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'And if you're ever looking for inspiration or a realisation of how well life is, all you've got to do is look at some of these guys and look at where they’re up to, what they’re going through, and what they’ve been dealing with. And nine times out of ten, they're doing it with a smile on their face as well.’

The first part of the film, Totally Addicted, involves three inmates talking about the effects of Spice, how it is very addictive, and the serious adverse reactions that people experience with the drug, e.g. intense anxiety, paranoia, dissociation. The drug is obviously getting into HMP Berwyn and impacting badly on some of the inmates.

It turned out they would be, for what turned out to be the seven of the loneliest years of my life. During this time, I didn’t touch one drop of alcohol. Yet it still had me by throat, strangling every waking day. I was in a continual...

I'm back to posting on my Recovery Voices blog after nearly three weeks away. Mind you, I haven't been away anywhere or even resting full-time at home. Just been busy finishing one of the books I'm writing, as well as helping out on a new initiative that has been developing in North Wales.

The first line of response should be support imbedded within relationships that are natural, reciprocal (non-hierarchical), non-professionalized, non-commercialized, and potentially enduring. Such relationships are to be found, not within a treatment center, but within the...

Bruce has contributed significantly to our understanding of trauma, resilience and healing, as well as disconnection and its adverse consequences. He emphasises the need to regulate the brain's stress response system to facilitate connection; the Regulate-Relate-Reason heuristic is...

The alternative path to community development, Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), focuses on a community’s assets, capacities, and abilities. Significant community development takes places only when local community people are committed to investing in...

On May 1 this year I started a daily Recovery Voices blog series, Transforming Pain Into Power, to celebrate the 10-Year Anniversary of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC). This resulted in a total of 38 blog posts which comprised stories and other forms of content.

NWRC—and Penrhyn House in particular—gave me a safe, structured environment to begin an understanding the illness from which I was suffering. With the support of the team and the 12-Step Fellowship, I worked the Steps, and something inside me began to shift.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending and presenting at the Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC) in Perth. Four hundred folk gathering, chatting, networking, discussing, and of course hugging. What is there not to like? There was a real buzz in the air and a palpable sense of lots...

In the second half of my second talk, I highlight the importance of community for healing, and use quotes from NWRC members that highlight some of the key factors that facilitate recovery from addiction. The quotes come from interviews I had with these members for...

We're all very proud of Marcus who was given the honour of closing the year long celebrations of The National Lottery's 30th birthday celebrations! Flying the flag for recovery, creativity and Eternal in Wales and everywhere! Marcus' extreme 25 years in addiction embodies that even the most hopeless of addicts, along with the right...

'This is the third annual family fun day—Recoverfest  2025—which will be held on Sunday 3rd August at Uttoxeter Racecourse. Recoverfest runs from 12-6pm and is a free entry event which is a joyous celebration uniting recovery services to honour and embrace the gifts of recovery. This vibrant event features an array of activities designed to...

Through Archway Recovery, we are seeing lives transformed in front of our eyes. People are not only getting well—they are staying well. We’ve seen individuals rebuild families, restore health, regain access to their...

NWRC gave me something I hadn’t experienced before: a sense of belonging. I was surrounded by people who understood, who didn’t judge me. For the first time ever, I felt safe enough to be honest. I told the truth about how I drank, how I felt—all the stuff I had hidden out of fear...