Our Blog

Withersdane French team give talk in Paris

We have the pleasure in having members from our French clinical team giving a talk at the esteemed iCAAD in Paris Lucy and Fran are kindly organising a stand for us here and Lisa and Philippe will be giving a talk. The field of addiction it as fragmented in France as...

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Things I never thought I’d be doing in recovery 101: Duck wrangling

Things I never thought I’d be doing in recovery 101: Duck wrangling

Things I never thought I’d be doing in recovery 101: Duck wrangling.
I experienced my first true existential crisis in early recovery. After removing my emotional substance crux, I was left with the horrifying prospect of ‘being’ without booze.
Re-learning how to be sober is sufficiently complex, let alone how ‘to be’ present and content. Philosophical musings are a scourge on the mind of a recovering addict just stirring from years of self-administered slumber.

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Healing spreads

Healing spreads

One of the things I have learnt in recovery is just how much love and support there is for me from my family - although I haven't always been able to see it. And it turns out the same goes for the animal kingdom too. At Withersdane Hall our grounds are home to scores...

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Smoking Cessation: The Nutritional Guide to Success

Smoking Cessation: The Nutritional Guide to Success

Anyone working in the field of addiction is aware of the importance of nutrition in managing withdrawal symptoms, including urges and cravings, re-addressing deficiencies and harm caused by putting dangerous chemicals into the body and brain, and in re-balancing the...

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Treating the Family: Everyone Needs Healing

Treating the Family: Everyone Needs Healing

I was very sad to read the recent Scottish study that half the women who died from drugs last year had children under 16. This illustrates the terrible ripple out effects of addiction. Unsurprisingly opiates were implicated in 3/4 of cases but in nearly all cases...

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There is no such thing as a ‘Routine’ Detox

There is no such thing as a ‘Routine’ Detox

Detox Assessment The initial phase of detox is often the first critical step for most addicts coming into recovery. I am therefore often one of the first members of the medical team to meet the patient. As a result of my experience of working in this area I have come...

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A Visit From San Diego

A Visit From San Diego

On January 20th of this year, The Mind Campus at Withersdane Hall hosted our first international visit from a leading university, as 20 undergraduates of the faculty of Abnormal Psychology, led by their dean,  Dr. Michael Ichiyama spent the day with us at Withersdane...

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Withersdane Gardens – 2015 Rebirth

Withersdane Gardens – 2015 Rebirth

Friday 16th January 2015, our second trip to the Withersdane Hall Gardens at the invitation of PROMIS to help them with advice on re-invigorating the gardens.  Over the last eight years the gardens have been cared for by Imperial College’s (Wye College’s) gardeners on...

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