Dr. Horvath’s story

Since 1985 Dr. Tom Horvath has been working to change US addiction treatment and our understanding of addiction and recovery. He does so because so many individuals struggle with the traditional approach to treatment and recovery. His work is urgently needed because “struggling” can include slower recovery, ongoing problems or death.  
 
At a young age (and partly as a result of many painful experiences) Dr. Horvath realized that many individuals do not reason well about themselves, their emotions, or their behavior. This realization led to his initial interest in clinical psychology. When he learned about traditional addiction treatment he realized it would probably fail to connect with individuals who focus on finding reasonable solutions to their own problems.
 
Most individuals with addictive behavior do not feel powerless over it, and do not experience themselves as having a disease they cannot get rid of. Instead, they want to learn how to control themselves. Dr. Horvath knows that science has validated many successful recovery techniques, but the US treatment establishment tends not to teach them.  The providers are undereducated and not open to new scientific findings. Many treatment facilities are guided more by business considerations than clinical ones. Dr. Horvath believes that although traditional treatment is helpful to some, there is an enormous need for alternatives.
 
Dr. Horvath has labored to make self-empowering treatment available to everyone.  What started as his solo practice has grown into Practical Recovery, which offers the full spectrum of addiction treatment.  Practical Recovery is expanding to nation-wide availability.
 
Since 1990 Dr. Horvath has also volunteered substantial time to increase the number of free support groups available through SMART Recovery (Self Management and Recovery Training). SMART Recovery is a world-wide non-profit organization with materials in eight languages. Through SMART Recovery even individuals who cannot afford treatment can learn about the latest science-based approaches to recovery. Dr. Horvath has been president of SMART Recovery for over a decade. 
 
Dr. Horvath says that “making self-empowering recovery easily available is my life project. Please join me in letting everyone with addiction problems know that self-empowering recovery is available!” 
 
Dr. Horvath’s professional biography