The peace that passeth all understanding The Heart is the messenger of Life, I discovered that with my spiritual partner Carmel in the summer of 2005 while working on the creation of a new spiritual workshop in a small cottage on the wild and beautiful Beara Peninsula in West Cork, Ireland. We had been earnestly […]

Not so long ago Alcoholics Anonymous was regarded with condescension by many professionals working in the addiction field. A common view was that science-based techniques, like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) had made the Anonymous Fellowships seem like a quaint and outmoded quasi-religious cult. At the same time, there were encouraging signs of scientific method being […]

‘Natural recovery’ is a term used to describe recovery from addiction without the help of professionals. It’s a term that rather implies there’s something unnatural about the professional or even AA route. However, other terms that have been used are also problematic, given that they all embody an explanation of the phenomenon that is open to question. For example, Tuchfield (1981) was one of the first to describe what he called “spontaneous recovery”, although the recovery his alcohol dependent respondents described were generally the product of a sense of shame that had grown over a long period of time, even if the ultimate decision was sudden.

Can something so seemingly harmless and widely available really be so bad for us? The answer is yes. Sugar is not just bad for us; in reality eating too many refined sugars too often is one of the root causes of many of the chronic health conditions hitting new heights in western cultures including type […]

A couple of weeks ago (16th August, on BBC3; “Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery”),  Russell Brand launched a hard-hitting attack on conventional approaches to drug addiction: first, he lambasted the view of right wing tabloid commentators who favour the view that addicts recklessly and freely abuse drugs, and could as easily choose differently. And […]

I am writing this short piece by way of a heartfelt thanks to Promis and their way to a sustained recovery. As a former patient their programme has totally transformed my life from the blackest part of hell to a wonderful, purposeful and enjoyable place. I initially attended Promis with the idea that all I […]

It’s amazing the impact that music has on us. A song on the radio often seems to have the ability to take us right back to a specific place in time and soon we can find ourselves feeling all the emotions that went with that event. Surprisingly little is understood about the exact pathways that […]

“I just wanted to send you a copy of a poem I wrote for my last day. I needed to prove to myself I could do it and I challenged myself to read it also without dutch courage! I am feeling very positive and hopeful. I just feel I have a new lease of life! […]

Self harm hits the headlines again as the problem is seen to grow especially amongst the young.

Rufus May, “The doctor who hears voices” teaches a therapeutic technique which proves very helpful even for those not hearing voices.