recovery community — Recovery Stories

Helping Others: Dr. David McCartney

June 1, 2023

David Clark asks David McCartney whether he found himself helping others, in the way he was being helped by others, when he was in the rehab. David stated that when he found himself functioning more healthily as a human being, and felt that he had some useful things to share, he did start contributing in a way that could help others.

However, he had to first dismantle the veneer of a doctor identity he was using as a mask and shield. This was difficult at first, as a lot of his self-esteem was tied up with this veneer, even though it was holding him back. He had to stop being a doctor and be a member of the rehab community, and then gain the identity of being a recovering person.

Local Community Celebrates Start of Bangor Recovery Centre Project

May 26, 2023

I recently came across the following article about North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) from The Bangor Aye, the online newspaper for Bangor in North Wales. As some of you know, my colleague Wulf Livingston recently interviewed the Founder of NWRC, James Deakin, for our Recovery Voices project.

‘The local community has come together to mark the beginning of a £3 million project to develop former Hillgrove School in Bangor into a new home for North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC).

Thanks to the support of Watkin Property Ventures, NWRC purchased the former school last year. Having secured planning permission, work has now started on site to adapt the building into a much-needed new home for NWRC residents.

Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive and owner of Watkin Property Ventures cut the first sod to signal the beginning of construction. He said: “The occasion is a significant milestone for NWRC, and I am pleased that we have been able to support this project which promises to bring positive changes to the lives of many in the area. NWRC have been doing fantastic work for many years, the new centre will help them support more people and provide them with the modern facilities they deserve.”

What Towards Recovery Is About: Huseyin Djemil

May 25, 2023

Huseyin emphasises that Towards Recovery is about bringing people together. Members are meeting people who have experienced similar problems to their own, and have overcome them. There is a good deal of empathy in the community. People connect within the cafe, and via other activities, e.g. WhatsApp, or on Strava (which connects people through their sporting activities). David asks what he would experience if he turned up to the cafe in Henley. Huseyin also explains what happens with the online gatherings. Towards Recovery is NOT treatment. 25 March 2023. [8’55”]

Biography
Huseyin Djemil developed Towards Recovery, a recovery community in Henley-on-Thames, UK, in 2012. He has worked as a freelance consultant in the addiction field since 2007. Huseyin has held roles as drug worker, service manager, drug action team coordinator, commissioner, London regional lead for prisons and a number of other advisory roles both paid and pro bono. Huseyin is in long-term recovery from an addiction to Class A drugs.

Category: Blog Tags: Huseyin Djemil, recovery community, Recovery Voices, Towards Recovery

The North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC): James Deakin

May 23, 2023

Last week, I introduced you to James Deakin, the Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC), and an interview he had with my Recovery Voices colleague Wulf Livingston. I was thrilled to edit this fascinating and informative interview into 13 short films totalling just under 80 minutes. Here is the 11th of these film clips [Apologies for the slow internet connection at one end]:

James describes activities of NWRC, eight years on from its initial development. It has a residence that houses 18 people, and provides a space for a larger group of people to engage in mutual aid groups daily. It organises outside activities, such as hill walking for recovering people. The Growing for Change project, with its gardens and allotments, engages community members in beneficial activities and provides food for local restaurants, including the community cafe Bwyd Da Bangor.

Bill White’s Talk in London, 2009

March 16, 2023

Film from William L White’s talk at an addiction recovery conference on 18 March 2009 in London organised by Action on Addiction and Wired In. Six clips focus on recovery advocacy, recovery communities, recovery management and treatment.

Phil Valentine’s Blog

March 16, 2023

One of my favourite bloggers has been Phil Valentine, Executive Director of the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), who has used his blog to share lessons he has learned in his recovery and in his professional roles. An introduction to Phil and his blog, links to nine of my favourite posts from Phil’s blog, as well as to the “CCAR Recovery Matters!” Podcast run by Phil and his wife Sandy.

A Recovery Community History: CCAR, The First Twenty Years

March 9, 2023

I’ve been following the work of Phil Valentine and his colleagues at the Connecticut Community of Addiction Recovery for some years. They have been doing some great things and, in my humble opinion, have been leading the way with a number of their initiatives. Here’s a film celebrating their first twenty years.

‘Long-term members of a pioneering organisation in the development of recovery communitites tell the inspiring and moving story of CCAR, the Connecticut Community for Addiction (CCAR). ‘CCAR is a centralized resource in CT for all things recovery. Whether you are contemplating a life in recovery, are new to recovery or are in long-term recovery, CCAR is here to help you to navigate the recovery community, by connecting you with others in recovery and providing access to area support services. Since 1998 we have worked to make this reality – the CCAR 20 Strong documentary tells this story.’ CCAR 4recovery, 16 April 2020. [32’32”]

Category: Blog Tags: CCAR, recovery community

The Role of Community: Huseyin Djemil

March 1, 2023

Huseyin Djemil of Towards Recovery, a recovery community based in Henley, England, recently started a Lent Blog. Here is the Day 3 blog post which describes the role of community in facilitating recovery.

‘At Towards Recovery, we offer a simple “in” for people seeking to initiate recovery. We run a regular recovery café and provide “touch points” for people to engage with us e.g., like the recovery café, which is in-person and online, various programmes and courses, clubs (like Strava, books, films, talks), a podcast about recovery journeys and a book of reflections and daily invitations.

All of these “touch points” make recovery visible to those that might be seeking help and are unsure how to go about it, and are unclear about what help might look like. Making recovery visible allows people to see it and decide whether they want to connect to it, and with us.

David Higham: Life After Prison

February 28, 2023

If you haven’t seen this moving film that focuses on David Higham in our Films section of the website, then please check it out. David had been in and out of prison since the age of 16 and was a drug user for more than 25 years. He went on to create and develop The Well Communities, an inspiring recovery community located in Cumbria and North Lancashire.

‘The Well is a vibrant community of people. Together, we support each other and we believe wholeheartedly that recovery is possible for anyone. By valuing and investing in the people who use our services, we’re able to show a different side to addiction. A side which sees members start their lives afresh with new friends, stronger family links and better prospects.’ UNILAB. 21 August 2017. [6’08”]

Building a Recovery Community in the UK with Calliese Conner: CCAR 4recovery

February 25, 2023

Phil and Sandy Valentine of CCAR (Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery) interview Calliese Conner in Episode 109 of their Recovery Matters Podcast. What a fantastic conversation between three beautiful people. Find out more about Calliese and the work she does alongside her mother Naetha Uren with their Recovery Coach Academy UK.

‘Calliese Conner shares her journey to becoming a recovery coach and building a recovery community in the UK. She reflects on her experience with the Recovery Coach Academy and her passion for bringing more recovery resources to her community. Also discussed is the importance of treating people as resources and the impact of language and relationships in the recovery process. CCAR 4recovery, 22 February 2023.’

What is ‘Towards Recovery’: Huseyin Djemil

February 7, 2023

Some of you may remember the podcast I did with Huseyin Djemil for his Journeys Podcast – making recovery from addiction visible. Huseyin developed the Towards Recovery community back in 2012. This Recovery Community helps ‘people to connect with others and re-connect with themselves and the world around them. With support, and over time, our aim is to help people make sustainable changes and to create a life of their own choosing.’

Embarrassingly, I only recently came across the YouTube film, made in December 2015, in which Huseyin:

‘… talks about Towards Recovery – what is a Recovery Cafe and how the Cafe in Henley came to be a safe space for people in recovery. He talks about people finding help, housing, jobs and bringing them face to face with services – ultimately proving that people in recovery from addiction don’t just survive but can thrive and become real community assets.’

What is Towards Recovery?: Huseyin Djemil

February 3, 2023

Huseyin Djemil talks about Towards Recovery – what is a Recovery Cafe and how the Cafe in Henley came to be a safe space for people in recovery. He talks about people finding help, housing, jobs and bringing them face to face with services – ultimately proving that people in recovery from addiction don’t just survive but can thrive and become real community assets. 22 December 2015. [9’36”] You can find other films from this conference here.

Category: Film Tags: Huseyin Djemil, recovery cafe, recovery community, Towards Recovery

Visiting UK Recovery Friends: Part 10 (Dr. David McCartney & LEAP)

January 25, 2023

After visiting Ian and Irene MacDonald, I headed back to my usual base when I am visiting the UK, the Beech House Hotel in Reading. It’s a wonderful family-run hotel that I have been staying in for over a decade whilst I visit my three youngest children. The next morning, I delivered my hire car back to the main office, and then headed to Heathrow airport to catch a flight to Edinburgh.

I was soon on my way to my favourite UK city where I would be meeting some of my favourite people, the staff and patients at Lothians and Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP), led by my close friend Dr David McCartney. I first visited LEAP in 2007, at a time when my eldest daughter Annalie was a medical student at the university. For some years, even after I moved to Australia, I would spend the day talking with staff and patients. My discussions with David and his Clinical Lead Eddy Conroy were enjoyable, thought-provoking, and inspiring.

Visiting UK Recovery Friends: Part 7 (Wulf Livingston)

January 1, 2023

On Friday 23 September, I left Gower and headed to Tregarth in North Wales, via Aberystwyth and Dolgellau (where one of my ancestors was born), to stay with Wulf Livingston and his lovely wife Melanie. As I had such a tight schedule, I was due to stay there only one day, but my cousin Emma (my next visit) had just tested positive for Covid, so I ended up staying two days with Wulf and Mel.

I hadn’t seen Wulf in person for nearly 20 years, although we’ve been conversing on Facetime for the last year or so. I first met Wulf in 2000 when Becky Hancock and I were conducting the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Fund (DATF) evaluation in Wales. The local evaluator for North Wales, Annie Stonebridge, used to organise our meetings when we visited the region, and always arranged for us to meet Wulf, as we got on so well and we were learning so much from him. Wulf was Community Services Manager for the treatment service CAIS at the time. I was always impressed that he used go out and meet service users in their homes or other places of their choice, rather than have them come to visit in the formal surrounds of the treatment service, which was the general practice in the field.

Visiting UK Recovery Friends, Part 3 (Wynford Ellis Owen)

December 1, 2022

After visiting my eldest daughter Annalie and family in Manchester, and seeing recovery advocates Kevan Martin and Mark Gilman, I headed down to Reading. The next day, my youngest daughter Natasha and I flew to Rome for a week to visit one of my best friends at City of London Polytechnic (where I did my Psychology degree in the first half of the 1970s) Saifullah Syed and his lovely wife Francoise. There, I also met Jeff Simpson, one of my other best mates from the Poly, someone I hadn’t seen for 45 years!

After Rome, I visited my eldest son Ben in Southampton for a couple of days and then hired a car in Reading to travel to and around Wales. First stop was Creigiau, where I stayed for the weekend with Wynford Ellis Owen and his wonderful wife Meira.

I first met Wynford in 2007 through my role as External Examiner for the Foundation Degree on Addictions Counselling run by Action on Addiction and the Division for Lifelong Learning at the University of Bath. Tim Leighton of Action on Addiction, who was in charge of the Foundation Degree course, asked if I would supervise the degree project of one of the students who lived not far from me in South Wales.

‘None of them will ever get better’ by Dr David McCartney

February 15, 2022

I love Dr David McCartney’s blogs. He writes so well about issues that really matter. He’s also a great guy who cares passionately about addiction recovery and recovering people. And he’s someone I always enjoy visiting when I am in the UK. [Can’t wait until the next visit!] Anyway, here’s David’s latest post on the Recovery Review blog.

Therapeutic nihilism

“None of them will ever get better”, the addiction doctor said to me of her patients, “As soon as you accept that, this job gets easier.”

This caution was given to me in a packed MAT (medication assisted treatment) clinic during my visit to a different city from the one I work in now. This was many years ago and I was attempting to get an understanding of how their services worked. I don’t know exactly what was going on for that doctor, but it wasn’t good. (I surmise burnout, systemic issues, lack of resources and little experience of seeing recovery happen).

Learning About Addiction Treatment, Part 6

July 1, 2021

I earlier began a series of blog posts (starting here) describing what I learnt about addiction, addiction recovery and addiction treatment after I had closed down my neuroscience laboratory in the early 2000s. I started visiting a local treatment agency, local treatment agency West Glamorgan Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (WGCADA), in Swansea, South Wales. At the same time, I was conducting an evaluation of projects supported by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Fund in Wales.

I continue this series of blog posts by describing what happened, and what I learnt, after I first visited the treatment agency BAC O’Connor in 2004. Here is the start of a new story, one where I saw recovery literally oozing out of the walls of a building.

Journeys – Making Recovery from Addiction Visible

May 6, 2021

Huseyin Djemil from the UK has this week launched a new podcast focused on recovery from addiction, which he describes as such:

‘A new series from Towards Recovery CIC – making recovery from addiction visible.

Huseyin Djemil speaks to people who have lived experience of recovery from addiction, people who have been affected by addiction and those working in the addiction and recovery field – in its many contexts. There is a lot of information about addiction, but people get better and their stories need to be visible to give others hope.

Recovery is not a linear path from A to B, it’s more of a winding road and we want to explore those journeys and get those stories heard, because our stories have power.’

Some Magical Words About Recovery: Tim

April 12, 2021

I’d like you to ‘meet’ Tim, a medical doctor who found recovery from addiction. He is one of the Storytellers in my new book Our Recovery Stories: Journeys from Drug and Alcohol Addiction. In the seven-year update to his original Story, ‘Doctor in Recovery’, Tim wrote some magical words about recovery that I include below. But first, a brief summary of Tim’s original story, using some of his sentences.

‘Growing up in an alcoholic home is a challenge for any child and I was no different. I found school a haven from the unpredictability of my home life. I started to drink to deal with the stresses of work after medical school. Over time, my drinking became worse and worse.’

One morning, as I took the cornflakes and a bottle of whiskey off a shelf together, I thought, ‘This isn’t quite right.’ My first experience of treatment was medical-based—it had prescriptions, but lacked hope! I experienced terrible anxiety and cravings. After relapsing, I made the ‘discovery’ that opiates abolish craving for alcohol… and developed an opiate addiction as well.

‘Dr Mark and The Village’ by Mark Ragins

September 30, 2014

Here is an article by one of my favourite people in the mental health field, Mark Ragins on Mad in America. Mark is the Medical Director at the MHA Village Integrated Service Agency, a model of recovery based mental health care. His practice has been grounded in 20 years+ with some of the most underserved and difficult to engage people in our community.

‘My name is Mark Ragins. Most people at The Village call me Dr. Mark, except those who have known me long enough to forego that pedestal and just call me Mark. I’m a psychiatrist, a story teller, and the kid who used to drive his parents and teachers crazy asking “Why?” unendingly and then, never satisfied with their answers, looked for my own answers and returned to tell them that their answers were wrong.

When I meet someone new I usually try not to tell them I’m a psychiatrist too soon. There are so many strange and scary ideas about psychiatrists and mental illnesses out there that I’m afraid I’ll be rejected before I even have a chance.