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Things could have played out very differently for Leonard Lee Buschel. A powerful combo of early-childhood trauma, a “professional” opportunity, and luck combined to foster a 27-year drug dealing career that might have gone disastrously wrong. In fact, a great many things did go wrong, which became undeniably clear when Leonard looked at the Top 10 catastrophic close calls he was asked to list while in rehab. “I read it and thought, ‘Whoever wrote this is crazy and suicidal,’ ” he says, recalling the wallop of having all those near-misses condensed into one place. “No one notices when you go insane slowly.” This fascinating conversation takes a look at addiction and recovery through the lens of film with lots of insights and movie recs from Leonard, who is — among many things — founder of the Reel Recovery Film Festival. Going strong for the past 14 years in Los Angeles and venues around the U.S., it’s a unique platform for honoring shorts, animated and feature-length films as well as documentaries with follow-up panel discussions whose focus is on journeys to the brink — and beyond. Leonard also shares highlights from his compelling book, HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict, thoughts on ingredients for sustained recovery, and various resources to support healing. For Leonard, the point of sobriety isn’t labels or regret, but celebration. However we got here and whatever we do, the goal is to welcome growth, self-understanding, and the beauty of moving from surviving to thriving! Key Takeaways * Addiction Survivor: The phrase Leonard coined as a re-frame for the label “alcoholic,” which felt contrary to the growth and self-understanding that recovery represents.. … * Trauma can impact us on a molecular level, creating a trough that demands to be filled. * An early gambling compulsion subsided once Leonard figured out that he could be popular and make money by selling marijuana. * Early “mentors” on the streets introduced Leonard to arthouse film in downtown Philadelphia — a game-changer especially once he got sober and founded the Reel Recovery Film Festival in Los Angeles 14 years ago. * About the Reel Recovery Film Festival: * Some 150 submissions come in annually from around the world. * It features shorts, animated and feature-length films and documentaries. * People don’t walk out because the films are uniformly compelling! * Post-viewing symposiums reveal additional facets of featured films and how their message has landed in a sober context. * Leonard believes that the so-called “war on drugs” was in reality a war on underprivileged people. * About the return post-Covid of the Experience, Strength and Hope Awards honoring celebrities who write memoirs about addiction and recovery. * Leonard shares just how challenging and emotionally taxing it was to tackle the process of writing his memoir, “HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict.” It was a labor of love on behalf of the sons for whom he wanted to leave a complete story. * Not your typical career path: Leonard was attracted to drug dealing because it was so unlike the 9-to-5 drudgery he associated with his widowed mom’s life. So when an opportunity arose to go all-in with a Miami connection, he was “off and running.” * The excitement of seeking or dealing substances can in itself be an addiction, recovery from which ultimately depends on learning to be bored. * Leonard believes the best rehab programs keep addicts bus...

I met my guest for this episode a few years ago at a meeting of the We Agnostics AA group in Kansas City. She had been attending meetings at another 12-Step Fellowship, so AA wasn’t a foreign experience. However, an AA group that was specifically tailored to meet the needs of atheists and agnostics was new to her, and as an atheist, she was excited about the opportunity to meet like-minded people in recovery. What I knew about her prior to recording this episode was gathered from the pieces of her story that she shared in meetings, so I looked forward to getting to know her better. She explained that she prefers to remain anonymous for professional reasons, so out of respect for her need for confidentiality, I won’t use her name as I write about our conversation. Seeing her at meetings over the years, I always admired her self-confidence and independent spirit; and from talking with her, I learned that it was born from understanding the importance of asserting her humanity, to know who she is, not to run from it, but to embrace it, because that’s where she finds the power. When I asked about her background, she told me about growing up in a black middle-class family in Springfield, Illinois. Born and raised Catholic, she went to Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school. Her childhood was happy. She was intelligent, always a good student, and from an early age, she loved to spend time in the library to understand what other people were thinking. The most challenging event she had to deal with in her young life was the divorce of her parents. That was difficult and at the time, she wanted to get as far away from her family as she could. This factored into her decision to attend college at Clark Atlanta University. She thrived at Clark Atlanta, where she pledged the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a significant organization that while open to all women, has a membership that primarily consists of black women. The women at Delta Sigma Theta inspired her, and it was a great experience overall. After Clark Atlanta, she went to Law School at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas —another historically black university. She didn’t complete Law School, but while in Texas she went to work for a church with a ministry in the inner city of Houston. She threw herself into this work and loved it. Eventually, she went on to seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and became a minister for the United Methodist Church. When she completed her Master of Divinity at the seminary, she gradually began to question her theological beliefs. The divide between what she believed, and the Church’s teachings eventually became too wide to bridge. She no longer believed in Jesus as a personal savior, and she let go of the idea of sin. Needing to think things through, she took some time off from the ministry, and moved to Massachusetts where she was encouraged by a mentor at Amherst to earn her PhD. in Urban Planning. While at Amherst, she was drinking alcohol more than she had in the past. Largely she thinks, to deal with the stress and rigor of the PhD. program. She also got involved in codependent relationships with men who had problems with addiction to alcohol and other substances, and behaviors. Having left the church in 2003, she went through a difficult period trying to figure out how to market the skills she acquired as a minister. Returning to Kansas City in 2015, she was coping with a lot of change in her life. She realized that she needed to change her relationship with alcohol and address her struggle with codependency. Involvement in 12-Step programs helped, and to this day she attends meetings for both codependency and alcohol. Memorable Quotes To be a womanist is to love myself. Regardless of the cost, regardless of who does or who doesn’t like it. That for me is the heart of it— that love. And when you do that, you’re going to be empowered.

Today, I want to talk about recovery. What is it anyway? To answer the question, I am borrowing heavily from the pamphlet “SAMHSA’s Working Definition of Recovery” published in 2012 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. I start each episode introducing Beyond Belief Sobriety as a podcast and community for people who are seeking or who have found a secular path to recovery from addictions of all kinds. I use the term “recovery” a lot on this podcast and in conversations I have with listeners and other friends. At least one person told me she doesn’t like to see herself as being “in recovery”, and I understand that. I don’t necessarily want to be in recovery for the rest of my life either. Just hearing the word makes one think there is still something wrong with us that we are trying to get over. At a certain point though, we should be at a stage in our lives where we have fully recovered, and we can move on with living balanced and meaningful lives. SAMSHA Defines Recovery When you consider recovery as defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the word takes on a different meaning, at least it does for me. In 2010, stakeholders in the recovery community consisting of leaders in the behavioral health field, people in recovery from mental health and substance abuse, and SAMHSA, met to come up with a unified definition of recovery to simplify the discussion around treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders. Building on that work, and in consultation with many other stakeholders, SAMHSA came up with the following standard working definition of recovery: “Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” I like this definition because it’s positive and describes a way of life that I think anyone would want to live regardless of whether they have experienced problems with substance abuse. You could just as easily define life this way. Life itself is a process of change, isn’t it? Since I’ve been sober, I have been fortunate to have a community and a roadmap to help me through life, through this process of change. I have worked at improving my mental and physical well-being, and I am regularly challenging myself to live to my fullest potential. If this is recovery, then that’s okay with me. SAMHSA goes on to provide four major dimensions that support recovery, and ten guiding principles. I like to think of the four dimensions as the pillars that support my recovery: health, home, purpose, and community. So, let’s look at each pillar to understand why it might be important to keep these in mind. Four Dimensions of Recovery Health SAMHSA describes this dimension as overcoming or managing one’s disease or symptoms. They provide an example of abstaining from alcohol or illicit drugs if one has an addiction problem, and for everyone in recovery to make informed healthy choices that support physical and emotional wellbeing. Remember, abstinence is not part of the definition of recovery, but in most cases, recovery hinges on abstinence to the substance that has become a problem. There are people though, who are in recovery who may not practice abstinence, but manage their problem-drinking through medications such as naltrexone. Their recovery is being supported by taking the medication prescribed to manage their symptoms. These people are engaged in a process of change and meet the definition of being in recovery. In my case, if I weren’t abstinent from alcohol, then I wouldn’t have the opportunity to be fully engaged with life, or interested in changing, and striving to reach my full potential. My drinking became such a problem that any normal life was impossible. So, for me, abstinence from alcohol is essential to my health and wellness.

Can you become addicted to a person and if so, how can you become unaddicted? With her book, UnAddicted to You: Loving Yourself Through the Darkness, Etel Leit answers these questions through the sharing of her own personal story and the lessons learned. Etel is a PhD. candidate, a best-selling author, motivator, public speaker, and an expert in human communication. She is the founder of Sign Shine, an organization that helps parents improve communication with their infant children through sign language. Sign Shine aligns with Etel’s belief that “healthy relationships begin with healthy communication.” In this episode, Etel and I talk about her growing up years in Jerusalem and how her early experiences shaped her relationships later in life. She shares from her own journey what it’s like to be addicted to a person, and the importance of asking for help and having the courage to follow through. She also touches on a few simple tools for setting boundaries, avoiding drama, and learning to trust. Plus, she is offering to provide one of her tools for personal growth to the first three listeners of this podcast who contact her through her website etelleit.com. What we discussed * Healthy Relationships begin with healthy communication * Recognizing feelings and taking appropriate action * Codependency as an addiction to a relationship * What it’s like to be addicted to a person * Learning about relationships in childhood * Stigma and shame are obstacles to getting help * People pleasing behavior * Becoming a trophy * Asking for help and having the courage to act * Making the addict’s disease your own * Overcoming addiction to drama * Setting healthy boundaries * Helping others * Positive psychology * Learning to trust * Experience with writing the book Links Etel’s website: etelleit.com  Etel’s Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/etelleit/ SignShine website: https://signshine.com/ UnAddicted To You on Amazon  You Ae My Sign Shine on Amazon Where is Water? on Amazon Many thanks to Soberlink for sponsoring this episode of Beyond Belief Sobriety. Visit https://soberlink.com/bbs for more information.

In this episode, I speak with Sam Arsenault Wilson, the Chief Quality Officer, and Co-founder of Confidant Health, an app-based hub of resources and clinical providers that help people with mental health and substance use problems. I was happy to feature Confidant Health on this podcast because I believe their model, which is grounded in science, helps make addiction treatment more accessible to a greater number of people. Sam’s background is in recovery policy and advocacy, and she created the first treatment rating system called ATLAS, an acronym for Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards Platform. Her co-founder John Reed is a serial health tech entrepreneur who was personally touched by addiction. The two created Confidant Health as a way to leverage technology to improve how addiction treatment is delivered. One of the core features of Confidant Health is its ReVAMP Behavior Change Program. ReVAMP is an acronym for Reward, Values, Activities, Mind/Body, and Plan. This is accessed by downloading and installing the ReVAMP app and answering some basic questions. Once registered with the app, users can design their own treatment plan with the assistance of a chatbot. They can opt for self-study or sign up to work with a coach or therapist. The recovery plan is always personalized to meet an individual’s unique needs. Another interesting and useful feature offered by Confidant Health is their Community Payment Plan, which assures that cost is not a barrier to treatment. Through the Community Payment Plan, there is an option to either pay the suggested price, a reduced price, or name your own price. Some participants pay extra to cover the costs for those who can’t afford to pay the suggested price of the service. I am comfortable recommending Confidant Health for anyone who is questioning their relationship with alcohol or drugs. Below are links to the Confidant Health website where you can find all the information necessary to get started. Links Confidant Health Website  ATLAS Website Many thanks to Soberlink for sponsoring this episode of Beyond Belief Sobriety. Visit https://soberlink.com/bbs for more information.

Danny grew up in a religious household and drinking was considered a sin. When he was around sixteen, he began to question the teachings of his religion. One question: Where does it say in the bible that you can’t drink? He waited until he was twenty-one before he has his first drink. In this episode, Danny describes how his drinking progressed, how it impacted his life and his view of recovery.

In this episode Ben and I had a conversation about how to navigate Alcoholics Anonymous as an atheist, agnostic, freethinker, or otherwise secular person. We briefly touched upon what a person can expect to experience at their first AA meeting, and how to handle the overtly religious nature of most AA meetings. Topics covered in this episode include: * How to deal with the praying. * How to approach the steps. * Avoiding conformity. * Finding a secular AA Meeting Online Resources AA Agnostica  Secular AA  Many thanks to Soberlink for sponsoring this episode of Beyond Belief Sobriety. Visit https://soberlink.com/bbs for more information.

In this episode, we meet Robert Stump who has been the Executive Director of LifeRing Secular Recovery since 2012 when the founder, Marty Nicholas stepped down. In this episode Robert shares his personal story of recovery and how he found LifeRing to support him in his sobriety. His journey began in 1997 when the only available option was Alcoholics Anonymous. This posed some difficulty for Robert because of his worldview. For him, AA seemed like a bizarre situation. He isn’t sure why he couldn’t connect in AA, but believes it came down to the fact that he simply doesn’t believe in a supernatural being to keep him sober. Like most of us, recovery hasn’t been easy for Robert but it has helped to have LifeRing available in his area. He attended LifeRing in 2006 and made a commitment to sobriety. In addition to LifeRing meetings, Robert took Antabuse for two years and attended outpatient treatment. He was active with LifeRing and became a convener or meeting leader. From there, things progressed until he became the Executive Director. LifeRing started in the San Francisco Bay area, where there are now some fifty meetings. The organization is growing slowly, but it is growing and it’s a great option for secular people seeking support in their recovery from addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. Links LifeRing Secular Recovery  Many thanks to Soberlink for sponsoring this episode of Beyond Belief Sobriety. Visit https://soberlink.com/bbs for more information.

For this episode, I had a conversation with Jack J. from Bristol England. Jack is a recovered sex addict who has created a new peer support group called Secular Organizations for Sexual Sobriety (SOSS). In this interesting conversation, Jack explains how his experience with other mutual aid groups inspired him to start this new secular option. Jack’s first encounter with a mutual aid group was with Sexaholics. This group closely resembled AA and NA, and used the Twelve Step program. One issue Jack had with this group was its harsh definition of sexual sobriety. Sexaholics defined sobriety as no sex outside of marriage, including masturbation. During his time attending these meetings, Jack observed a lot of relapse, and experienced a few himself. After leaving Sexaholics, Jack attended meetings of Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA). This group also mirrored AA. They followed the Twelve Steps and even read from AA’s Big Book. Jack liked the way the group allowed its members to define sobriety through use of the three circles activity. This is one of the first activities undertaken upon starting in SAA, and helps members determine behaviors that would be categorized as a relapse, and behaviors that would be deemed as acceptable and not a relapse. A couple of problems Jack had with SAA, was members identifying in meetings as Sex Addicts by introducing themselves as such before speaking. Jack doesn’t believe this is a helpful practice. He also thought the group practiced shaming when a member relapsed. Finally, Jack tried SMART Recovery, which he liked. The SMART tools based on cognitive behavioral therapy were especially helpful, and he enjoyed the meetings. The only thing he missed was not having other sex addicts in the meeting with whom he could identify. Over time, all of these experiences motivated Jack to create this new group, SOSS Bristol. The group is just beginning and hasn’t had many meetings, but Jack’s hopeful that others will soon join him in this effort. Key Takeaways * The mutual aid group Sexaholics defined sobriety as no sex out of marriage. * Sex Addicts Anonymous was a 12 Step Fellowship that mirrored AA and NA. * The Twelve Steps proved to be a challenge to Jack’s atheistic worldview. * Sex Addicts Anonymous used the three circle activity to help members define their sobriety. * Three Circle Activity to define sexual sobriety. * Behaviors around sex addiction. * Jack’s sense of being shamed when he relapsed while in SAA. * A lack of secular resources for sex addicts. * The importance in identifying with other sex addicts. * Jack’s motivation to start Secular Organizations for Sexual Sobriety (SOSS). * The SOSS recovery program and meetings. * Acronym A.D.U.L.T.S. to describe the program (Accept, Decide, Understand, Learn, Take action, Support others). * Importance of creating literature for SOSS. * The challenge with starting meetings and drawback of online meetings. * Decision to change is a long-term commitment. * Believers get sober the same way as nonbelievers; they just call it “God.” * The importance of mentorship. * Stigmatizing language and practices should be avoided. * A unique stigma attached to sex addiction. Memorable Quotes What most of us are trying to do is find a balance and a sexual healthy life, so therefore you have to ask, what does that mean to you. I had a sizable chunk of sobriety at one point, and then I relapsed, and then my sponsor sacked me. I was actually chairing a group at that time. I lost that position and put back to making tea. It felt a bit shaming, really. I always struggled with the Higher Power thing, and I was basically told by my last sponsor “the problem is with you Jack, is that you can’t accept the concept of a High...

Kimiko values inclusion and believes the best way to help people is to meet them where they are. Though, she may prefer a more secular and practical approach to recovery for herself; she can easily adjust and relate to someone who values spirituality, and who is comfortable using spiritual language to describe their experience. As she shares her story in this episode, we learn that Kimiko has turned what were once personal liabilities into assets that help with her recovery and daily life. Key Points Discussed * The value in sharing our stories. * Importance of inclusion. * Growing up in a diverse family and being exposed to other cultures at a young age. * The impact of her mother’s mental illness and how not discussing it, further added to the stigma. * Developing coping mechanisms to survive. * Initial addictions to food and relationships. * Her mother’s death impacts her drinking. * Learning self-compassion. * A therapist urges her to get sober. * AA meetings in Los Angeles * Don’t judge all of AA based on the experience of one meeting. * Adjusting to the move from Los Angeles to Savannah * Discovering the secular AA meeting in Savanah. * Initial reservations about secular AA meetings. * How secular AA helped enrich her sobriety. * Sponsorship being about the person she sponsors, not about her. Memorable Quotes I learned to smile and be the people pleaser and all those things growing up so I could survive. I used food as my first addiction to calm myself. I found an outlet when I was younger to express myself creatively and I learned how to meld into whatever was around me. Just figure out what you needed, and I would be that person. It was hard to find out who I was. I started drinking when my mom died. That relationship has always been a painful one for me, and one that I am still coming to terms with. It got to be where the most important thing in the world, I was endangering. I was driving with my kid in the car. He was little. He was 2 ½. It was the one thing I thought I was going to do perfectly, I was going to do my best, and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that. I am sober today and I have soft spot for being a sponsor to women with babies and children of all ages. I became very comfortable in AA in Los Angeles. We had a small community, particularly a small community of women who were Buddhist, the Loving Kindness Group. The thing about secular AA, and I have to say, I have more sponsees and I am more involved in AA. I ended up starting a women’s secular meeting …. It strengthened my sobriety. My sobriety right now is so much stronger, and richer and deeper. The women that I’ve met in secular AA and the sponsees that I have had, have been kind of the anchor of my life. And the way I sponsor has changed too. It’s more about who I am sponsoring than about me and what I have to say, or following the book. My personal opinion is that AA needs to open up. I see it changing slowly, but they are holding on tightly to how it used to be. Links Secular AA Podcast: Storytime Meeting from Georgia Original Livestream on YouTube  This episode is the edited version of a livestream interview conducted April 2, 2022, on the Beyond Belief Sobriety YouTube Channel. You can join us every Saturday at 12:00 PM Eastern for live conversation. Many thanks to Soberlink for sponsoring this episode of Beyond Belief Sobriety. Click here to l...

This episode highlights a website that has been a welcome refuge for alcoholics seeking to decouple religious faith and sobriety. Roger C. founded AA Agnostica a decade ago to publish the kind of information he could find nowhere else: Narratives about the experiences of secular members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Through his tireless work, Roger has afforded thousands of people a safe space to share their experiences, tap resources, and feel acceptance that’s not conditioned on a belief in God. The site attracts not only atheists, agnostics, and free thinkers, but also those of religious faith who nevertheless are inspired by the open, diverse atmosphere at secular AA meetings. As he prepares to shut down the site, which receives more than 1,000 discrete visits a day, Roger  reflects on where AA is today, and why inclusivity and flexibility are so important to the organization’s future viability. You’ll hear a lively examination of the conflicts associated with constraints around AA conference-approved literature as well as the statistical reality that The Big Book’s religious orientation may no longer be a good fit for a majority of people. It’s been a transformational adventure for Roger, who has touched so many lives – including those of this podcast’s co-hosts. And not to worry! While AA Agnostica will no longer be live, Roger reassures us that the platform and all its resources will still be available indefinitely. Key Takeaways * Roger shares the origin story for AA Agnostica, which he initially established in 2011 as a basic source of information for AA members in search of secular meetings in the greater Toronto area. * A secular AA meeting (Beyond Belief) was launched in Canada in 2009, only to be booted out of the Intergroup just a couple of years later. * Curious to know more about the history of agnostics and atheists in AA and finding little information available, Roger started research that today has evolved into a collection of more than 700 articles, histories and narratives housed on aaagnostica.org. * In its first full year, the website logged 6,000 visitors a month, a number that has grown exponentially and today numbers tens of thousands of people from around the world.  * There has been some progression in thinking, but historically the position of most in AA has been that without a belief in God the 12 steps were not sustainable long-term. * Roger’s popular secular adaptation, “The Little Book: A Collection of Alternative 12 Steps,” was published nearly a decade ago and recently updated in a new edition. * Initially there was some push-back from some AA members who objected to the use of “AA” in  the name AA Agnostica — but it subsided quickly. * Roger is “not a fan at all” of The Big Book, which by his count has 281 references to God or “Him” in the first 164 pages – something he found alienating. This heavy emphasis also runs counter to the well-documented trends away from organized religion. * The Future of AA Agnostica: While Roger plans to discontinue posting new material, the website will remain publicly available, along with all its resources, indefinitely. * AA Agnostica receives about 1,

Our guest for this episode has built a unique online addiction treatment program that features many modalities because – as we know – recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. Dr. Daniel Hochman, a psychiatrist and founder of SelfRecovery.org, shares a platform that weaves together science, behavioral change and self-knowledge to sustain not only sobriety, but a multi-dimensional journey through the rest of life. Our conversation deconstructs both the “what” of addiction and the arguably more important “why” that drives so many of us to seek relief from things beyond our own understanding. Dr. Hochman and I also take a look at the many ways treatment options have opened up in recent years. The impacts of trauma informed care, availability of effective medicines, and a more nuanced understanding of neurobiology are just a few of the developments that have extended the reach and efficacy of addiction treatment. The pandemic-inspired growth of online support has also been a game-changer for the recovery community, extending meaningful conversations beyond geographic boundaries. Dr. Hochman’s Self Recovery.org combines his years of expertise with an approach designed to meet people where they are. Learn about the tools, exercises, classes and online community forum that his framework offers in a private, flexible way. The level of self-accountability and agency you create may initially be about sobriety, but Self Recovery’s core mission is holistic – to provide the tools that enable not only ongoing recovery, but also a rich, vibrant, connected and rewarding life beyond. Key Takeaways * Why do we do things that are bad for us? Dr. Hochman’s curiosity about this drove his initial interest in psychiatry. * Dr. Hochman distinguishes between the “what” definition of addiction (repeating behaviors that are not good for us) and the “why,” shifting the prism to understand it as a learned psychological behavior designed to escape intolerable distress. * The Science of Addiction: Is it neurological or psychological? A physiological problem or a response to trauma? The answer is: It’s not binary so much as a complex web of simultaneous processes and interactions layered atop one another. * Defining Recovery: A process of changing the way we relate to the objects of our addiction (alcohol or any other substance/activity) and how we relate to the idea of pleasure. * Addiction is a means of both escape and pleasure. It’s important to transfer thoughts away from escape, but equally so to find sources of authentic, sustained pleasure. * When it comes to pleasure, think long-term. Those that involve a process (a hobby or avocation) net better results over time than short-term, quick-hit alternatives (a candy bar or purchase). * A look at the recovery field overall. * More understanding of connections between adversity and addiction in a variety of circumstances. * A softening of definitions around God and spirituality in the context of recovery. * More variety and sophistication in the deployment of medications. * Game-changing access to information, tools and forums to seek help beyond AA. * Pandemic-inspired online forums that extend the recovery community beyond conventional boundaries. * A Word of Warning about Outcomes and Other Recovery Stats: Dr. Hochman advises caution with white papers and purported studies whose margins of error and methodology are not scientifically rigorous. * Dr. Hochman’s practice and focus are driven by a desire to make recovery replicable, methodical and widely available. * Self Recovery offers all the most effective psychological strategies woven together seamlessly,