SMART Recovery® Podcast

Dr. Mark Fleming is Vice President-Clinical Operations for Lifepoint Behavioral Health . He is a licensed Psychologist and Healthcare Executive who has experience in a variety of settings including college counseling, in-patient stabilization, private practice, hospitals, and residential treatment units. Dr. Fleming currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel and Behavioral Health Officer in the Unit...

It's fair to say that the rural northwest corner of Kansas is a "treatment desert," with few options for individuals seeking help to change addictive behaviors. One bright spot is in Colby, home of High Point Advocacy & Resource Center. They offer a wide range of services, including counseling, family support services, and peer mentoring. Two of their certified Recovery Advocates are Tisha Beckman...

Cherene Caraco is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Global Strategist of  Promise Resource Network , or PRN. PRN is a community organization based in Mecklenburg County NC   that proudly declares they are Survivor Led, Recovery Focused, and Wellness Driven. Members of the PRN community use their lived experience to serve others who have either been kicked out or opted out of traditional me...

Rosana Panjon is a trained SMART Recovery facilitator and works as a certified Recovery Support Specialist for health organizations in Connecticut. She brings her lived experience and insight to her work with those seeking recovery in all kinds of situations. In this podcast, Rosana shares her personal stuggles with substances, cultural considerations in recovery, how she got involved in peer reco...

John Hayes is the Chief Executive Officer of Never Alone Recovery , an organization that connects individuals and families seeking help for addiction recovery with information, resources, and treatment options. They firmly believe that recovery is not one-size-fits-all and support multiple pathways to healing.  In this podcast John shares some of his own journey, experiences he has had helping oth...

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 accessi...

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 thei...

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 a...

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 recove...

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 e...

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 rec...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Maureen O'Conner is going through every parent's nightmare--the loss of a child. Her son Cody died after an opioid overdose and her world was shattered. After a time, she decided to write a book about her experience and filled it with prose, poetry, journal entries and stories. The book, titled Shadows of Me , is an honest exploration of what it took her to come back from such trauma and regain ho...

Public policy work can sometimes be seen as too theoretical and detached from the real world of concerns about things like addictive behaviors and the consequences. In this conversation with Amber Lashbaugh we find out that practical application of public policy work amounts to more than just ideas. It can result in making resources more accessible and people able to work toward greater health of...

Dr. Amy Krentzman is an Associate Professor and Director of Research at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. Her research interests include alcohol and other substance use disorders, positive psychology, spirituality, and journaling to support addiction recovery. Dr. Krentzman coauthored an article that was recently published in the Journal of Positive Psychology titled,  Happiness w...

As theory and practice evolve in both the addiction recovery and mental health fields there is a growing recognition of the intersection between treatment in both areas. One organization that has recognized this for quite some time is A Positive Alternative in Seattle. They are all about empowerment and choice for their clients and definitely subscribe to the view that recovery is not one size fit...

Markita Renee is a dynamic recovery advocate, coach, sought after speaker, and SMART facilitator. She runs the national BIPOC meeting that has positively impacted so many. In this podcast, Markita talks about her personal recovery journey, the happy accident of finding SMART, her quest for knowledge, and the fact that her life is so full she has no time for negative pursuits.    

Great question! In a nutshell, Volunteer Support Coordinators (VSCs) are experienced SMART Recovery volunteers dedicated to mentoring and supporting meeting facilitators. VSCs foster a welcoming and accessible environment for local volunteers to build connections and thrive.  On this podcast we are joined by three VSCs, each representing a different state: Kenzie Smith (North Carolina), Tammy Gina...

Wheeler  is a nonprofit agency that provides comprehensive human services across the state of Connecticut. Their vision is, "All people will have the opportunity to grow, change, and live healthier, productive lives." In this podcast we have a conversation with two representatives of Wheeler initiatives: Heather Clinger, a Program Manager at the Connecticut Center for Prevention, Wellness, and Rec...

When college student April Lombard first considered checking out a SMART Recovery meeting on her LSU campus, she worried that it would be both cringey and lame. Turns out it was neither. In fact, based on the value April found in the science-based approach, she decided to take the facilitator training and get even more involved. In this podcast April shares some of her personal recovery journey, h...

Sarah Laurel is the Founder and Executive Director of Savage Sisters Recovery , a nonprofit outreach and education organization focused on reducing the harm created by addictive behaviors. Sarah uses her lived experience to advance the organization's commitment to providing trauma-informed resources in a judgement-free way.  In this podcast Sarah shares her personal recovery journey and the "happy...

There is a well documented connection between problematic substance use and mental health conditions. Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked SMART facilitator Kelly Scullin to join us in a conversation about mental health and recovery. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and has deep experience in the human resources field. Kelly brings a unique perspective to her work ba...