SMART Recovery® Podcast

Dave Howard is a SMART Facilitator in Poway California. He spent years going to 12-Step recovery meetings before finding SMART. Now he is convinced that what SMART offers can help anyone seeking recovery no matter what perspective they bring to the table.

In this podcast Dave talks about his almost 20 years of drug and alcohol misuse, reaching a crisis point in recovery, deciding to become a certified addiction counselor, and why he thinks SMART's practical tools are magic.

Nonie Sims has facilitated SMART meetings for 14 years in Tucson Arizona. Nonie knew that SMART Recovery was the right fit for her in the first 10 minutes of her first meeting. Now she spends her time making sure others get a chance to see if it's the right recovery pathway for them too. 

Jay Phillips is the Executive Director and Board President of Seed Sower, Inc., a provider of housing and other support services for women recovering from substance use disorders in West Virginia.

In this podcast Jay talks about his awakening to the great need for recovery services, the decision to leave a comfortable job and commit to a new path in life, the concept of recovery ecosystems, and the daily inspiration he gets from witnessing change in action.   

Newly minted SMART Recovery facilitator Tracy Gryp and her mentor Rick Kuplinski share their personal SMART journey and how they created better lives for themselves through the program. In the spirit of paying it forward, they now work together to bring the best support group meetings possible to their meeting participants.

Mary Beth O'Connor went from running from the law as a methamphetamine abuser to handing down the law as a judge. Now twenty nine years in recovery, Mary Beth chronicles her incredible story in her new memoir,  From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction.  

In this episode, Mary Beth talks about her perspective on multiple pathways to recovery, her work for LifeRing Secular Recovery and She Recovers Foundation, why she claims "Junkie" as part of her identity, and the ultimate beauty of serving those in recovery.

As SMART's Director of Meetings and Volunteers, Melina Gilbert often gets to experience a volunteer meeting facilitator's passion for what they do, and that makes her feel very fortunate. To keep that energy moving, Melina and her team are currently working hard on helping facilitators grow their skills by making the Facilitator Mentoring Program bigger and better.

In this podcast, Melina talks about the purpose, benefits, and future of the Facilitator Mentoring Program, including how meeting specific challenges can increase a facilitator's comfort and confidence. 

The question of an individual's ability to control a substance or behavioral addiction has been long-debated. More than 20 years ago Dr. Jeffrey Schaler made his stance clear in his book Addiction is a Choice.

Dr. Schaler remains steadfast in his conclusion that addiction is a behavior and behaviors are choices. The existential therapist and former professor at both American and Johns Hopkins Universities continues writing, speaking and advocating against the medicalization of addiction today, and makes his points with characteristic passion in this podcast.

Historical debate from the archives of Psychiatric Times: 

Addiction is a Choice

Addiction is a Disease

Gee Matamoros' journey to recovery included some very dark passages. Now he travels a brighter road, and insists on enjoying life as much as possible. Fortunately for us, one of the things he enjoys most is spreading the word about SMART.  

In this podcast, Gee talks about:

• How his substance misuse and poor choices landed him in a psychiatric ward
• Why his life was everything to the extreme
• Walking the tight rope of his identity and doing what he was told
• Using substances to cover and sooth impactful moments in his life
• Always running from his authentic self because it wasn’t acceptable
• Finding SMART in rehab, where he could explore other pathways to aid in his recovery
• Sleeping like a baby because of the changes he’s made in life
• How the COVID pandemic helped launch and grow the online Spanish meetings
• What he’s doing now to advocate for SMART and the Latinx community
• Recovery being a community effort - there is support everywhere

Dr. Stanton Peele is a lawyer, professor, psychologist, psychotherapist, and author. Of all of these titles, he’s probably best known as an advocate and pioneer in the addiction and treatment world. His new memoir, A Scientific Life on the Edge: My Lonely Quest to Change How We See Addiction, is his 16th book that tackles addiction issues.  

In this podcast, Stanton talks about:

• The reaction from when his first book, Love and Addiction, was published advocating a new way to conceptualize addiction
• The possibility that Tom Brady is addicted to football and what it’s costing him
• How people can flounder against society’s feedback
• Addiction not being limited to substances
• The basis of Life Process Program
• How SMART correlates to his thoughts on addiction
• The steps cities and states are taking to implement harm reduction
• Not being a joiner guy, but the self-efficacy guy
• The motivation to write his memoir
• The need to make significant headway in the addiction world

Johnny Allison’s substance use started as a way to cope with the trauma of war and chaos of military life. His recovery started as a way to become the soldier and person he knew he was and could be. Today, he is a Veteran, SMART Facilitator, and the Lead of the SMART UK Veterans Program.

In this podcast, Johnny talks about:

• What motivated him to join the British Army
• The ties between his boxing career and serving in the military
• Why his substance use started and not understanding what was happening
• How the COVID isolation affected his mental health and well being
• How he was becoming a shadow of himself
• His drive and commitment to finally getting help
• Finding SMART and how it helped him manage his thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
• Why he wanted to become a facilitator
• Creating the 1st Annual International Veterans and First Responders Webinar
• The best things about attending a Veterans meeting