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(Continued from page 2) imply that you only accept yourself because you do something well or because other people like you. USA means that you accept yourself because you are alive and have decided to accept yourself. Unfortunately, only a limited number of talented and well-loved people can gain a high degree of self-esteem or self-confidence. But anyone, merely because he or she chooses to have it, can gain self-acceptance. |
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Of all the SMART meetings in Silicon Valley I enjoy this one the most. The meeting is open to the public; call Sam at (408) 374-3602 if you or someone you know wants to attend.
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The SMART Recovery® online meeting schedule is growing rapidly. One of the SMART Recovery® Professional Advisors recently shared the following: Monday 10:00 p.m. EST |
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Dave and Bette Baumfleck recently started two groups in this community of 25,000. They began in December 1998 after Dave attended an inpatient alcohol and drug abuse program at the Palo Alto VA. (Menlo Park, mentioned in another article herein, is geographically much the same as Palo Alto. ed.) The VA had one SMART Recovery® group and five AA groups. Dave didn't care for AA and chose SMART Recovery®, which he found more helpful. After returning to Lake Tahoe, he contacted a local newspaper reporter who wrote a lengthy article. "New members are still calling," he said. "They stuck the article on their refrigerator or in a drawer and they continue to call."
Dave also contacted Sierra Recovery, a DUI school, where he started giving presentations on SMART Recovery®. So far, six people have attended from that effort.
Bette and Dave are presently leading two groups per week. They try to limit attendance to ten persons to keep the meetings manageable. One of the attendees is interested in starting a group, so he's leading some of the meetings.
"Does SMART ever have any conferences?" Dave asked.
Yes, we will have a training seminar in October in Chicago - more details to follow soon. See you there.
Its hard to believe that Russ and I have been leading a SMART meeting at the Veterans Administration for a whole year. We've seen quite a few men come and go, over 250 during a year's time, as they complete a 45 day inpatient addiction treatment program. Reflecting on the year I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in their recovery and to enhance my own.
The Silicon Valley Chapter of SMART recovery was invited to bring a weekly meeting into the "First Step" program at building 350 of the Menlo Park facility in April of 1998. Russ Powell led the first few meetings before asking for help. There are about 30 to 40 individuals in the VA program at any one time and a SMART meeting's optimal size is 12-15; so we have 2 groups meeting in adjacent rooms at 7 PM on Tuesdays. The atmosphere in this program is very favorable to visitors; the participants are highly motivated, attentive and courteous. We were also very pleased to discover that the VA was already teaching and employing cognitive therapy as part of their program and the men were familiar with many of the terms and processes employed by SMART.
New concepts that we introduce are that of the 'inner addict' or addictive self talk and the belief that we are not powerless over our thoughts and actions. It is a philosophy and self treatment regime that most of the members enthusiastically embrace. To a few of those newest in the VA's program it sometimes appears that SMART is antagonistic towards the 12-step process since there are some striking differences in our beliefs, but most of the feedback the attendees give at the end of our meetings is positive. In fact, one recent graduate started a SMART meeting in South Lake Tahoe.
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