See the live meetings map
Real-time globe of every SMART Recovery meeting happening now. Tap a glowing dot to join.
How Cope Compass fits
SMART meetings are the science. CBT, motivational interviewing, the 4-Point Program done in a group with a trained facilitator. It works because it teaches the toolkit.
Cope Compass is the toolkit between meetings. Urge tools you can run mid-craving, financial recovery worksheets, a therapist who treats gambling disorder, the day-by-day log of what you tried and what worked. Different surface area than SMART. Same evidence base. Many people in long recovery use both.
Find a SMART meeting below. Come back here for the rest.
SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The program is grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and contemporary addiction research. There is no higher power, no powerlessness, no lifetime-member identity. Recovery is treated as a set of skills you build and eventually master well enough to graduate out of meetings. SMART covers any addictive or compulsive behavior, including gambling, alcohol, drugs, food, and technology. Meetings worldwide number roughly 1,500, with about a third online. Free to attend, anonymous, no signup. SMART Recovery is the non-12-step alternative most often suggested by clinicians who treat compulsive gambling.
The four-point program
SMART organizes its toolkit into four practical points. Each one is a skill that meetings, worksheets, and the SMART handbook help you build over time.
- 1
Build and maintain motivation
Tools like the Cost-Benefit Analysis and Hierarchy of Values clarify why you want to change.
- 2
Cope with urges
Techniques for riding out cravings: urge surfing, distraction, the DEADS framework, behavioral substitution.
- 3
Manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Cognitive behavioral skills for catching the thought patterns that drive compulsive gambling and reframing them.
- 4
Live a balanced life
Plan a life worth staying in: relationships, work, health, meaning. Recovery is what you build, not just what you stop.
SMART expects participants to eventually graduate. That makes it different from 12-step programs, which frame recovery as ongoing indefinitely. Neither philosophy is right or wrong; they are different theories of what recovery is for.
Find SMART Recovery by state
We have editorial content for 20 states so far. Each state page links to active meetings, the state council, and the local helpline. More states are added weekly.
- Arizona14 meetings
- CaliforniaComing soon
- Colorado18 meetings
- Connecticut9 meetings
- Florida18 meetings
- Georgia11 meetings
- Illinois22 meetings
- Indiana9 meetings
- Louisiana6 meetings
- Massachusetts14 meetings
- Maryland11 meetings
- Michigan22 meetings
- Mississippi4 meetings
- North Carolina9 meetings
- New JerseyComing soon
- Nevada14 meetings
- New York22 meetings
- Ohio41 meetings
- Pennsylvania31 meetings
- Texas14 meetings
- Virginia14 meetings
- Washington14 meetings
Other approaches to recovery
None of these programs is right or wrong. They are different tools. Many people in long-term recovery have used more than one.
GA
Gamblers Anonymous
Want a 12-step fellowship instead? Gamblers Anonymous is the largest peer recovery program for compulsive gambling.
Dharma
Recovery Dharma
Drawn to mindfulness practice? Recovery Dharma is Buddhist-inspired, also secular-friendly, and complements SMART well.
Gam-Anon
Gam-Anon
Family or partner of someone gambling? Gam-Anon is a parallel fellowship for the people around the gambler.