We are seeing a terrible surge in drug deaths in Scotland right now and it’s time to take urgent action. There is a clear case study that gives us a great example of exactly what needs to be done. In the lead up to the new millennium, Portugal was also seeing a horrible rise in […]

Whether you are concerned about someone you love, or if you are in a group therapy based recovery process yourself, one of the most challenging but important skills you will benefit from developing is that of being able to give people constructive feedback.  There are many reasons to avoid telling each other the truth, it […]

Whether you have an addiction problem, care about someone with an addiction problem or even if you work with people who have addiction problems, I think it helps to step back for a minute and understand how this problem and it’s recovery unfolds. It’s too easy to get blinkered, judgemental of ourselves and others, and […]

How long should someone stay in Rehab? I’m sure this is a million dollar question and of course depends on so many things, how many problems we have, how bad they are and so on, but still, some people come in for a very brief respite and others stay longer so it’s interesting to know […]

BBC World at One news programme has reported on poor and unsafe practice in the private rehab sector.

In this last couple of years, I have seen Dr John Kelly speak a few times and I am always impressed with what he has to say. I want to share a few ideas he has brought up and to begin with, I’d like to share his ideas about the language we use to describe […]

What can Psychology teach us?  A series of short articles about useful ideas from psychology. The Fundamental Attribution Error This is a psychological phenomenon coined by the Stanford Psychology professor Lee Ross based on a psychology experiment by Psychologists Jones and Harris (1967).

Alumni Cathryn Kemp has been working tirelessly to get better help and understanding for people who become addicted to painkillers after revealing her own experience of dependence and subsequent detoxification at PROMIS in her book “Coming Clean: Diary Of A Painkiller Addict by Cathryn Kemp (Little Brown, £10.99)” Cathryn has also founded a charity “Painkiller […]

I was proud as punch to read of the brave and tireless work that PROMIS alumni, Michael McDowell, is doing in getting help and support for addicts on the streets of Belfast In a piece today in The Irish News, Michael was quoted as saying: Michael McDowell, of drug outreach group Belfast Experts By Experience, […]

Robin Lefever’s Interview with Clare Kennedy, founder of Kennedy St & Co   For many of us in recovery, the idea of going out to a bar is a terrifying prospect. Will I be laughed at for ordering an orange juice? Will the shelves stacked with spirit bottles be too tempting to resist? But Brighton […]