What is SMART Recovery?

Self-management and recovery training

SMART Recovery is a science-based program that helps people manage addictive and other concerning behaviours and build a balanced, meaningful life. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. Rather than following set steps or labels, it teaches practical skills you can use to set your own goals and make lasting change.

The science behind SMART

Practical tools, grounded in psychology

SMART draws on well-established methods that are widely used in psychology and counselling. You do not need to know the theory to benefit, the tools are made to be practical and easy to use.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Seeing how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours connect, and changing the patterns that no longer serve you.

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

Recognizing and questioning the beliefs that drive distress and self-defeating choices.

Motivational Interviewing

Building and keeping your own motivation to change, in your own words and on your own terms.

Mindfulness and relaxation

Practical techniques for managing urges, stress, and difficult emotions as they come up.

As research and our own experience grow, SMART keeps evolving.

The 4-Point Program®

What you work on in SMART

These four areas come together in a SMART meeting. You move between them as your needs change, there is no fixed order.

Build and maintain motivation

Get clear on why change matters to you, and keep that motivation going.

Cope with urges

Understand urges, and learn practical ways to ride them out.

Manage thoughts, feelings and behaviours

Work with difficult thoughts, feelings, and behaviours instead of being driven by them.

Live a balanced life

Build the habits, relationships, and goals that support the life you want.

Our story

From one idea to a national community

SMART Recovery began more than thirty years ago and has grown into a global community. SMART Recovery Canada brings the same science-based approach to communities across the country, at no cost to participants.

1994

SMART Recovery is founded, offering a science-based alternative for people seeking recovery.

July 2025

SMART Recovery Canada becomes a registered national charity.

January 2026

National online meetings and resources launch across Canada.

Common questions

Is SMART right for me?

A few things people often want to know before their first meeting.

Do I have to be abstinent, or admit I have a problem?

No. You set your own goals, whether that is abstinence, cutting back, or simply figuring things out. There are no labels here, and you decide what success looks like for you.

Is SMART religious or spiritual?

No. SMART is not based on any religious or spiritual viewpoint. Your own beliefs are welcome and entirely your choice, but they are not part of the program.

What about medication?

SMART supports the scientifically informed use of prescribed medication for addiction and mental health, alongside the skills you build in meetings.

Do I have to believe addiction is a disease?

No. SMART's tools can help you whether or not you see addiction as a disease. We focus on practical change rather than on a single explanation.

How is SMART different from AA or NA, and can I do both?

SMART is self-directed and science-based, with no set steps, sponsors, or labels, and no expectation of lifelong meetings. It differs from 12-step programs but does not exclude them. Many people take part in SMART alongside AA or NA, and that is completely fine.

Ready when you are

Find a meeting that fits your life, online or in person, across Canada.

Find a meeting What to expect

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