Health & Lifestyle
Smart addicts
Paula Goodyer
September 21, 2006 - 11:53AM
FOR anyone struggling with dependence on alcohol or other drugs, a free self-help program, SMART Recovery, runs a lunchtime session close to Sydney's CBD for people who can't attend evening meetings.
SMART is short for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The program teaches practical skills to help people cope with cravings, stay motivated to avoid the drug and regain balance in their lives, says its co-ordinator, Josette Freeman of St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.
It differs from the "12 steps" programs of groups such as Narcotics Anonymous, which grew from the Alcoholics Anonymous programs formed in the 1930s.
The new group, operating from Argyle Street in Millers Point in premises provided by the City of Sydney Council, joins a growing list of groups in the inner city, Bondi, lower North Shore and Kogarah, as well as Wollongong, Nelson Bay, Orange, Bathurst and other NSW country centres.
Turn up at any of these meetings, Freeman says, and you'll find people of all ages and backgrounds trying to avoid or cut down on their use of alcohol or drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, crystal meth - known as ice - or heroin.
"But we're not really interested in what drug a person is using, just in the problematic behaviour," she says.
"Some people will say, 'I really shouldn't be here - I only have two glasses of wine a day', but if those two glasses are causing problems in your life you're in the same situation as someone who uses a gram of heroin a day."
SMART Recovery emphasises self-reliance rather than powerlessness and regards addiction as a habit rather than a disease. Some programs expect members to abstain from all drugs; SMART Recovery accepts people taking prescribed medication to help them overcome their addictions.
Abstinence from the drug causing the addiction is ideal, but that is not how SMART Recovery measures success.
"If someone who drinks for seven days a week is able to change to drinking five or six days, that's success," Freeman says.
"It may be that someone has not necessarily stopped drinking or using a drug, but is now paying rent on time or feeding their kids. Any positive change is important because with positive change comes better self-esteem and that's a basis for making more changes.
"Some programs encourage people to attend groups for the rest of their lives [but] SMART Recovery hopes that after a year or two you're equipped with the tools to manage your life."
People can also get advice and support through online meetings on the US website (
www.smartrecovery.org).
"The group has helped me understand the triggers that make me drink and to develop strategies to deal with them," says Alec*, a 61-year-old consultant who, after 18 alcohol-free years, began drinking again five years ago and was referred to the program.
"It's all about defeating the urge - an urge doesn't last and, if you can take your mind off it, it soon goes. Boredom is my biggest trigger, but now instead of wandering up to the grog shop when I don't have much to do I go to the driving range or the garden."
The impetus for many people to join a group is often the loss of something important to them, such as a relationship or a job, Freeman says, and the drug that brings most people in is probably alcohol.
"It's common for many workplaces to encourage drinking, especially the legal and advertising professions. Participants in SMART Recovery groups complain that they are trying to avoid drinking, yet are expected to attend work functions. But the program has strategies to help them cope.
"We suggest they get to the bar quickly to order themselves something like cranberry juice that looks like alcohol or to arrive late and leave early. If they disappear quietly rather than say goodbye, no one is likely to notice - they're too busy drinking."
SMART Recovery, which is funded by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation and is available in all NSW prisons, is also an option for anyone who needs counselling at a time when there aren't always enough drug and alcohol counsellors to meet the demand.
"Imagine what it takes for someone to pluck up the courage to ask for counselling for an addiction only to be told they have to go on a waiting list," Freeman says.
"But at least we can point them to SMART Recovery [for] support while they wait."
For more information about SMART Recovery groups in NSW, including the new lunchtime group at 17 Argyle Street, Millers Point, on Thursdays at noon, contact the Alcohol & Drug Information Service on 9361 8000, or go to
www.smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au.
A group for people who have problems with crystal meth is also available.
SMART Recovery also needs volunteers to train as facilitators. Phone Josette Freeman on 9361 8024.
* Not his real name.
