‘The need to be honest, willing and open-minded’ by Rosie

March 22, 2023 by

Here is a blog that I first posted on the website in September 2013. Rosie had earlier posted the blog on our online community Wired In To Recovery.

‘Everyone needs a guide in life—for no one can be judge in their own case. We all need to have someone in our life we can totally trust—and none more so than the alcoholic seeking recovery.

I came to understand through being around others like myself, from listening to them and hearing their personal stories of recovery, that such a person was required—a sponsor—to guide me through the 12 Steps, the Programme that has brought thousands of people into recovery.

Through listening to these people, I began to get an idea of what the 12-Step Programme was about and of the important part it played in the daily life of the recovering alcoholic.

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Learning from the Experts

March 31, 2021 by

When I was a teenager, I competed in chess competitions around the UK, including the British Under-18 championship on two occasions. I was my county junior champion. To be competitive, I had to study chess theory and practice. I learnt from those people who were champions at what they did, including world champions. Not by being in the same room as them—although I did play Anatoly Karpov, who was later to be world champion, in a simultaneous exhibition—but by their games and introspections. I learnt from the experts.

You would have thought that people working in the addiction field would also be learning from the experts—the people who are in recovery, or are recovering, from a serious substance use problem. Many do. But… you’d be surprised to know that this goes on far too little, at least from my experience.

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‘How Come the Word “Antipsychiatry” is so Challenging?’ by Carina Håkansson, Ph.D.

January 14, 2015 by

chakanssonThis is an important and insightful look at psychiatry today. Essential reading. The original is on the Mad in America website.

‘So here we go again; another meeting with another young person who describes how he is in an acute crisis – you may call it – and is diagnosed and prescribed neuroleptics. He is told by the doctor that he suffers from a life-long illness and he will from now on be dependent on his “medication.”

However, after a short while he starts to suffer from physical and emotional pain connected to the prescribed drugs. It scares him and he tells his doctor that he wants to stop taking it, and so he is told that he must not stop taking his medication and that he has to realize it is best for him. His family is told the same thing, and they are also told that if they cannot support him in this case they will need to find some help to do so.

Fortunately his family does not obey. Further they decide to find out about alternatives and so they get in touch with my workplace and we met some months ago. What happens is that the young person of course is very suspicious and he lets us – my colleague and I – understand that he does not trust us. What else to expect, re: his experience in the psychiatric ward, and how to make our meetings go in a different way?

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‘The need to be honest, willing and open-minded’ by Rosie

September 29, 2013 by

rsz_cardiff_sightseeingEveryone needs a guide in life – for no one can be judge in their own case. We all need to have someone in our life we can totally trust – and none more so than the alcoholic seeking recovery.

I came to understand through being around others like myself, from listening to them and hearing their personal stories of recovery, that such a person was required – a sponsor – to guide me through the 12 Steps, the Programme that has brought thousands of people into recovery.

Through listening to these people, I began to get an idea of what the 12-Step Programme was about and of the important part it played in the daily life of the recovering alcoholic.

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Roland Lamb interview: “The Struggle Continues, The Victory is Certain”

July 12, 2013 by

P1010948Last year, I blogged about Bill White’s interview with Roland Lamb, one of the key players in helping transform the behavioural healhcare system in Philadelphia to a system based on recovery. This system is concerned with both mental health and addiction, and is a $1 billion system caring for over 100,000 people.

I’ve combined my four blogs into one, which highlights key parts of this very interesting interview. There is a lot we can learn from the Philadelphia in transforming our own behavioural health are systems.

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