Andrew McNaughton
By Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC SMART Recovery is a secular, evidence-based recovery program that emphasizes an individual’s ability to gain empowerment through making better choices. SMART is an acronym that stands for Self Management And Recovery Training, with a strong emphasis on “self management,” (you will also find that this program loves its acronyms!). SMART is a program of personal accountability by learning how to identify, challenge, and reframe patterns of thinking to make lasting behavior changes.…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC As I write this, the shutdown of the country has been extended through April 30, 2020, and while I am hopeful life will return to normal sooner rather than later, I am by no means counting on it. March 2020 will no doubt go down as one of the most anxiety provoking months in any of our collective recollection. I have worked diligently with my clients to help them manage their anxiety even…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC I don’t know if I still have the scrap of paper I wrote out all of my debts and APR interest rates on that early March 2018 morning, but the information I gathered forever changed my life. As I said in Part One of this blog, the numbers were grim, however in choosing to reject both the Snowball and Avalanche methods of debt repayment, I instead chose the practical approach by prioritizing my…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Late one restless night in March 2018, I made the decision to finally get out of credit card debt, which I eventually accomplished in one year. This two-part blog is meant to inspire, not to gloat. I recognize I am lucky to have had the opportunity to do this for myself, and I accomplished it with some rational and practical approaches to overcome urges to engage in catastrophic thinking as well as not…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Many of us believe that we are controlled by our anger and that we cannot manage it. It may feel very real in the moment, but our anger can certainly be managed. This is accomplished by identifying, disputing, and improving our self-talk from irrational to rational in five simple steps: Identify Your Anger It may seem obvious, but the first step to managing our anger is recognizing when we are angry. Physical symptoms…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Unconditional self-acceptance teaches us to accept all aspects ourselves because we are unique, and to be forgiving of ourselves because we are fallible. Practicing USA instead of relying on conditional self esteem increases our ability to rationally cope with adversity. If we base our self esteem on our ability to successfully achieve status, we will be unable to unconditionally accept ourselves. It is important that we strive towards short- and long-term goals for…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC The reason we make the choices we do is because we identify a perceived benefit to making them. The benefit could be achieving a long term goal we are working towards or it could be indulging in instant gratification, but there is always a perceived benefit to our choices, otherwise we would not make them. This is how we constantly get in our own ways of doing productive things for ourselves and others,…
Read MoreAndrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC When we fall victim to our anxieties, we frequently neglect to identify the source of our fear. This hinders our ability to put any consequences into rational perspective. This is a blog on how to identify the source of our anxieties, and how to manage our thoughts and feelings by using Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT). What is REBT? Here is a quick refresher on REBT (though you can also see my previous…
Read MoreAndrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Most of use have too much stuff, and probably do not use even a fraction of it. Our material possessions may bring us comfort and joy, and may even serve practical purposes that can help us be more productive with our time and effort. That said, most of it is probably just clutter. We generally do not truly need any of these things, and in many cases, may not even really want them…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Once we have begun to make positive changes in our lives and found stability in mood and behavior, it is important to develop a plan for sustaining these changes. Regardless of what we are working on in therapy and/or in recovery, I recommend that everyone develop a relapse prevention plan. This will provide a structured approach to increase our chances of countering any triggers or urges that could lead us to a symptom…
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