SMART Recovery in Butler, Warren counties
- 6 p.m. Mondays at Beckett Springs Hospital, West Chester Twp.
- 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at LCNB National Bank, second floor, Oxford
- 4 p.m. Sundays at Lindner Center of HOPE, Mason
Complete details online at www.smartcincy.com.
An alternative program to Alcoholics Anonymous and similar 12-step programs is now being offered at two Butler County locations.
SMART Recovery — Self-Management and Recovery Training — is a four-point program that uses “rational thinking” to help the person achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle, said Randy Marshall, of Liberty Twp.
Marshall facilitates 90-minute SMART Recovery sessions now held Mondays at Beckett Springs Hospital in West Chester Twp. Over 20 people attended the first session earlier this month.
The meetings are free to attend and open to all kinds of addiction, be it drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling or shopping.
“Anyone struggling, who wants to quit or has an addiction can come,” Marshall said.
About 40 million Americans — 16 percent of the population ages 12 and up — meet clinical criteria for addiction involving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs, according to the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
SMART Recovery — a nonprofit organization formed in 1994 — is an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs that include language such as believing in a “higher power.” The agency is funded through donations, book sales, website sponsorships and occasional grant opportunities.
“It’s becoming more that people don’t want to attend AA; this is an alternative, scientific-based program,” Marshall said.
The four-point program uses the steps of building and maintaining motivation; coping with urges; managing thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and living a balanced lifestyle, Marshall said.
SMART Recovery was first offered to Butler County residents this past summer in Oxford, said Scott Rouse, facilitator of the program held Tuesdays in the LCNB Bank building uptown.
Rouse said only about five people attend in Oxford so far, so there’s room to expand. Rouse, who is a chef at Miami University, said he was motivated to start the program locally after witnessing the growing heroin epidemic firsthand, including the death of a friend from a drug overdose.
SMART Recovery is one of several alternative treatment programs. Others include Women for Sobriety and Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered recovery program with four meetings across Butler County.
“It’s a tremendous additional resource for recovering people,” said John Bohley, executive director of Butler County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board.
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