Destiny Tree.

This artwork by a client shows her destiny tree.  The branches of the tree and its roots are the hands of the artist, they symbolize the many roles we have in life,  how we reach out to give or  receive help on our journey of recovery. The branches hold the doves of peace and  the roots have entwined in them the family members of the artist.  - The roots surround the family of origin. The tree is in a bath filled with music, nature and the family.  These are required to nurture the destiny tree to make it grow and change.  It is a metaphor for recovery, having everything in balance to lead a healthy life.

Eric.

We welcome Eric who has joined our clinical team as a Senior Counsellor.

There have been a number of evenings over the last few weeks where clients have enjoyed a social evening without drugs or alcohol. Clients have opted to play board games such as scrabble and monopoly, prepare and share a meal, or watch a movie or hockey match.   Everyone has joked around, there has been a lot of laughter and  non-malicious teasing.  It has been good to see the balance being struck between working hard on recovery and having fun.  Clients told me it is nice to have everyone in such a positive frame of mind.

With another client leaving us today having completed the program, we took the opportunity to say our farewells. This is an important moment, but we remind ourselves that leaving Ledgehill is not an event in itself; it is one more step in the unfolding of each individual’s recovery.

Saying goodbye as a group is not just for the individual client. It is a moment for the community of clients and staff at Ledgehill to recognise the efforts and achievements of the client, and to acknowledge that our group dynamic must continue to evolve as people join and leave.

Today at our evening reflection, we talked of change, moving on and transition. There is so much fear associated with change, leaving behind the known and familiar to step out. Over the last week there have been two clients who have moved on after completing treatment. We talked of the friendships made and the importance of true friends in recovery, and of the roles our family play. Our circle of trust.

Taking risks and sharing will change again as a new client comes to us tomorrow.

We had an external provider at Ledgehill today to provide a drumming session for our clients. I was gratified to find that our clients seemed to really gain from the session. One client fed back how the drumming session was very enjoyable. In doing so he related the story shared by the lady conducting the session – about how she had to set aside her love of music early in recovery because it triggered her drug use, but over the course of time and recovery work, it all came back and she now enjoys her music more that she did when she was using.