AdministratorDavid Clark

Promoting mindfulness

First of all Happy New Year to you all! I’ve spent three weeks with my children here in Perth, who came over from Dubai where they live with their mother and step-father. It was wonderful – well most of time!

As most of you know, I have now stepped back from running the community, handing over to Michaela and Sarah. They’ve been doing an excellent job. We’ll soon start talking about and planning the future for the community.

I’ll be playing a very much more minor role in running the community, although I am not lost to the recovery field. I am planning to write a book and make a film on recovery. As there is lots to learn, read and research, I’m going to be quiet for some time whilst I move forward on these challenging ventures.

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about the links to content about mindfulness on Daily Dose yesterday.

The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) have launched a new website called Be Mindful, which contains content on the experience of mindfulness and the evidence showing that it can help people deal with a variety of physical and psychological problems.

A Surgery Toolkit can be purchased for a small sum (£20) which is of use to health professionals and Primary Care Trusts, and others. I provided a link to the Executive Summary of a report on the effectiveness of mindfulness. You can purchase the report.

I have also provided links to two key books on mindfulness and depression, one self-help guide (with accompanying CD) and the other a guide for professionals. These books are not just relevant to depression, but to all aspects of life.

There is no doubt in my mind that mindfulness is a powerful tool in helping people find recovery from addiction. I have written a past blog on mindfulness and I will be talking more about the topic in the future.

That’s all for now. Be back soon.

9 comments - First published on: 06/01/2010

Daily Dose Highlights of the Year

Some of our favourite content on Daily Dose since we launched the new site on May 1st.

Exposure of children and adolescents to alcohol advertising on metropolitan free-to-air television
The self-regulation system in Australia does not protect children and youth from exposure to alcohol advertising, much of which contains elements appealing to these groups [Addiction, UK]

Estimates predict that between 3.4-3.5 million children live with at least one binge-drinking parent
A new piece of research launched today shows that the number of children living with substance misusing parents is greater than previously thought [Action on Addiction, UK]

The Seeds of Exclusion 2009
The research, produced with the University of Kent and Cardiff University and involving a series of clinical assessments of 967 homeless adults using Salvation Army hostels and day centres around the UK and Ireland, reveals particularly alarming results for 18-25 year-olds than for any other age group [Salvation Army, UK]

Audio of 2009 Recovery Teleconference Series: Building Bridges to Long-term Recovery
Audio presentations from William L White, Beverly Haberle and Phillip Valentine: Mutual support groups / Peer and other recovery support services / Clinical treatment services, their differences and relationships [Faces & Voices of Recovery, USA]

What treatment meant to me
“Treatment changed my life. Because it changed my life, it has effectively changed the lives of those I love and come into contact with: my partner, my family, my friends and, of course, my clients.” [Androcles, Wired In]

Comment - First published on: 20/12/2009

Daily Dose: Highlights from 2009

We will shortly start providing links to some of our favourite content on the Daily Dose website from May 1st (when we launched our new website and service). This will continue for the rest of the year.

We hope you enjoy this look back into the past.

Comment - First published on: 08/12/2009

Dealing with trouble

I was just starting my sabbatical when a problem reached a level that I need to say something about.

As you know, the Wired In team has been enthused, impressed and excited by the quality of the blogs and by the interactions between members since our recovery community was launched.

However, as you would expect with any online community, there have been a small number of problems and a small minority of people we have been concerned about. Dealing with such problems (and people) is important for any web community.

Often, the ‘troublesome’ members in a community are not malicious in their behaviour – they just haven’t thought through the full consequences to others of their behaviour.

However, in some cases the person knows exactly what they are doing – they are on the community to cause trouble. And they are very good at being a martyr when challenged about their behaviour – or suspended or banned from the community.

In our case, it is even more important that we deal effectively with such problems (and people), given the vulnerability of some of our community members.

I am reminded by a statement from Bill White in his book ‘Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America’:

“… calls for us to approach each client, family, and community with respect, humility, and a devotion to the ultimate principle of ethical practice: “First, do no harm.”

The fact that some of our members have expressed their genuine concerns about some comments has worried us. Some members have commented that these comments have changed the warmth and caring nature of the environment – something that was essential to them.

In some cases, they have left the community. They have felt threatened. This is a sad situation. These people have not over-reacted – we agree with their concerns.

In light of these issues, we have decided to change the way the community operates.

In general, we will now moderate comments before they are posted to the website. This means that there will be a delay before you see your comment on the website. However, it also means we can be proactive in dealing with problems, rather than reactive as we are now.

Once members have achieved a certain level of community ‘trust’, their comments will be posted to the site unmoderated, ie. they will appear almost immediately after being posted.

Please bear with us whilst we set this new system up.

Thank you.

PS. My three youngest children are flying in from Dubai late tonight. I want to spend some uninterrupted quality time with them, so you won’t see me around the community for a few weeks now. However, as Arnie once said, “I’ll be back.” Have a good Christmas break and All the Best for 2010.

12 comments - First published on: 08/12/2009