Journey To Recovery

The Journey to Recovery starts with a single brave step when you pick up the phone and speak to one of our counsellors for an informal chat

For many this is the first time they have spoken to someone who fully understands how they feel. Not only does this bring a sense of relief, it is also the first step on the road to recovery. During this call a brief initial evaluation will be carried out and if the counsellor and you agree, an appointment will be made for a full face-to-face or telephone assessment. This initial call can be made by yourself, a concerned family member or a professional.

Assessment

We like to get to know you and ensure that we are able to fulfil your needs. You will chat to a counsellor and talk about the help you would need, if you decided to come into treatment with us. You would also talk to our medical team to discuss a safe and appropriate way for you to become drug and alcohol free.

Acceptance

If you are offered a place and wish to accept, then once we have confirmation of your funding a place would be held for you. 

Admission

You will be welcomed at the appointed time on the day of your admission. You will meet with the staff who will help you to fill in some basic paperwork. Following this you will be introduced to a client, who will act as your ‘buddy’ by helping you to settle in and answering any questions you have.

Settling In

Primary Treatment

The first phase of your treatment is designed to help you to understand that your addiction is an illness. Then we’ll teach you about the programme of recovery that will enable you to deal with your illness so that you can live a happy, productive, drug and alcohol free life when you leave us. There will be a mixture of group therapy sessions, one to one counselling, lectures and workshops, all designed to help you to discover the truth about yourself and your illness. You will be helped to recognise and change your old, addictive ways of thinking and reacting and to replace this with a more positive attitude. We won’t pretend that this process is easy, but we can promise that everyone who is willing to do their best and be as honest as possible will succeed. Throughout this process help is always available from the counselling team and, of course, the other clients who are a little further ahead in the programme than you are.

You will also be introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. This is your opportunity to meet with the recovering people from all walks of life who are willing to share their own experiences with you as you begin your personal journey of recovery. Over time we hope that you will come to understand how helpful these meetings will be for your ongoing support when you leave treatment.

When you aren’t in group therapy you will be involved in all aspects of running the household, working as a team with your peers. You will be taken on shopping trips, visits to the gym and walks at the weekend. You will be learning that a life in sobriety can be fun and many clients tell us that since they came to Open Minds they have started to laugh again for the first time in many years. You will also be helped to recognise your personal relapse triggers and develop strategies to deal with them. This is vital work for your long-term recovery.

Graduation

You won’t believe it on the day you arrive, but time really will fly and before you know it, it will be time for your graduation ceremony. We hope that you will feel a great sense of pride and achievement as you complete your treatment with us. You will leave with our very best wishes for a long and happy sobriety and we will urge you to take up our offer of 18 months free aftercare. We love to see our graduates come to the aftercare meeting each week so that we can catch up with their news. It is also really helpful to our new clients to meet others who have successfully completed the programme.