Researcher starts trial on how LGBTQ people experience SMART Recovery substance use program

LAWRENCE – People from sexual and gender minorities suffer from substance use disorders at much higher rates than their peers, but little is known about how treatment and recovery programs work for them. A University of Kansas researcher is leading a study to better understand how members of the LGBTQ community experience SMART Recovery, an alternative to traditional 12-step programs, and potentially guide program improvements.

Briana McGeough, assistant professor of social protection at KU, is leading a trial and feasibility program funded by a $ 20,000 grant over two years to assess how LGBTQ people experience SMART recovery and suggest potential improvements to it. intervention, with the aim of better serving people seeking to stop or reduce their consumption of alcohol or substances and improve their quality of life.

SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) is a peer support group that uses tools and strategies to change unnecessary thinking and behavior patterns in order to achieve satisfaction and quality of life. long term. Strategies include helping individuals make plans for change, determining how they respond to triggers of addiction, establishing a hierarchy of values, and thinking about how substance use affects them. It is a secular program, and unlike traditional 12-step programs, it does not contain religious elements.

“It’s run by community peers and is really about helping people understand how to approach addictive behavior change and what steps might be helpful to them,” McGeough said of SMART Recovery. “Research has shown that SMART recovery is often effective. However, there isn’t much empirical evidence now for how LGBTQ people live SMART.

McGeough and his research team have started two online trial groups and are recruiting LGBTQ people interested in quitting or reducing their alcohol or substance use to form more groups. Participants participate in weekly 90-minute online SMART recovery meetings for three months, complete a survey about their substance use before and after the program and after each session, and then participate in a one-hour interview about their experiences. when the program is finished. Interviews will be conducted with both those who complete the trial and those who do not to better understand the benefits and harms of the program for the population. All of this data will be used to inform the development of a modified SMART intervention that addresses the unmet needs that LGBTQ participants express about the program.

KU researchers also conducted research into making addiction recovery programs such as SMART available online during the pandemic and investigated the effectiveness of such a virtual approach.

SMART Recovery programs are led globally, often by volunteers, using evidence-based practices to address addictive behavior. Leaders are trained in the program but are not required to be mental health professionals. McGeough said the goal of the trial is not to specifically promote SMART, or to imply that it is superior to 12-step programs, but to better understand the full range of services available to minority people. sexual and gender issues that attempt to combat alcohol and substance use. problems. The researchers also hope to explore the feasibility of LGBTQ-specific SMART recovery offerings, as only a few such groups currently exist, although such iterations of 12-step programs are common and popular among members.

“Overall, there’s a fair amount of flexibility in what makes a SMART intervention,” McGeough said. “I think if we eventually find out that, on the whole, people like the program, but for example, wanted to focus a little more on dealing with discrimination, we can probably work with that in a version suitable for Culture.”

The trial will help build a knowledge base on how LGBTQ people experience mental health and recovery programs. McGeough has previously researched how people from sexual and gender minorities experience 12-step programs and mental health services in general. With better understanding, mental health professionals and those who offer substance abuse recovery programs can provide better services to address disproportionate rates of addiction among LGBTQ people, McGeough said.

The trial is open to LGBTQ people aged 18 or older nationwide who wish to quit or reduce their alcohol or substance use nationwide. For more information, contact [email protected].