San Diego SMART Facilitator
“Facilitating a SMART Recovery meeting isn’t about being a sage or having all the answers. It’s about consistently showing up with the intention to create a welcoming and supportive space for people to come together.”
Become a Facilitator
As a non-profit organization, SMART Recovery depends on volunteers to function. San Diego has a particularly strong volunteer base that is proud to offer over 40 weekly local meetings.
Even so, we are always looking to increase the number of meetings we offer in order to improve availability and accessibility, and serve our community better.
Facilitator Training
Your Role as a Facilitator
The primary duty of a volunteer facilitator is to create a safe and non-judgmental space for meeting participants to discuss recovery. SMART Recovery San Diego encourages each of our volunteers to create a meeting that reflects their personality, truly making their meeting their own with creativity and commitment.
In addition to maintaining the energy and enthusiasm of our volunteers, we find that having this variety of meeting styles creates a community where participants can find specific meetings that best match up with their needs and goals.
Our Facilitator Mentorship Program
To support new volunteers in learning how to create and maintain that space, SMART Recovery San Diego has developed a mentorship program where new volunteers are paired with experienced facilitators as their main point of contact. The goal of the mentorship program is to provide all the necessary tools, resources, and individualized support a new volunteer might need to feel comfortable and confident in their role as a facilitator at a pace that supports individual needs.
The Benefits of Facilitating
While meeting participants are viewed as the ones receiving the benefit of having someone facilitate, meeting participants aren’t the only ones that benefit. Stepping into the role of a facilitator often deepens the connection of the individual to our community; weekly meetings with regular attendees strengthen the facilitator’s social connections, and can also enrich and build confidence for the facilitator’s personal change process.
Facilitators develop skills in public speaking and time management, are encouraged to challenge their own thinking patterns, solidify their understanding of SMART’s goals, tools, and information, and increase their mental and emotional flexibility. Many volunteers reflect that facilitating has been a central support in their own journey.
Facilitator Resources
We have a large library of resources to aid you in running successful meetings, including meeting scripts, facilitator training information, handouts and worksheets. You’ll find many more in the SMART Recovery Toolbox on the national website, smartrecovery.org.
Get Started Facilitating
For a complete list of prerequisites and the step-by-step process to become a Level 1 Facilitator through mentorship, please read our Basic Facilitator Training Info.
If you’re interested in learning more about Level 2 & 3 Facilitation or have any questions about becoming a facilitator that aren’t answered in the training documents, please contact our Facilitator Training Committee at training@smartrecoverysd.org.
Resources for All Facilitators