I had a chance to have a farewell chat with our client who completes treatment tomorrow. I talked with him about many things but it boiled down to choices and the freedom to make them. Our addiction robs us of the freedom of choosing the right path. Sobriety is no guarantee of a good life but it does allow us to deal daily with life on life’s terms, without having to resort to any external stimuli. Although he understands this, he is still worried because he continues to have thoughts about getting right back into the booze.

Yesterday evening we discussed at length with the clients, how it is only when you let go of old ways of thinking, and began to look for the answers within yourself, that change and growth truly occurs. Find out who you are as a person, and begin to fix damaged feelings and emotions, then you start to become content. No external forces or material objects can affect serenity, if you are happy with yourself, you can continue to work each day at being the best person you can be.

When I arrived on site everyone was having a round table discussion on Step 1. This had piqued everyone’s interest in the program. This tied in well to my intended plan to explain my interpretation of the 12 Step Program. Everyone gathered round the 12 Step Board and I gave a brief explanation of the steps and how I have worked them and how they have impacted upon my life. This explanation took about 25 minutes. Upon completion there were several questions. I believe that this group has already achieved a nice level of cohesiveness.  The idea that there is no one right way to work the steps appeals to our clients.

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.

We are very pleased to have two clients who are eligible to receive 30 day chips at the Tuesday AA meeting. We have recently been running in-house AA meetings, and Client G again expressed his enjoyment for the in-house format that was used Thursday evening. He found that having Mark and Patty attend this meeting and discussing Step 4 was very beneficial.

We decided it would be fun for our clients and staff to celebrate Australia Day. Thanks to counsellor Jeff for really making the effort!

Jeff's Aussie outfit

The mood in the house was incredible this evening. Our program assistant Patty made a decision to hold an in-house AA meeting and it went wonderfully. The primary topic was an in-depth look at AA’s Step 2 (Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity). When I arrived at 2105hrs, everyone was still on a high from the meeting. Each person shared and each felt that they gained a lot from the meeting.

Check out went well, with all clients stating that it had been a very good day. J’s Life Story went well and the other clients said they enjoyed it. As always, the Peer Evaluation will tell the true story. After check out, B and C had a little blues jam session. It was fun to watch them play.