SMART Recovery® Podcast

Billy Hoffman works with compulsive gamblers as a certfied counselor. His lived experience and clinical skills combine to provide hope for those who have reached a critical point in their negative spiral of financial and emotional consequences. In this podcast Billy points out that despite compulsive gambling being recognized as problem for decades, there is still a relative lack of resources for those who are trying to get help. The recent meteroric rise in legal sports betting has only compounded the issues involved. Here are links to potential resources: APA article on inclusion of problem gambling in DSM-III Dr. Valerie Lorenz's book Compulsive Gambling Arnie Wexler's book All Bets Are Off University of Maryland resources for problem gambling International Problem Gambling Center

SMART Recovery is based on cognitive tools rooted in addressing how we think and react to life circumstances. For therapist Bruce Burleson, combining the cognitive aspects of behavior management with staying present in the moment is a recipe for successful treatment of addictions and compulsive behaviors. He calls his approach Mindfulness-Based Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and he authored a workbook all about it. Burleson has worked in a variety of mental health and recovery settings in the course of his more than 25 years in the field. In this podcast he explains how he helps clients address their issues and chart their own path to recovery.

Jan Folk was a high powered businesswoman for years, battling sexism in the male-dominated insurance industry. At the same time she was struggling with alcohol-use disorder and kept ending up in crisis. After a couple of attempts to stop drinking she finally realized that the only way she was going to change her behavior was if she looked deep inside and made the decision for herself. That is when she learned about SMART and has embraced recovery. Jan decided to share her story by writing a memoir, Hell in High Heels: How I Conquered My Demons, about her life as a business owner, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She chronicles her childhood and rise to prominence, love of dogs, and shares a story about how one might possibly lose a private plane.

Keith Johnston is the Founder and Executive Director of Running2bwell, a nonprofit organization that helps those struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues become more physically and socially active. He decided to start the effort after a friend lost his son to heroin addiction and he wanted to try and contribute something positive to society. Keith turned to exercise, since it had always been helpful when he was attempting to manage his own meantal health and addictions, and now facilitates walking/running groups and SMART meetings. In this podcast, he talks about research that links exercise to greater mental clarity and many other benefits. He also shares his belief that not only do we all have issues of some kind, we all have a responsibility to contribute what we can to make the world a better place.

Jonathan Hunt-Glassman struggled with drinking too much for years, and tried many ways of changing his relationship to alcohol. But it wasn't until a doctor suggested he try medication that things got better. Based on his experience, he decided to start a company, Oar Health, which offers a way for individuals to investigate whether medication might be useful in their own recovery. In this podcast, Jonathan is joined by Oar Health's Chief Clinical Advisor Dr. Josh Lee, an addiction medicine specialist, researcher, and Professor of Population Health and Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.