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Recovery in the News
Ex-addict gets word out about SMART recovery option
Eun Young Chough
Daily News
January 30, 2009
When most people think about getting help for substance abuse, 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous usually come to mind.
But a new method called Self-Management And Recovery Training, or SMART - which focuses less on spiritual aspects and more on psychological techniques - has been steadily gaining ground.
After a modest launch in 2001, a pioneering Rego Park group based on this model now attracts about 10 members to its weekly meetings.
"Our program's goal is not disparaging any other approaches that people have in their recovery," said Michael Abbate, 39, a recovering drug addict and group leader. "I just hope people will know that there are other options when it comes to overcoming addictions."
Abbate's own road to recovery, which began 16 years and four months ago, wasn't an easy one.
"I was in and out of AA and NA throughout all those years," he said. "But the treatment programs weren't providing all the answers I wanted."
That's when Abbate turned to SMART - a nonprofit program based on what psychologists call cognitive-behavioral therapy. The discovery changed his life, he said.
He attended his first meetings in Manhattan. But after he learned there were no SMART meetings in his home borough of Queens, he organized a group at the Long Island Consultation Center, at 97-29 64th Road in Rego Park, in December 2001. The group still meets there every Sunday.
"In 2008, the attendance rate began to reach the double digits as a result of my outreach," Abbate said.
In addition to face-to-face meetings, the group (www.smartrecovery.org) also uses text messages and a free online discussion group.
Despite membership gains, Abbate said, he still encounters obstacles in getting the word out about SMART.
"Here in New York State, in both federal and criminal court decisions, a judge tells a person to go to NA or AA without giving other options," he said. "They should also offer secular alternatives."
A group member who asked to be called "Jerry" attended last Sunday's meeting for his drug addictions.
"AA does not work for everyone, but if SMART works for one person, it's worth it," he said. "It saves lives."