Acting Director of White House Office of National Drug Policy to Open SMART Recovery Annual Conference

Commemorating 20 Years of Helping People Overcome Addictions, Experts Advocate Science-Based Self-Empowerment, Peer Support at DC Annual Conference
 
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MENTOR, Ohio - Aug. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- SMART Recovery (SMART) will celebrate 20 years of providing science, self-empowerment and mutual-aid support through its program to help people overcome addictions at its eighth annual conference September 26-28. The Conference will be hosted at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, DC. The meeting is themed “Exploring the Power of Choice!”

The exploration will begin with a presentation by Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the first official to hold this position who has personal addiction recovery experience.

“We are in the midst of an important paradigm shift in the way the global community responds to [drug use and trafficking] …. Substance use disorders are preventable and treatable. I urge all countries to build on past progress by increasing efforts to expand evidence-based public health interventions …,” Botticelli said in a recent statement.

SMART President Tom Horvath, PhD shares this philosophy noting that, “From its very first days, SMART has focused on this paradigm shift, working to bring the tools of addiction recovery to peer-support meetings led by treatment professionals, facilitators who have overcome serious addictions and individuals desiring to serve their community. All receive training in the SMART Recovery program.”

Dr. Horvath will speak after Botticelli at the conference providing an introduction to the SMART Recovery program, which he has likened to a “social movement, akin to civil rights. We champion the rights of individuals who want to recover in a self-empowering way.”

In a video prepared for this event, renowned historian Bill White will give his perspective on the recovery movement and SMART's contributions as among the first organizations to turn to science in creating new paths for people to overcome addictions to substances and harmful activities.

SMART International, Recovery Advocacy

The program will explore SMART’s international growth in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and the UK. Panel presentations will highlight national and local advocacy, featuring Faces & Voices of Recovery Chairman Steve Gumbley, ONDCP Recovery Branch Chief Peter Gaumond and a panel of SMART community leaders.

The final day of the conference will provide SMART volunteers with motivational and practical tools in media relations and meeting facilitation.

For more information and to register, visit smartrecovery.org/washdc2014. For those who cannot attend, the program will be streamed live on the Internet.

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SMART Recovery® (Self-Management and Recovery Training) is a global, nonprofit organization that helps people overcome addictions through free mutual support group meetings in person and online. Each week, many thousands of people discuss recovery progress and challenges at more than 1,250 meetings in 13 countries, 30-plus online gatherings and 24/7 internet message board forums and chat. Participants use SMART to assume responsibility for their own recovery and become empowered using its 4-Point Program: building and maintaining motivation; coping with urges; managing thoughts, feelings and behaviors; and living a balanced life. Founded in 1994, the program uses science-based techniques that are most effective in helping individuals abstain from addictions to substances and harmful behaviors.

Media Contact
SMART Recovery
***@smartrecovery.org
440-346-0048

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