In my new book Transforming Pain Into Power: The Story of North Wales Recovery Communities (NRWC) I focus on the inspiring addiction recovery initiative based in Bangor, North Wales. Two of the chapters are devoted to the development of NWRC. Here is a summary of the chapter focused on NWRC’s Recovery Programme.
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The NWRC Recovery Programme began in May 2015. People wanting to recover from an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol started to move into Penrhyn House, after undergoing an initial assessment. They had their own room, one of seventeen, but shared bathrooms and the kitchen with other residents. They did their own shopping and made their own meals. Their rent was covered by Exempt Housing Benefit.
New residents did not leave the house for the first month, unless accompanied by a member of staff or a trusted resident. No limit was placed on how long a person could stay at Penrhyn House, although they were encouraged to move on when their recovery was strong, and they were assimilating well into the outside community.
James Deakin set about developing the NWRC Recovery Programme within Penrhyn House, attended by both residents and outside community members, with the aim of creating as many elements as possible that facilitate recovery. A good friend helped James set up weekly Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, and a year later Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. Cocaine Anonymous (CA) meetings started in the first half of 2019.
James and Sarah Flynn started running SMART Recovery meetings in 2015. Today, these mutual aid groups run once a week. Residents are told that they must attend all mutual aid groups for the first 12 weeks they are in the house, so that they will be able to make an informed choice of what works best for them in the future. Thereafter, people access the group, their ‘tribe’ that best suits them. Many residents continue to attend both 12-Step Fellowship and SMART Recovery meetings.
James believes that it is not the particular group (e.g., Fellowship or SMART) that is important, but the fact that people are connecting with others who are ‘clean and sober’. People who attend both sorts of meeting don’t come away talking about the contradicting philosophies. Rather, they appreciate the human connection they experience, and take what they need from each philosophy and the particular tools ‘on offer’.
Professor John Stoner has run the Bangor Recovery Project (BRP), 13 weekly two-hour sessions, for residents of Penrhyn House and members of the local community since 2015. The BRP sessions provide a wide range of educational content that can facilitate a person’s journey of recovery. John has also been running other courses, including the Bangor Recovery Group Steps & Principles course which looks in detail at each of the 12 Steps, the alternative ‘secular’ steps, and the principles associated with each Step. Participants share their experiences of working each step and applying the principles to their own recoveries.
Moving On In My Recovery (MOIMR), developed by Lee Hogan (a Consultant Clinical Psychologist) and Kevin Fisher of Growing Groups for Change, has been a key part of the Recovery Programme since May 2015, when it was first delivered by James and by Sarah Flynn, now Chair of Trustees for the NWRC charity. MOIMR is underpinned by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and its own unique resiliency/vulnerability model.
Weekly three-hour long MOIMR sessions are conducted over a period of 12 weeks, and involve teaching people in a collaborative group environment necessary skills to support long-term recovery. For example, participants learn acceptance-based strategies and mindfulness practices that reduce the likelihood that internal triggers (i.e., thoughts, emotions, memories) will lead to relapse. Two full chapters of my book are devoted to MOIMR, which research has shown has strong positive outcomes.