Some of the feedback we've received from our training "graduates"...
"Excellent training. By far the most thorough and extensive of all the training I have taken. I have worked in the field professionally in various peer rolls. I've done the recovery coach Academy and I've done intentional peer support training among others, and this one is the only valid training that I can speak of simply because of the test at the end and throughout. Every other training that I've done has been great, for the most part, although all you need to do is pay the fee and show up, and it doesn't even have to be on time. Therefore in my opinion, this is the only valid training on my resume. All the other ones are essentially worthless due to the fact that there is no testing to verify the validity of the training. It was awesome! I loved it and I learned so much." _Footloose
“Outstanding! This training has been much better than I had originally thought it would be. I did this training because my supervisor wanted it. I am a professional in the field and have been for almost 20 years and thought I would not see anything new, but I did and I thank you for making me a better professional than I already was." _Rob M
“I have been taking quite a few "short-term" educations during my time (face-to-face as well as online) and have never experienced such a thorough and motivating learning. I find the form inspiring ... I'm so loving it - bravo!! Being Danish, I was a bit anxious if I was able to meet the standards and hang on language wise. Allthough I needed to ask google for translation now and then, I found the materials written in a language that was very easy to understand... That you also present the information with a glimps in the eye and sense of humour just makes the learning process more fun and personal." _Gry Marcussen
“Wonderful- sooo much better than any other online professional development I've ever taken. I was not expecting it to be this good... I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of training provided. appreciated having mixed learning sources, with the videos, readings, and exercises." _Maria
“I would just like to say "WOW'! I was impressed with the quality of the training." _Scott McKenzie
“Outstanding training! Thank you to the training team for presenting and facilitating an enjoyable, and effective learning experience. The organization of the segments with study materials, homework and a quiz clearly outlined the important points and reinforced comprehension and retention of them. Easy to follow. Well done! _Rob Burnham
“I thought the team did a fabulous and thorough job with a top notch training, clearly stating objectives and clarifying through the teachings. Far superior to some college courses I've taken. Although some presenters have loads of education and expertise, they were able to relay the info in its most basic form so anyone can understand. Well done!" _Tara A.
“Super course! Well-constructed in its flow and organization, the resources are excellent, and the encouraging feedback was much appreciated. The course was challenging enough to require participants to work hard and be consistent in their study, but manageable and fun..." _RickyLew
“One of the best online courses I have taken. Great value!" _David Tipper
“This course and it's content was the best thing to happen to me. Not only can and I apply these Tools to my life, but I can also utilise them to spread hope to others... _Stephane Brazeau
“I am a full time student, so I understand how important well put together classes are the learning process. Yours was very structured and organized and I could tell it was put together by professionals and from lots of experience." _Norine Mercer
“I believe the distance training program was money well spent. I obtained valuable information that will make me a knowledgeable and confident SMART Recovery meeting facilitator." _RhondaB
“I work in IT and do training courses all the time in person, ILO (instructor led online) and self-paced. This is, by far, one of the better run ones I have ever taken and at a mere price vs. $5k. You guys should be proud of that! ...I am proud to have taken this course and feel like you guys have one of the best setups I've ever seen." _Shawn Dawson
“In addition to all I learned about SMART, I've gained real respect for distance learning courses! This was an excellent educational experience overall! I am a former college instructor, so in addition to learning about SMART, I also had an eye on the educational experience itself. As I said above, I am incredibly impressed with this course, how it's organized, etc.” _Sandra Hendricks
“I learned more about certain techniques in this course than I did in a 2 year master’s program. Great bang for the buck! I was surprised about how involved the training was given the low price.” _Ann Addington
“This was my first online training and I loved every second of it!" _L. F.
“I found that the training material was presented as a well thought out process. As I went through the segments I was able to identify and process all of the material. This course training will be an easy transition to meeting form." _Tim Johnson
"As I had chaired many meetings before, relating to business and other organizations, I questioned whether or not I would benefit from this training in relation to the time required. Now that I have completed, I realize how much there was for me to learn as a facilitator and look forward to being more equipped in helping others to share the mission of SMART." _Alan Keller
"Thank you for all that you and the rest of the training team do. You are an amazing group of folks doing amazing work. The breadth of what it took to put together such a comprehensive training and thoughtful program is impressive and almost daunting..." _Sean Firtel
"The training materials you have provided are among the strongest teaching techniques I have ever encountered!" _Dena Martin
"Thank you, Jim (and the rest of the crew) for putting together such an organized distant education program. I have studied through distance education a lot.... and I must say, this one is very impressive!" _Norene E. Chevalier
"This was one of the best things about the training, how it flowed; one thing into the next and how a connection between different aspects kept growing stronger and stronger as the course moved along." _Questor7
"I truly believe that it would be difficult to find a better training for the price!" _McNeil
"Exceeded my expectations in terms of the content! Very impressed with the depth and detail that was offered..." _Soulsista
"I loved the course, I wish there was more!! I have never seen such a well organized course-- and I have taken several online graduate classes. Great Job, Team!" _P. Ruppel
"I found all the information SO helpful and extremely informative and easy to understand. I had a basic knowledge of SMART Recovery but this training went above and beyond my expectations." _A. Gagnon
"This training did exactly what I had hoped. It increased my insight on the tools and techniques of SMART, as well as some more practical aspects that can be taken to meetings, even if I do not participate as a facilitator. I'd recommend it to anyone wishing to enhance their recovery through a greater knowledge of SMART and its foundations." _Jeff Sollee
"I was very impressed with the training program. The use of reading material, videos, and experiential exercises all helped me learn the SMART Recovery program. I feel confident that I will be able to facilitate meetings." _Brian Whitley
“I just now had a chance to take a peek and I am blown away! It is excellent! The format is very approachable and well organized… I was immediately drawn in and engaged…” _Michael F.
“Things look really good for the new “Get SMART FAST” program. You and others have done a great job on this and I wanted to show my appreciation, since creating training materials is part of my business…” _Rod A.
"I just completed (mostly) Segment 1, and I have to say--I'm really impressed! Over the past couple of years I have enrolled in several training programs and taken numerous certification exams of various kinds. This experience has not given me a high opinion of certification and training programs in general, especially not of online or distance-based ones... This program is entirely different. Imagine my delight to discover that the material in this distance training program (so far, anyway, but I'm confident) is not only useful and informative, but ACTUALLY TOOK ME AS LONG TO DO AS IT SAID IT WOULD. Not only that, but I doubt I can be said to have aced anything, and I've already got a list of books and other additional reading that I think I need to do before I call myself "finished" with Segment 1. I'm really, really enjoying this, and I expect to learn a TON. You guys rock! I suppose it might be kharma--I enrolled in those other programs to (hopefully) further my career, while I enrolled in this one to help people. Or maybe you guys just rock!" _Matt B.
"I have experienced other online training programs and the SMART Distance Training Program is state of the art... I got exactly what I'd hoped to from the training: Knowledge of new tools to help those seeking recovery and many ways in which to use them. Provided information, application, and knowledge in an easily comprehensible format and style." _Dan P.
"Over all, user friendly, easy to understand, and informative for the purposes of facilitating SMART Recovery meetings." _Jeremy B.
"The course proved to be far more extensive than I expected and that was great! It was high tech yet doable. Impressive. High Class. I'm smart proud!" _Joseph V.
"This was a excellent experience. I can use what I learned to help my own sobriety as well as helping others. I also gained knowledge to help me with my new job coming up as a Peer Support Specialist. I have already started running my own face to face meetings, and I do have help with it so all is going well. You guys have been most excellent in every aspect of the training. Thanks!" _Steven S.
"I thought the breakdown of the course and the materials used along with the various presentations worked well. I was impressed by what you've done here... I am a Addiction Counselor and the course was very much like a college course. It has been an incredible experience. The training strengthened my previous addiction recovery training and took it to a new level. I have been using a lot of the SMART tools with my clients. Very effective! Thank you!" _Mike R.
"Just wanted to send you and the SMART training team a hearty "thank you" for everything. You've all been very thorough, helpful, friendly and encouraging and the program was very well set up and easy to use. I truly enjoyed being a part of this training experience. It was both informative and highly stimulating." _Elke S.
"I learned so much from the online training... I actually work for a software company and we perform online training, but we could learn a lot from this format. Very impressed!" _Mark N.
"I started facilitating a SMART Recovery meeting in November, and since my training, I have been much more comfortable and capable." _Sandy C.
"Great job to all those involved - especially Jim, Hammer, and Shari - your support and time commitment is greatly appreciated!" _Brian F.
"I liked the different modalities used to present the training materials-- written, videos, and the personalized "classroom"; Jim's very approachable and involved manner; the professionalism of Tom and all of the staff members." _Therese B.
"Very educational. Concise, easy to follow with every thing laid out in an outline. Jim was very responsive to all emails and showed genuine concern about any problems I was having." _Betty P.
"The training team put together an excellent & knowledgeable product. I liked the way the material wasn't too technical so a layperson could understand & follow. Jim did a great job on keeping us informed before, during & after the session and his upbeat attitude made you want to open his emails! The training was great on so many levels. Not only did I learn more of SMART, it helped me with my recovery. I was able to sit back and really think about my own recovery & how my behavior impacted so many people... Now it is time to give back what I have learned to other people seeking a life without their addictive behavior. To me, saying thank you to SMART & its volunteers doesn't seem like it's enough but I really mean it--THANK YOU!" _Nancy G. "
"I like that the information was provided in such a way that by the end of the course it all meshed together. I really felt that the trainers and presenters were invested in my successful completion of the training. Even though it was distance training, which is solitary by definition, I knew they had my back." _Mary C.
"Even though I have been facilitating meetings for a while, I feel stronger on some points and learned some different approaches to situations that arise during meetings. I also feel that I can confidently recommend the Distance Training program to others! I really got the feeling of support from the SMART community--I would be comfortable contacting any number of the people that were involved with the training session if I ever had a question about facilitating or the SMART Recovery Program!" _Michelle M.
"Comprehensive coverage of what is necessary to know and feel prepared to facilitate. A good balance of information delivery (reading, video, homework, and live interactions) The "instructors" obviously knew their stuff and are passionate about helping everyone learn." _Shawn F.
"I just completed the Facilitator Training program, and I wanted to take a quick moment to express how excited and grateful I am for having done so. Further, I was so impressed by how organized, clear, and effective the program was in its entirety. It's truly remarkable. Thank you so much for your feedback and your patience... I would gladly do the program over again, it was that good. Fortunately, I DO get to do the program over, by practicing the SMART tools on a daily basis as the situation demands." _Christopher C.
"This feels like a real community of support- which I didn't expect in an online experience." _Carla M.
"There is sufficient time to self manage the course while juggling a personal life. The amount of information that is presented feels like it was presented fully and no subject was given just a "cursory" or "obligatory" coverage. The learning of all subjects are made interesting through a combination of reading, videos or exercises." _Corbin M.
"The dedication and passion of the staff and volunteers is apparent throughout the training." _Rick F.
"Professional, yet fun!" _Kristin R.
"After 4.5 years at SROL, I "thought" I knew pretty much everything. After starting Distance Training, I realized I knew very little! Thank you all for giving me this opportunity!" _Matthew S.
"I've never had such a positive social experience in my life especially during such a short period of time. It's good to know there are like-minded people out there in the world and I'm grateful to have been a part of and will continue to be a part of the SMART community." _Jeremy W.
"A wonderful training, with awesome staff!!!" _Joanna Baez
"I feel this course has been put together very well. With emphasis and reinforcement where it needed to be, but also touching on things in the final two sessions that I would not have thought of. There has obviously been much time put into this, with a lot of attention to detail given." _Michael J. Graham Sr.
"Very impressed, I am not personally in recovery but could relate the experiences and the materials to other aspects of my life. Very useful." _Debra S.
"As our studies progressed I felt my level of self-confidence rise, and a sense of assurance that our new Jacksonville meeting will be awesome! Thank you for the training opportunities." _C-Ziggy
"I am confident in my abilities to conduct a meeting. I wasn't sure at first how it would go, but now feel prepared to bring SMART to my community." _Jkmellow
"The training program provided a more thorough explanation of SMART techniques than could be gleaned from reading the handbook alone... I found the training in REBT techniques to be extremely worthwhile, not only for use in my SMART Recovery group, but in all areas of my life. I have found my involvement thus far in the SMART Recovery community to be very rewarding, allowing me to find great support for my own recovery, and to "pay it forward" and help others recover as well." _Roger P.