologetically declares, "Recovery should be accessible, effective, and engaging." They are also a strong supporter of SMART Recovery and have incorporated our self-empowering principles and practices into Kai, their AI companion.

March is National Problem Gambling Awareness Month, an annual campaign aimed at increasing awareness of gambling-related risks, reducing stigma, and promoting prevention and supportive help. This episode features two guests: Kitty Martz, the Executive Director of the nonprofit Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery and Brian Ward, the organization's board president.

Both Kitty and Brian share their journey of consequences that resulted from gambling activities and the positive role SMART Recovery has played in their lives. They also share their professional backgrounds and thoughts on providing accessible and affirming meetings that are highly inclusive of individuals working on compulsive behaviors unrelated to substance use.

One insightful thought that was shared is the idea that attending support meetings can be seen as an effort to build a life you don't want to escape from, rather than the usual idea of "recovering a life" one has lost. And there are many more insights and interesting conversation in this episode. Enjoy!

Additional Resources:

Link to SMART Webinar on problem gambling and inclusion with Kitty Martz and Brian Ward

National Problem Gambling Hotline

Karen Bernetti is founder of Mindful Family Recovery, an organization dedicated to family recovery coaching, workshops, and building a supportive community for family and friends of those sturggling with addictive behaviors. She is also a SMART Recovery Family & Friends meeting facilitator and is involved with mindfulness efforts that include trauma-informed yoga and self-care practices.

Karen also authored a blog post about language in recovery that sparked some productive conversations among SMART participants: The Words We Use: Why Saying "Addict" Helps Some People and Hurts Others.

Joel Walkowski facilitates SMART meetings in New York city, and is a huge proponent of using the practical tools that SMART provides as an effective way to navigate the stages of change in recovery. He unabashedly credits SMART with adding an incredible amount of substance to his journey of addressing trauma and substance use that ultimately led to homelessness.

He is also the author of a recovery memoir called Honolulu Blues, which uses the lens of his love of the Detroit Lions football team to explore themes of family relationships, perserverance, and becoming the person you always wanted to be when you grew up.

After a ton of hard work, SMART Recovery completely revised our training program under the leadership of Gus Curran, SMART's Senior Director of Training and Program Development. As it has been rolled out to the SMART community, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

In this podcast Gus and Erin Clarke, the Director of L&D Client Relationships for Endurance Learning, our partner in this effort, talk about all aspects of the new training. This includes its origin and development, the challenges faced and overcome, how it has been such a great example of collaboration, and how it relates to SMART's 2026 focus on the idea of being increasingly accessible, adaptable, and affirming in all we do.

Additional links:

Webinar that features Gus and Erin: From Drab to Fab: Trick Out Your Existing Learning

SMART Recovery Training Page

Jeff Jones is a licensed professional counselor who focuses on helping families navigate the road to recovery. He firmly believes that when families change, individuals change, and he runs an organization called The Family Recovery Solution

In this podcast, Jeff talks about how he decided to focus on families, what other recovery pathways seem to miss when it comes to families, and the role of recovery nutrition in helping those who want to make positive changes.

Rick Kuplinski credits SMART Recovery with changing his life in profound ways. He says he has never been happier and more satisfied with his life since he started applying the principles and practices of self-empowered recovery. He started writing about his experiences in brief essays and has been a SMART Blog contributor since 2022. Now he has collected his essays and packaged it in a book called Supercharge Your Recovery: 30 Essays on Beating Addiction with SMART Recovery.

In this podcast Rick talks about how he ended up reaching a point where he knew he had to make changes and why SMART worked for him when other pathways didn't. He shares his thoughts on the process of journaling and the need for reflection, and how he believes that you don't have to be a "writer" to benefit from writing.

When it comes to talking about research in the field of substance use and recovery, Dr. Sarah Zemore is always an excellent source of solid information. She has previously appeared on the program and now returns to talk about the latest research into some of the social and psychological aspects of treatment-seeking and recovery. Dr. Zemore has an extensive record of research on mutual-help groups for addiction and has led multiple studies that examine the nature, benefits, and mechanisms of action of all kinds of these groups, including SMART.

Also joining the conversation is SMART's Executive Director Pete Rubinas. He offers SMART's perspective on the latest research and confirms the value of applying this research in pursuit of helping the most individuals possible.

Helpful links:

Alcohol Research Group

Recent Study on Mutual Help Groups

Dre Richards is a SMART Facilitator in Edmonton, Canada. He also is the Executive Director and Founder of Healthy Aligined Living, a community agency serving youth who are facing mental health and substance use issues.

In this podcast, Dre shares his personal journey to recovery, how he decided to address the negative behaviors that were impacting his life, and what he believes are the best ways to help youth who are facing the same challenges he once did.

SMART Recovery's Director of Outreach, Jasmine Hilbert, recently appeared on an Ohio-based podcast to share her recovery journey. In this special collaboration with the Rooted in Hope Podcast and Producer Kurt Kleidon, we proudly offer this episode here on our platform.

About this podcast:

Rooted in Hope is a podcast that shares the real tales of those who are impacted by substance use disorder or mental illness with the intention of breaking the stigma. We are rooted in Ohio and driven to make a difference in and around our state.

Thanks to our allies at Rooted in Hope for permission to share this compelling story of a woman who had reached a point in her life where she didn't want this to be her narrative, so she rewrote her story.