SMART Recovery in Indonesia: Facilitator Profile

Sam Nugraha runs a rehabilitation centre in Indonesia. He has recently completed his SMART Facilitator training with SMART Recovery Australia and plans on integrating SMART into his centre.  We spent some time with Sam learning about addiction in Indonesia and his impressions of SMART.  To understand his approach to working with people with addictive behaviours, he says it is important to know something about his country.

Sometimes Indonesians smile when they are not really smiling. They are smiling, but underneath the smile, they are not. Because our culture tells us we must be polite when we do not know the answer, then we must smile. When we feel threatened, we must smile.  In our culture we are not supposed to expose our shortcomings to other people.

There is an Indonesian word that captures this — malu.  There are a lot of ways to translate malu, but one way is to define malu as a mask.  Everyone knows what's underneath, but you keep the mask on, hiding the stuff that does not look good.

I believe in Indonesia SMART Recovery will be a breath of fresh air.  Originally in the treatment field in Indonesia the only practices available where religious based and psychiatric approached.  As time moved on Therapeutic Community and 12 Step options where introduced.  The existing approaches are complex and require preparations that are costly and timely and to date these have been the only options for anyone seeking services that suit, or not.

I have been working in the treatment field for 15 years and I am so excited about SMART Recovery.  The more I have learned about the programme the more I know it will fit within the cultural context of Indonesian mindsets.  I have been aware for a long time that others are also longing for a new approach that is economical and easy to integrate into existing treatment programmes.

Our organization, Perkumpulan PEKA, has a slogan. ‘When the whole world rejects you, visit us.’  When people have tried so many different options and find nothing has suited them, we are like a last frontier, their last option. 

I first heard about SMART Recovery through the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program (DAP).  Under the Mutual-Help Programme SMART Recovery was mentioned in the The Universal Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders. From that introduction I decided to become a SMART Recovery facilitator.  Even though my internet connection was a challenge at times, the training was refreshing and exactly what I needed. Learning that SMART Recovery does not use labels is hugely positive within the Indonesian cultural context and my realization that the skills and tools can be applied across many life situations was personally very gratifying and positive.

SMART Recovery’s meeting structure simplicity and the 4 Point Programme resonated with my own mindset and the knowledge and experience I have when viewed from an Indonesian cultural context and my personal experience as an Indonesian working with Indonesians. Our organization is already familiar with the skills and tools in the SMART Recovery Program and it fits perfectly with our philosophy of client centredness, which is quite rare in Indonesia.  

You can find out more about our organization by visiting our website.  Supporting our work by being a benefactor, linking us to resources, recognizing our evidence-based practice, campaigning, providing technical support such as writing proposals etc, would also be very appreciated.

 I would like to thank SMART Recovery International for reaching out to me, and SMART Recovery Australia for my training scholarship otherwise I would still have only a limited understanding about the SMART Recovery programme.