Photo: www.smartrecovery.org

Smart Recovery group session

A new method of addiction recovery is taking hold in the Okanagan.

Smart Recovery has been operating for several years in Kelowna, launched last year in Penticton, and is in the process of opening a chapter in Vernon.

“The reason for smart recovery to exist, is because Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are faith based,” Regional Co-ordinator Judy Poole said. “That does not work for everybody.”

She said Smart Recovery is “science based” and accepts people on methadone or suboxone (medication to fight opiate addiction), something NA frowns upon.

However, she notes that many people that attend Smart Recovery meetings also attend AA or NA.

Smart Recovery aims to be a less structured and rigid system of getting clean, there is no “12-step” program, instead it's “whatever works.”

“We weigh the pros and cons, and the idea is that you get somebody to stand back, take a deep breath. If someone is going to relapse, it starts three days before it happens, it's not just this impulsive thing, so we try to intercept that,” she said.

The group sessions are not run by certified counselors, but by people who have been impacted by addiction themselves, or one of their family members. Poole says they do their best not to cover the same ground as groups such as Pathways in Penticton, instead aiming to complement their services.

In addition to the Okanagan, Smart Recovery holds meetings across North America, including Vancouver, Kamloops and Prince George.

Poole hopes to launch a youth addiction treatment group in the not too distant future in Penticton. People interested in attending a Smart Recovery Group in the Okanagan can contact Poole at 250-486-4375, or can receive more information and referral from an addiction resource centre.