SMART Recovery
Sunrise's recovery philosophy entails viewing and addressing the struggles of chemical abuse and dependency from multiple perspectives and approaches. We believe each girl is an individual in her treatment and SMART recovery encourages individualization of substance abuse treatment. We have found that teenagers respond well to the cognitive-behavioral approaches associated in SMART recovery intervention. We utilize the SMART recovery approach in empowering teen girls to make healthy life choices associated with abstinence. As part of Sunrise's recovery program we also provide students opportunities to participate in community based AA and NA meetings. Students are assessed for substance abuse or dependency and are prescribed the frequency of groups per week.
The SMART Recovery approach is based on helping individuals gain independence from addictive behavior. SMART is the acronym for Self Management And Recovery Training and is abstinence based.
The program teaches participants how to:
- Enhance and maintain motivation for abstinence
- Successfully resist urges to use substances and avoid relapse
- Develop problem-solving and coping skills by learning to think rationally, maintain emotional equilibrium, and practice behavioral self-control
- Develop a balanced and satisfying substance free-lifestyle
SMART Recovery is humanistic and affirms that human beings have the inherent ability to recognize their problems, learn from their mistakes and change self defeating beliefs. SMART Recovery emphasizes self-responsibility, self motivation, and self discipline as the primary means of stopping troublesome substance use. From the SMART Recovery perspective recovery is a matter of learning to recognize and change the bio-psycho-social conditions that maintain a person's addictive behavior. Recovery is a process of remaining abstinent from substances while retraining and reconditioning one's self to cope with problems and enjoying life without substances. Brad Simpson, LCSW, leads our Recovery Group and is a certified SMART Recovery therapist and is regional representative for the SMART Recovery organization.
Important Topics
Parenting and PTSD
Working through the parents’ PTSD symptoms can, in turn, help them cope with their daughter’s trauma. Once they understand that their daughter will be okay, the denial often breaks and real progress in family system can occur.
COMMON SENSE WELLNESS: LIVEABLE LIVING ROOMS
Families that spend quality time together tend to have at least one thing in common—a good place to hang out. If you’ve ever tried to have a relaxed conversation in an uncomfortable physical setting, you know that it’s almost impossible. Setting up an inviting common space in your home that encourages a combination of quiet activity and conversation can help foster communication and connection.
COMMON SENSE WELLNESS: MEALS TOGETHER
In today’s over-programmed culture, the idea of eating together as a family may seem quaint if not absurd. But the benefits of breaking bread regularly with others—especially family—are not only intuitively obvious, they’re also being confirmed by research. Healthier eating habits, social skills, family connection and communication, and even weight control are all positive outcomes that can be influenced by family meals.
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