SMART believes that you are the expert in your own life. We’re not going to tell you what to do and how to do it. You can expect affirming support from others in our mutual support group meetings led by trained facilitators. What do we mean when we say that SMART is affirming?
We encourage you to define your own values.
Only you know the person you aspire to be and only you can determine your values. While your family, religion, or culture may provide helpful input as you define your values, individuals often experience a new sense of freedom when they define who they want to be solely for themselves, not because of who they think they “should” be based on the standards of others.
We empower you to set your own goals.
SMART is interested in supporting all positive change. Want to explore moderation? We’ll be here to unconditionally support your progress in reducing your engagement with your addictive behavior. Want to reduce the harm you or others are experiencing as a result of your addictive behavior? Again, we’ll celebrate your wins! Want to completely abstain from one substance or behavior, but not all potentially addictive behaviors? Also ok! Bottom line: You won’t be told what you should do in our meetings.
We focus on strengths and skills, not labels or diagnoses.
In SMART, we believe that people struggle with addictive behaviors, but that they aren’t defined by those behaviors. As such, you’re less likely to hear people using labels like alcoholic or addict or enabler in our meetings than you might in other settings. Of course, if someone finds a label helpful, they’re free to use it in our self-management approach. Similarly, some people find it helpful to consider their struggle with an addictive behavior in medical terms using language like disorder or disease. SMART also affirms your right to use those terms or not. We encourage you to think about how the language you use is helping you and others. And we ask you not to apply what’s helpful to you to others in SMART meetings. We know that SMART tools and meetings have been helpful to people regardless of the language they choose for themselves because we stay focused on our strengths and skills, not labels.
We expect SMART meetings to be respectful and supportive.
When you decide to attend a SMART meeting, you should expect to be respected and supported as you design the next steps in your journey toward a balanced life. In our meetings, we work hard to speak from our owned lived experience using “I” statements rather than giving others direct advice. We avoid “shoulds.” Our volunteer facilitators are trained to navigate difficult situations that may arise in group settings and our national office team is available to support them, as needed.
Building a truly affirming movement is no easy task. It’s natural for humans to believe that the path they’ve chosen is also the right path for others. That said, one of the things that sets us apart as a movement is our commitment to individual autonomy in the context of a supportive community. Join us in making SMART’s affirming approach available in your community today!
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