tyler

I have learned bits and pieces of various secular recovery programs over the years but have never studied or followed any of them seriously. Lately I have been seeing a therapist and have found it to be very helpful. However, she is not particularly well schooled in SA.

I am a binge drinker and have become fairly adept at identifying the "voice" that tells me that it is good idea to drink. I try to combat this with the logic that I don't even really enjoy the feeling of being drunk and I certainly don't like the feeling the next day. There is also the issue of the money spent and the negative effects it has on my general mental health. Still, oftentimes this is not enough and I give into those feelings and drink.

I know there are many programs out there that can help with this and would like some suggestions from the group of some directions I should look toward. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

andyh

hi Tyler,

SMART Recovery is based on CBT tools:

https://www.smartrecovery.org/

there are face-to-face meetings, online meetings & a web forum if you want a group environment, or a handbook (available through their website or on Amazon) & online training if you'd prefer to go it alone. I've used all these resources & found them to be very helpful. more info here:

https://www.smartrecovery.org/about-us/

AlericB

Hi Tyler,

In addition to what Andy has said, from what you say, you're well aware of all the negatives that drinking has for you but that's not enough to stop you occasionally binge drinking. Perhaps check the Freedom Model thread out particularly the part that talks about the benefit of benefits? If you focus more on at the benefits of not binge drinking you may feel attracted to that change and find that making it is easier than with your current approach.

tyler

Thanks Andy. I think somewhere I have the handbook. I will try to find it this afternoon and see if I can actually put some of it into action. Thanks again!!

tyler

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check out that thread. There are so many different threads out there that it is hard to go through all of them, so I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction!!

andyh

check your PMs - I've sent you a bit more info there.

if you have any questions about SMART I'm happy to answer as best I can

RecklessEric

CBT- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is my base.

I would recommend to anybody struggling with alcohol/substance abuse to see a CBT therapist.

The argument you are having with yourself when the "voice" starts talking would be put into very basic and logical terms through CBT.

It really put me on the right track.

tyler

My therapist is CBT based, but not very experienced in SA. Overall it has been very helpful to me with my wealth of other issues!! I guess it is really just a matter of applying the same theories to the SA issues. Thanks for sharing!! Take care.

Dropsie

Have you read the happiness trap?

Its similar to CBT but resonates more with me.

You will get there.

MindfulMan

My 8 week Intensive Outpatient Program was group based and CBT based. It was life changing in so many ways. It really gave me the tools to deal with drug/alcohol cravings, but because it was a dual diagnosis program it also used recognizing and reframing distorted thinking to deal with anxiety and depression.

I checked out SMART when I was towards the end of the IOP, and it seemed pretty bad-ass, and had a lot in common with what I'd just been through. The handbook is great, and if you get a good group and a good facilitator I think it would be fantastic not only for sobriety but for dealing with other negatives in your life.

I ended up not doing SMART because the group I found contained people with a lot of serious mental illness that wouldn't have been mutually helpful. Also I felt like I'd already just done that.

I will probably find a better group and check it out.

Is it possible to change therapists to one that both uses a CBT approach and has some knowledge of recovery? My therapist is more psychodynamic than CBT, but is also in recovery (Sex addiction) and it is extremely useful for him to have that kind of insight.

Let us know what you end up doing!

AlericB

I find it interesting that the theme of happiness appears in both this (though I've only read the title!) and TFM. Perhaps it represents a growing awareness that what we really want is to be happy rather than having to be continually 'managing' our problems.

daredevil

In SMART, one of the four pillars is living a balanced life. That pillar seems self-evident and intuitive (familiarity with SMART aside), and it has never been discussed in the framework of pursuing the better life (i.e., happiness), but I suppose the balanced life is a better life. TFM aligns well with CBT-based recovery methods.

andyh

I'm reading the book at the moment (after Dropsie recommended it). the basic premise seems to be that chasing "happiness" in the sense of pleasure & gratification is the CAUSE of all our unhappiness - that's the "Trap"! rather that we should aspire to a full & meaningful life. I think this probably echoes how some people balked at the term "happiness" on the TFM thread.

tyler

I have a copy of the SMART handbook, thanks to the kindness of one of our forum members!! I have not had a chance to get into it yet, but I definitely will. Unfortunately the closest meetings are over 100 miles away, so that is not an option. I'm not sure if meetings are a necessary part of the program, as they are in 12-step programs. I know there are on-line meetings available, but I have tried these in the past and have not found them to be particularly helpful. If nothing else, I'm sure I will derive some helpful information from the handbook.

As far as finding a different therapist goes, I am probably not going to go that way. After over 20 years of seeing therapists, this is the first person I have connected with in any meaningful kind of way. It is entirely possible that this has more to do with the place that I am in more than the particular person, but we are making some meaningful progress together. I have considered trying to see a SA specific therapist to see, but there is only so much money in the budget to spend on therapy. I am seeing my psychiatrist next week and will ask if perhaps he has any suggestions. Might not be a bad idea, even on a perhaps monthly basis, just to touch base with someone a bit more knowledgeable.

I have been really turned off by SA therapists in the past as they all just pushed 12-step recovery on me, which I did not find helpful. It is entirely possible, even likely, that I just haven't found the right person.

Thanks for your suggestions and advice!!

MindfulMan

Sounds suspiciously like Buddhism to me. Life is suffering. Suffering is unavoidable. Additional pain comes from the avoidance of suffering and trying to be in a state of transient happiness ALL THE TIME. Life and the universe are about impermanence and change. The right way is the Middle Way.

I've incorporated Buddhism into my recovery in a big way, so I totally get this.

Tyler, if you have a good therapist with whom you connect, keep them! That's like GOLD! I also like both CBT and the psychodynamic approach to therapy. They are very complimentary, although probably shouldn't be done at the same time anyway. CBT is about the "what," and psychodynamic is about the "why" and processing old programs that don't work. Like drinking to avoid pain.

I found CBT in a group setting to be even more powerful, but I've never done it individually. The SMART handbooks is really good, and they do have online meetings.

Sounds like you're in a really great place.

andyh

SMART meetings can be helpful for some people, but it's also perfectly possible to work through the book on your own. The focus of the meetings in on learning the tools in the handbook & how to apply them to our situations & they can use attendees' current challenges to illustrate the teaching. SMART meetings really aren't (or at least shouldn't be) group therapy or exercises in extended sharing. You can always post here if you have any questions or want to discuss anything.

I've done some face-to-face meetings but the ones I tried didn't really grab me, but then I'm not terribly sociable at the best of times. I quite like the online meetings, some of them can be very useful, but as always, you might have to shop around a bit to find one that resonates with you.

Once you've read the handbook, why not mention it to your CBT therapist? many of the SMART tools are standard CBT tools that your therapist will be familiar with & you may be able to incorporate them into your sessions, even if he/she isn't very familiar with SA.

andyh

SMART, CBT, et al. came out of REBT which is based in large part on Stoicism - the big-S, ancient Greek type, rather than the modern small-s interpretation, which seems to mean just putting up with stuff. Stoicism teaches that life *is* hard, striving for the unattainable leads to suffering, but that's it's possible to live a fulfilled life with what you have, in the situation you're in if you think about it right. so yeh, pretty similar to Buddhism

daredevil

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy was pioneered by Albert Ellis, and one of its principles is that life is tough, and to expect otherwise is irrational, so by expecting otherwise, you're setting yourself up for unhappiness.

MindfulMan

I like REBT. CBT came from it.

My therapist uses it in his practice. It's very helpful.

AlericB

I don't know much about CBT but I read the following once in a book on mindfulness and wondered if it's accurate. It was saying that CBT is essentially about noting, perhaps even literally by writing down, whenever you have a negative thought or feeling so that you become aware of any negative thought patterns you may be having and so become less on negative auto-pilot. It was making the point that mindfulness is about this too but goes deeper in that it also includes bringing positive thoughts and feelings into awareness (because you can also be a prisoner of positive thinking)

Does that have any bearing on your experience of CBT?