Key takeaway
SMART Recovery says its meetings are free and led by trained facilitators, online and in person. Most run about 90 minutes, and you do not have to be on camera. SmarterRecovery is a different organization, a referral helpline, not a SMART meeting. Use SMART Recovery's own finder. The meetings search here is for A.A. and N.A.
Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You searched for a SMART meeting and landed on a helpline with a similar name. SMART Recovery is a mutual-help program. Its meeting page tells people to find a free meeting online or in person, led by trained facilitators, for alcohol, drugs, gambling, tobacco, and other problem behaviors. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline. It does not run those meetings. If you wanted the meeting, the next step is their finder at smartrecovery.org/meeting. If you wanted help finding a treatment program, you can stay. The organization, the four-point program, and why the names collide are on the overview.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
What an online SMART meeting is, in their words
SMART Recovery says meetings are free. Donations are requested. The meeting page says a nonprofit asks for them, and that the finder includes a "Support this Meeting" button. That is a description of their funding request. It is not a price for clinical care, and it is not what a rehab charges.
The shape they publish is short. Most meetings, the page says, last around 90 minutes and follow a check-in about the previous week, discussion or work on a SMART tool, and a checkout. The FAQ repeats that meetings typically last 90 minutes, that the meeting search shows how long a given meeting is scheduled to run, and that there are no breaks. People report on the past week, discuss an agenda item, and talk about plans for the coming week. Tools are used during the meeting. Those sentences are SMART Recovery's. A listing can differ. Read the one you join.
Online, the FAQ says you do not have to appear on camera. Meetings use optional video, voice, and a chat box. It also says most online meetings use Zoom, while some use Microsoft Teams or similar services, and that you will want those apps if you are joining that way. The organization says a SMART Recovery app can search for and join meetings. Use the link or the app on their listing.
The meeting page says the meetings are peer support. People are there to help themselves and help each other. Guiding words it lists are respect, inclusivity, confidentiality, and a nonjudgmental stance, and it asks people to avoid "war stories" or details that could trigger others. A facilitator leads. The overview explains SMART Recovery's own line that a professional who facilitates switches from therapist to facilitator for that hour. NIDA says mutual-help groups are not professionally led treatment.
The scope is wider than one drug. SMART Recovery says the meeting focuses on addictive behavior rather than on a single substance. Alcohol, drugs, gambling, cigarettes, food, and other problem behaviors are on the meeting page. That is their doorway. It is not a clinical assessment of which problem you have.
How to find one
Use SMART Recovery's meeting page and the finder it links. The meetings search filters public A.A. and N.A. feeds. It is not a SMART directory. A.A. online meetings are a different fellowship. Those paths stay apart on the online A.A. guide and the 12-step comparison. SMART Recovery says its approach differs in some ways from A.A. and N.A. and does not exclude them. Some people attend both.
Students and treatment professionals who want to sit in as observers are asked, on the meeting page, to email the facilitator for permission first. Showing up unannounced to observe is not the instruction they printed.
Attendance proof is also theirs. The FAQ says verification is possible and points to a verifications page on meetings.smartrecovery.org. The overview notes that SMART Recovery says it keeps no permanent record of participant names or attendance, and that a facilitator may, at their discretion, provide verification. A slip is their process. A referral conversation does not sign one.
Mutual help on the internet in general is the broader online-support guide. It is not a SMART calendar. Licensed programs are the treatment finder guide.
When a meeting is the wrong level of care
A SMART meeting does not manage withdrawal. After chronic heavy drinking, stopping suddenly can be life-threatening, which is NIAAA's warning. If that is the risk, an online check-in tonight does not replace a medical assessment. The same is true for other substances that need a clinician to stop. Prescribed treatment medicines are the medication guide. SMART Recovery's position, described on the overview, supports legally prescribed psychiatric and addiction medication. Stopping a medicine to fit a meeting is not the step to take. The prescriber decides.
Search FindTreatment.gov for licensed facilities. SAMHSA's National Helpline is 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Those are treatment referrals. They are not SMART Recovery registration.
Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you also want help finding a treatment program. If the similar name is why you are here, use their site for the meeting.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- SMART Recovery: Meetings
- SMART Recovery: About us
- SMART Recovery: Programs, including the 4-Point Program
- NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
- NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- SAMHSA National Helpline
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- SmarterRecovery meetings page (A.A. and N.A. search; not a SMART Recovery finder)
Common Questions
Is SmarterRecovery the online SMART Recovery meeting?
No. SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program. Its meeting page tells people to find a free meeting online or in person on its own site. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline. It does not host SMART meetings, train facilitators, or keep a SMART attendance record. The names are similar. The services are not. The overview page is the longer account of that split.
Do I have to show my face?
SMART Recovery's meeting page says you do not have to appear on camera. It says meetings use a combination of optional video, voice, and a chat box. That is their description of online meetings. It can change by group. Read the listing before you join.
How long is an online meeting, and what happens in it?
SMART Recovery says most meetings last around 90 minutes, and that a typical meeting has a check-in, discussion or work on a SMART tool, and a checkout. Its FAQ says meetings typically last 90 minutes, that the meeting search shows the scheduled length, and that there are no breaks. Those are SMART Recovery's details. Confirm the listing you join. A meeting is peer support. It is not a therapy appointment.
Can I use a SMART meeting for a drug other than alcohol?
SMART Recovery says its meetings focus on addictive behaviors rather than on one substance. The meeting page names alcohol, drugs, gambling, tobacco, and other problem behaviors, including eating. That is the organization's scope for its own meetings. It is not a diagnosis, and it is not a reason to stop a prescribed medicine. The prescriber is the person who starts or stops a medicine.
Will a referral line sign a court or program slip?
No. SMART Recovery points people who need attendance verification to its own verifications page, and it says facilitators may provide verification. A referral conversation is for finding a treatment program. If you want a SMART meeting, use smartrecovery.org. If you are in danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.