How do we talk to children about addiction, its effects and how it is treated? What are we supposed to say, and how do we say it? How do we make children a part of the conversation when one of the adults in their life goes into recovery?  This week, we’re talking to Casey from ‘Addiction And The Family Podcast’ about his new book, entitled ‘Mommy’s Getting Sober’. While the book is written from the

How do we learn to cope with every little obstacle life throws at us on a daily basis in early recovery? How do we try to stop the matchsticks from turning into mountains? How does time in treatment prepare us for dealing with these everyday irritations? Yes, this week we’re talking about ‘the matchsticks’, how they can pile up if we don’t deal with them and how we train ourselves to catch them as they come. Simple problems can rapidly become huge issues if we are not suitably vigilant. We cite numerous examples and suggest strategies for dealing with them.

This week, we’re talking to Anthony, who is the Operations Manager at Changes UK. He talks about his own journey and how all his experiences – before and after – inform how he works today. We talk about the critical importance of volunteering, the ‘dos and don’ts’ of treatment work and the different models of treatment available. Also, We look at some of the challenges facing rehabilitation services and how those services respond to an environment where financing is increasingly difficult to obtain and yet demand for all types of treatment remains high. And then we asked him what he would do if he were in charge of everything… whose idea was that?!?

Will an active drunk always find a drink, no matter what

Why do we need to use Social Media in a working environment? We weren't sure, so we brought in an expert. As part of a series where we are interviewing staff from across the whole of Changes UK, today we’re talking to Chloe, who handles our Social Media. Critically for us, she has ‘come from the outside’ as it were, having no direct experience of addiction or its effects prior to coming to work at Changes. She talks about the experience of suddenly being surrounded by recovering addicts and alcoholics, working with them and how her perceptions have changed as a result. We’re also talking about how Social Media has found its position in the workplace and how and why it has become a necessity.

How do we treat someone who relapses and disappears, then makes it back? What happens when this becomes a cycle? Are people returning to recovery, or just ‘treatment hopping’? This week, we’re talking about how we cope when we’re returning from relapse and engaging with the same process again, and why ‘Wet Houses’ have become necessary, whether we like it or not. We’re also looking at why it is so important that we maintain ownership of our own stories, how addiction is represented dishonestly in the media and the potentially fatal nature of unsupervised withdrawal.

How do we cope with doing familiar things, clean and sober for

What do we do when we feel that we are losing our way? What do

How do we work through difficult situations in recovery, the

What do we mean by ‘letting go’ and how do we go about it? How do we cope with things we don’t expect and things which make us uncomfortable? This week, we’re talking about Barbie; well yes, we are... but seriously, we’re talking about at losing self-obsession, how we cope with being pushed out of our comfort zone and how we cope with the unfamiliar. We look at why these things are a necessary part of the process while we are in rehab. Also, we give