By Tom Horvath, PhD This blog will publicize a recent blog post on syringe services from Nora Volkow, MD, the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She states that: Nearly 30 years of research show that providing testing, counseling, and sterile injection supplies to people who inject opioids and other drugs helps prevent transmission of infectious diseases, without increasing drug-related or other crimes in the vicinity. Contrary to worries that syringe services programs (SSPs) will encourage or promote drug use, evidence shows that they more often do the opposite, linking people with addiction to effective treatment and even helping prevent overdose deaths. There is no scientist or professional who is more credible on this subject than Dr. Volkow. Her stanc...

Tom Horvath, PhD, ABPP In preparation for celebrating our 40th anniversary next month, we are updating pages on our website. Today we focus on: https://www.practicalrecovery.com/about-us/ If you have scanned other websites, you may find language identical or similar to ours about what the facility provides. However, having these words on their website does not mean that the facility acts accordingly. If you want to determine what a facility in fact provides, the questions identified here may be helpful: https://www.practicalrecovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Questions-Final-1.pdf The marketing of treatment facilities is a fiercely competitive endeavor. Facilities may say what they think sounds good, without actually providing it. Perhaps Practical Recovery should...

By Tom Horvath, PhD On October 22, 2024, in Lisbon, Portugal, SMART Recovery held its first international conference, in conjunction with the Lisbon Addictions 2024 conference. Lisbon Addictions drew over 2,000 attendees. SMART’s event only had about 50, but they attended from Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong, Africa, the US, and throughout Europe. SMART was also celebrating its 30th birthday. Although a human baby requires nine months preparation for birth, SMART’s birth required about five years. By October 1994, it was an independent non-profit operating with the name SMART Recovery. At the conference SMART had a booth in the exhibit hall, where we explained to our many visitors what the differences between AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and SMART Recovery are. SMART Recovery, ...

By Tom Horvath, PhD I was recently contacted by a website putting together a list of 50 very brief accounts, including before and after pictures, about individuals resolving addictive problems. I was pleased that they included a few quotes from me, about the process of change. https://www.boredpanda.com/best-all-times-before-after-addicts-transformation/ Perhaps the most important fact to know about significant addictive problems is that most individuals fully or mostly resolve them. So often the stories we see are focused on problems, not success. The process of change often takes more effort and more time than we would like, but nevertheless it happens! The results of the change process are quite different from individual to individual. The lengthy time needed to change ca...

Amanda Eversmann of Life Process Program, on Radical Acceptance in Addiction, Recovery, and Parenting I entered on a ten-year addiction because my mother didn’t radically accept me and I accordingly didn’t accept myself.  I had to first learn to accept myself, and also my children. Then I radically accepted my mom. 1. My Upbringing I remember my childhood fondly. My mom was an 8th grade teacher and taught at the public school next to the Catholic school I attended K-12. My dad worked hard at the Ford motor factory. We were comfortably middle class. My mom was involved in every activity I did.  She was a Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, classroom volunteer. But she and I have different personalities. We butted heads frequently. She can be pretty intense and I am more lai...

By Tom Horvath, PhD For many individuals, particularly those in 12-step groups, recovery means abstinence (and maybe not much else). I am “in recovery” if I am abstaining. However, there are also other important aspects of the process of change. Several national organizations have devoted substantial effort to defining recovery more broadly. The following definitions are available on the internet: Faces and Voices of Recovery (undated): Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life. SAMHSA (2005): Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life. Bet...

The Differences Between Moderate Drinking Programs and Harm Reduction Programs Part 2: Harm Reduction Programs, and How and Why I Created HAMS By Kenneth Anderson, MA The Backstory I first attended an MM meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota in June of 1998; this was immediately after the great storm of May 30, 1998, which had knocked out power lines and even traffic lights throughout the Twin Cities area and had hit the suburbs even worse. I was the only one to show up at this meeting, but I tried again the following week. The following week there were only two people at the Minneapolis MM meeting: me and Audrey Kishline. I actually did not realize that I was talking to the founder until the end of the meeting when she lent me a copy of the MM handbook and I saw her picture on the ...

The Differences Between Moderate Drinking Programs and Harm Reduction Programs Part 1: Moderation Drinking Programs and Moderation Management By Kenneth Anderson, MA Moderate drinking programs and harm reduction programs start from opposite assumptions and wind up in very different places. This doesn't necessarily make one type of program better than the other--different people will find different programs to be a good fit. A Brief Overview of Harm Reduction Programs Harm reduction programs start from the assumption that the more harm there is associated with behavior such as the use of a substance, the more the person who engages in that behavior can benefit from harm reduction services. Harm reduction services are low-threshold and are provided unconditionally. For example,...

By Tom Horvath, PhD This weekend SMART Recovery is celebrating (a few months early) its 30th anniversary by holding a conference in Salt Lake City. What has SMART achieved? How well is it functioning? What might its future hold? What follows is my personal perspective on some highlights of SMART’s first 30 years (from someone who has been part of that process), and my hopes for the years ahead. Growth and influence The good news is that in 2018 SMART Recovery expanded into SMART Recovery International, which has a world-wide presence. The US based organization is now an affiliate of the international organization, which operates approximately 2,500 weekly meetings in 38 countries and has printed materials in 18 languages. The less-than-good news is that SMART in many parts of t...

By A. Tom Horvath, PhD Is this question sacrilegious? It should not be. AA has done much good in the world, and I expect it will continue to do so, for those who freely choose to attend it. In this article I point out what harm AA can do and might continue to do. Any activity has a cost benefit analysis, and it is generally reasonable to consider that analysis. The question this article asks has been discussed many times before. You can conduct an internet search for this title and get numerous hits. You might even find this one: https://www.practicalrecovery.com/prblog/aa-harmful/ (posted 10 years ago on 3/25/14). For AA not to be harmful it might need to have more control over its discussions and what its members say (as SMART Recovery aims to do). AA members should NO...