Network - August 2014

ISSUE 23

NETWORK THE WELLBEING EDITION

ECETT

TRAVELLING AND TRAINING

AUG 2014

let’s dance

DANCE THERAPY AT PENTONVILLE HEALTH AND WELLBEING SPECIAL

STAYING HEALTHY IN RECOVERY AND AT WORK

running fit

TACKLING THE “PHOENIX BELLY”

TAKING THE REINS

AT THE STABLES IN BARNSLEY

EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to August’s edition of Network. This month’s issue is all about health and wellbeing. We’ve been hearing about what’s happening around Phoenix to keep service users and staff fit and healthy.

In this issue: • • • •

Dance Movement Psychotherapy at HMP Pentonville Running fit and tackling the ‘Phoenix Belly’ in Sheffield Taking the Reins to Recovery in Barnsley and…

Keeping well at work

Also in this issue: • • • •

Travelling and training with ECEtt Phoenix on the radio Celebrating Recovery Month and...

Phoenix in Focus: Vicky visits our friends over the pond

Deborah Mackay - Editor

In the next issue of Network we’re focusing on all things Recovery to celebrate Recovery Month.

HAVE YOUR SAY In the last issue we asked for your feedback to help shape the future of Network. We’ve already received some great feedback which will help us refocus our internal magazine. One area which there has been particular interest in is the submitting of content.

Taking into consideration your comments and ideas, we are currently working on a new way to submit news and content that will help streamline the process. In the meantime below are some guidelines for submitting your content.

Point of contact: Please send all content through to me at deborah.mackay@phoenix-futures.org.uk Summary: By submitting a short summary of your news we will be able to develop your content into a full article or feature. This only needs to be one to two paragraphs.

Article: If you would like to write a full article for Network the maximum word count is 350 words. Think about what you want to share and what the main points are. Keeping wording short and simple will help keep readers engaged.

Photos: It’s great to have photos to accompany news and articles in Network. The best way to send photos is to attach them in an email. To get the best out of your photos (and show off your content) why not try these top tips?

• Lighting: Whichever camera you use lighting is important. Make sure there’s plenty of light indoors or go

outdoors for natural light.

• Keep steady: Use two hands to steady your camera / smartphone and get a good clear image.

• Frame it: Think about what you want in your photo and avoid clutter. If you want to zoom in it’s often best to move closer rather than rely on the zoom, which can reduce picture quality.

For more tips on getting the best snaps why not search the web? There are plenty of great articles like this from techradar.

Editorial process: All content will be reviewed and edited if needed to fit with the overall tone and theme of the magazine.

Deadline: Network will be sent out on the first Friday of each month. Please ensure all content is submitted by the 15th of each month for it to be featured in the next issue.

DANCE THERAPY AT PENTONVILLE When Bea Wheeler, from Phoenix’s Building Futures programme at HMP Pentonville, was approached by Goldsmith’s University’s Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) programme she saw an opportunity to utilise a type of therapy that hadn’t been used in the prison before. I caught up with Bea to find out how the students from Goldsmith’s helped launch Dance Movement Psychotherapy at HMP Pentonville.

What is Dance Movement Psychotherapy and why did you decide to run the programme at Pentonville?

DMP is basically as a psycho-analytic use of movement and dance through which a person can engage creatively in a process to further their emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration and it’s based on the idea that movement reflects a person’s patterns of thinking and feelings. Immediately we thought that links in with our approach which is CBT based.

It encourages prisoners to use movement to give them a chance to work through emotional difficulties or develop strengths and express creativity.

What preparation did the DMP students do before starting the programme?

We asked the students to create a series of introductory sessions for them to gage interest in the population, they also did a lot of research around substance misuse and some of the emotional and physical effects of using substances and being in recovery, withdrawing, etc. They tailored these introductory sessions to certain groups.

Which groups were involved in the programme?

The students developed a programme for our detox users focused around withdrawal symptoms. All of the techniques used in the sessions were around managing stress and breathing and the other symptoms you can get when withdrawing from heroin or alcohol. Likewise they had a group running on our drug-free wing. These guys are abstinent; they’re completely drugs free but may be having to deal with the other things that come with living in recovery. So it might be cravings or different emotional situations or communication skills, those things that come later down the line in recovery.

What feedback did you get from the prisoners?

Prisoners said that they were dealing better with complex situations, that they were opening up to their support networks, that they were communicating better within the prison, and not having negative entries on the prison system.

Final words?

We’ve had a great experience with the DMP students, we’re going to continue with the placement here in the prison.

For any prison services, it worked at Pentonville, which is a complex and diverse prison and it definitely links in with our approach of holistic drug treatment. It’s definitely an avenue that’s working here and could work in other services and prisons If you’re a London service interested in starting a Dance Movement Psychotherapy programme contact Brenda Naso, Clinical Placement Co-ordinator at Goldsmiths University for more information: b.naso@gold.ac.uk

TRAVELLING AND TRAINING Since 2012 Phoenix has been a partner of the European Companionship in Education, training by travel (ECEtt) programme. Through this partnership we are able to send staff to international locations to share expertise and learn from other organisations around Europe. Head of Learning and Development, Frances Gray, brings us this month’s ECEtt update.

Well what a month it's been for ECEtt! Myself and Nicola Owens travelled to Nivelles in Belgium to attend an ECEtt event where Nicola received her certificate of traineeship for best practice for her Flames project. (please contact Nicola if you want more details.) I gave a presentation at the event about how we select our trainees to travel with ECEtt. Partners who attended this event were from Bordeaux - France, Prague - Czech Republic, Warsaw - Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Barcelona - Spain, and Italy. We did get a chance to enjoy some lovely Belgium chocolates and desserts, so it wasn't ALL work!

On 26th June we presented our ECEtt project at the Peer Awards finals day, and I was joined by Nicola, James Middleton, and Stuart Shaw who spoke about his son who attended our Wirral Residential Service. We were presenting in the People and Performance Category, under Staff Development. We will know the result in September at the awards ceremony which is an afternoon tea event. We will let you know how we get on!

Lastly, an update on staff who have travelled, or who are about to travel with the project. In groups of three staff have travelled to each of these cities, Dublin, Modena (Italy), and Nivelles in Belgium. Our next group of three staff to travel are heading for sunny Portugal in July to visit centres in Lisbon and Braga. Travelling are Liam Daniels, Megan Kenny and Nuno Leitao. They will visit Dianova services in Lisbon, and Projecto Homem services in Braga. This is very exciting for us as we haven't partnered with these organisations before so we can't wait to hear how they get on. Watch out for their blogs, tweets and Facebook notes when they are away, and we will update you next month. An ECEtt event will be held early next year to showcase everyone's travel experiences and ideas of best practice and details will be published here.

Don't forget to check out L & D's Facebook page, and also ECEtt's Facebook.

PHOENIX ON THE RADIO Josie Standbrook became a member of Shoreditch Sisters, the Bethnal Green branch of the Women’s Institute, in February this year. When members were asked to put forward charities for Shoreditch Sisters to support, Josie pitched for the London arm of Phoenix Futures Prison Services, as HMP Holloway and HMP Pentonville both fall under the ‘local’ remit. We won the support of the Shoreditch Sisters and a month or so later, they invited Josie onto Britain’s only WI radio show, Longwave Ladies on Hoxton Radio.

Anissa (presenter): So what do you do for Phoenix Futures?

Josie: Since February 2014, I’ve been the family support worker for Building Futures, which is a subsidiary of Phoenix futures, who provide the prison services who provide at the London Prisons, HMP Holloway and HMP Pentonville, and I’m based at HMP Pentonville.

A: So for those that don’t live in London or don’t know about Pentonvile, tell us a little about it.

J: HMP Pentonville is a large men’s prison in north London we have about a 1,300 capacity for inmates and we are usually pretty full. It’s largely a remand prison, and a prisoner’s stay is usually about 59 days, which is only a few months. We we are a category B/C [prison], so we have lots of men there, all kinds of different offences and convictions, lots of people on remand awaiting sentences.

A: So what kind of services do you get involved with at the prison?

J: Well we take quite a holistic, psycho-social approach to addiction, recovery and substance misuse, so apart from the family support service which I can talk about a bit, in a second. What we do with the men, is when they come in they take an assessment and are assigned a key worker, who’s going to be looking after them and overseeing their stay In the prison., Apart from that we provide them with lots of different groups which the men can be referred into ranging from relapse prevention to relaxation, all of them are about trying to help the men end their dependency and give them the opportunity to overcome any drug and alcohol problems, so that they may have a new lease of life both in the prison and when they’re released as well.

A: You mentioned earlier about the family support service, what do you get involved with in that?

J: So when the men who have drug and alcohol issues are inside Pentonville - bearing in mind of the 1300 prisoners in Pentonville about 50% of the prisoners are experiencing or have experienced some issues with drug or alcohol dependency or addiction - When they are referred or they self-refer into Phoenix Futures, they can also refer their own family members in or the family members can refer themselves into the family support service, which means that I can provide support to any family member, or even just a friend or loved one, of someone that is inside., --. I can provide sometimes just emotional support -- and also I can help provide a bit of practical support, help people access benefits, help people access services like counselling services in their local area.

A: So really the approach you take is to look at how criminal behaviour happens and try to fix as many of those aspects as you can.

J: We recognise that a lot of underlying issues are caused by drug and alcohol issue, and I suppose our philosophy and our mission, is if we help signpost and guide and enable offending drug and alcohol users towards recovery, that would mean ideally abstinence from drugs and alcohol, and with that a new life by stripping out the drug and alcohol use and bringing in positive aspects to live, in doing so the knock on effect of that is the offending behaviour is ideally cut off as well.

Listen to the full interview here: mixcloud.com/LongwaveLadiesRadio

The Recovery Film Festival is coming to a city near you!

This September the 10 films shortlisted by our expert judging panel will be showcased in festivals around the country.

Visit www.recoverystreetfilmfestival.co.uk for more information.

TACKLING THE PHOENIX BELLY It was last summer when I first heard a Service User tell me they’d grown the famous ‘Phoenix Belly’.

Upon further questioning it turned out that this was a phenomenon regularly discussed amongst the community and was commonly believed to be a result of a carbohydrate heavy diet and a lack of opportunities to exercise. It hadn’t really dawned on me until then that this was an area of recovery in which we weren’t supporting our clients as well as we could. Following further discussions with a few reluctant owners of the ‘Phoenix Belly’ we decided to take action.

The first thing we did was introduce ‘Running Club’. We implemented a regular slot in the programme where I would take residents running in the local area.

This not only provided a great opportunity to get some exercise but also gave them the chance to talk through any issues in a different context. This has increased in popularity to the point where we supported 8 clients complete a locally organised 5km park run in June. We are planning another run in August and are hoping that this will help us raise some money for the Voyage of Recovery aswell.

Earlier this year Aaron Pinkney joined us as a volunteer. With qualifications in Motivational Interviewing and Psychology and experience of delivering physical exercise classes (combined with bags of enthusiasm) he seemed like the ideal candidate to improve our programme in this respect. Since Aaron has started he has introduced another regular health and wellbeing slot into the programme structure. This includes delivery of a short weekly presentation on different aspects of health and wellbeing such as nutrition, physical activity vs physical exercise, and exercise as a relapse prevention tool. He then holds an open drop-in session for residents to meet with him and discuss personal training plans, nutrition/dietary plans and discuss ideas of physical activities that they would like to get involved in. Afterwards he facilitates a circuit training session which has proven to be very popular.

A recent exciting development is that through contacts at Sheffield University we have managed to secure two regular circuit training slots at the University which will enable clients to be granted free gym membership if they attend the circuit training regularly. The memberships include a consultation with a strength and conditioning coach who is known internationally and a sports psychologist.

Needless to say we are extremely excited about the ever growing interest our clients are showing in this aspect of recovery.! If you would like to know more please contact david.venables@phoenix-futures.org.uk or aaron.pinkney@ phoenix-futures.org.uk David Venables, Sheffield Adult Services

DRAMA AT PENTONVILLE At the Building Futures service at HMP Pentonville we offer a person-centred psychosocial programme for male offenders with substance misuse issues. Since July 2013, we’ve expanded this programme to include Dramatherapy which is a therapeutic service for service users located in Jubilee wing, the drug free unit. Introduced by Jamie Wong, an HCPC-Registered Dramatherapist, Jamie facilitates dramatherapy on a weekly basis.

In a Dramatherapy session, clients may work with story, improvisation, movement, music, poetry and art to enable selfexpression. This form of therapy is an indirect and non-confrontational way of working with deep-rooted problems as it allows clients to work safely with emotions. We run two types of Dramatherapy services: an open group (open invite taster sessions) and a closed group (a 6-week dramatherapy programme). The open group allows for new clients to try it out before committing to a more intensive closed group where they engage in a longer term therapeutic process.

At the start of 2014, a 6-week closed group was piloted for the first time where it was extremely well-received. This client group has benefitted from Dramatherapy because it has given them the opportunity for social interaction and creative expression. Rebuilding what may have been damaged or lost through a history of substance misuse and offending behaviour, clients learn to connect with their true selves and others. In Dramatherapy, one can gain a greater sense of self-awareness through understanding their emotions and learn to form healthy attachments when working with others in a group.

By encompassing an inclusive approach to recovery, not only do service users have access to a range of interventions that include drug and alcohol awareness courses that address thinking, behaviour and motivation – they also have the option to engage in a creative form of therapy that encourages self-expression and a better understanding of their own emotions.

Jamie Wong, Building Futures

CELEBRATING RECOVERY MONTH This year Phoenix are going big for Recovery Month with 4 weeks of campaigns and events celebrating recovery in September, and we want to get you in on the action.

STEP UP… and show your support for this year’s UK Recovery Walk. We’re proud to be a sponsor of this terrific event again this year. Phoenix Futures service users and staff will also be taking part in the walk in Greater Manchester on 13th September. Find out more at www.ukrecoverywalk.org GET INTO GEAR… over 90 of our service users are taking on the Cycle4Change challenge across Scotland and England. We start on 24th September in Glasgow and end on 4th October at our Hampshire Residential service. Come and join the ride by following updates on Facebook.com/PhoenixFutures and @phoenixfutures1 on Twitter.

SET SAIL… this September the Tectona will take to the seas again with 6 crews from across Phoenix taking part. This year’s Voyage of Recovery promises to be another life-changing experience! You can follow the adventure on Phoenix Twitter and Facebook channels.

FOLLOW THE ACTION… with the first Recovery Street Film Festival. People affected by addiction across the UK have shared their stories based on the theme of ‘Deserving a Future’. The final 10 short films selected by the judges will be screened at our street film festivals around the UK. The winner will receive £1000 of film related prizes. Follow the action at Facebook.com/recoverystreetfilmfestival and @RecoveryFilms on Twitter.

TUNE IN… to the second series of the Phoenix Podcast launching this month. The team will be sharing their insight into recovery on a broad range of topics and we have some special editions exploring some important topics in-depth.

TAKING THE REINS IN BARNSLEY The Barnsley Recovery Navigation Service are another team taking an innovative approach to recovery.

Working with local stables they’ve set up the Reins To Recovery programme, which pairs service users up with horses for a 10 week period. Each week has a theme based around recovery that aims to enable participants to learn about themselves while developing new skills, which all together enables them to progress in their recovery.

Over the 10 week course the group will carry out tasks with the horses that marry up with their own journey of recovery. In the first three weeks the focus was on team work, confidence building and self-reflection. The participants selected their horses, learnt how to look after them and how to instruct and command them both verbally and through using only body language. All the time the group were using the activities to reflect on their recovery.

Senior Practitioner from the Barnsley Recovery Navigation, Nicola Sidgwick, is very pleased by the outcomes of the programme so far.

“The feedback from the participants has been amazing and they are exceeding even my expectations of what they would get out of the course.

The group has bonded really well and we are all having so much fun at the same time!”

“I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for supporting this project, I am so confident that this type of intervention gives people a chance to consolidate learning done already into their treatment whilst learning about themselves in a unique environment. If anyone has any questions or wants to come and observe any of the sessions you are more than welcome.”

KEEPING WELL AT WORK It’s not just in recovery where we need to focus on health and wellbeing but in the workplace too. It’s reported that the average working adult spends nearly 10 hours a day working, travelling to and from work, and doing work-related activities. Given that we spend so much time at work it’s important that we take care of our mental and physical health while we’re here.

These are AXA PPP Healthcare’s top four tips for keeping fit and healthy at work.

Keep Active - Stand Up: Standing up every 10 minutes or so can help. It’s not how long you stand up for, but how many times you stand up that makes a difference.

- Keep Moving: Try walking to talk to colleagues rather than emailing them. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Park further away from the office entrance.

- Take A Break: Use your lunch break to get out of the office for a walk to stretch your muscles and counteract some of the sitting.

- Make Your Commute Count: If you drive to work, park further away so you have to walk a little bit. If you get the train, stand up for some of the journey. If you take the bus, get off a stop early.

Sit Smart - Think It Through: Consider the things you do at your desk, then think about ways of doing them more comfortably.

- Give Yourself Some Space: Clearing away some of the clutter on your desk will give you more space, enabling you to sit and work better.

- Perfect Your Posture: Makes sure you sit as close to your desk as you can with your forearms resting on your desk.

Adjust your chairs so that your arms are hoizontal when you touch the keyboard and your feet are flat on the floor.

- Support Your Back: Most office chairs now have a back support built in. If yours doesn’t, find out whether a replacement is possible.

- Rest Your Eyes: If you work on a computer a lot, it’s important to take regular breaks. That means for every hour at your keyboard you should rest your eyes for at lead five to 10 minutes.

Eat Well - Swap Your Snacks: If we don’t choose the right type of snack we quickly pile on the pounds, feel tired and, ironically develop cravings for more of the same. Aim to swap at least one of your snacks for a healthier alternative such as fuit, plain popcorn, nuts and seeds.

- Don’t Dine At Your Desk: Eating lunch at your desk can meen you eat more without noticing or enjoying your food. Take time to enjoy your lunch and eat slowly. It taks about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full. When you eat too fast, it’s easy to overeat.

- Try DIY Lunches: Bringing in your own lunch means you know exactly what’s in the food you’re eating.

- Stay Awake With Water: Coffee may perk you up but it won’t keep you there. Water is much better at keeping you hydrated. Regular top-ups are best, so have lots of small glasses during the day.

Take A Break - Take Your Lunch Break: Don’t stay at your desk all day. Go outside (if you can) and get some air and a walk.

Skipping your lunch break might seem like saving time but it’s actually detrimental to your health and productivity.

-Boost Your Brain With A Break: If you get the chance to take any other breaks in the day, make the most of them.

Just stepping outside to stretch your legs and get a breath of air for five minutes can make a massive different to your mental and physical capacity.

For tips and advice on health and wellbeing take a look at the AXA PPP Healthcare website

PHOENIX IN FOCUS In April this year, I went on holiday to America and whilst there I had the opportunity to visit a variety of Phoenix House services in California and New York.

Phoenix House, a large US based drug and alcohol treatment charity, was first linked to Phoenix Futures back in 1967 when Professor Griffiths Edwards visited the US charity before setting up Featherstone Lodge; the first UK Phoenix service, in 1970.

Phoenix House is a large organisation operating across 11 states and runs a variety of services across prison, community and residential settings. Whilst in California, I had the opportunity to visit both the Phoenix House Los Angeles Venice Programme; a male only adult community and residential service, and the Academy of Los Angeles in Lake View Terrace; a young people’s community and residential service. The Venice Programme, although very interesting to visit, was similar in structure and set up to our own Phoenix services. The Academy of Los Angeles in Lake View Terrace is however different from our Phoenix services; the main part of the service operates a 110 bed Young People’s Residential Service for 13-18 year olds incorporating a high school.

Five hours later after hopping on a plane from San Francisco I arrived in New York where Phoenix House operates across 19 sites! My first visit was their head office, where I met with various Phoenix House staff including the Marketing Team and founder of Phoenix House; Mitch Rosenthal. I also had the chance to see the Phoenix House Career Academy, a fully accredited adult business and trade school open to service users from Phoenix House as well as 16-22 year olds from the local community. One of the services in the Academy is the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center founded by pop superstar Beyoncé Knowles and her mother Tina Knowles, the service is very popular and has impressive facilities.

With only 2 weeks in America, New York took me to the end of my trip. Although I was very sad to be leaving the states I was very excited to get back, review everything that I had seen and learnt and then highlight and feedback areas where we can improve, specifically the work that the marketing team does. My visits and meetings with Phoenix House USA were a unique learning experience, providing me with a much greater understanding and development opportunity that could only have been gained through visiting their services and meeting staff - and one that I will never forget!”

Vicky Holdsworth, Marketing and Communications

VOYAGE OF RECOVERY 2014

Join us for a unique experience onboard the Tectona. Learn new skills and face new challenges on the Voyage of Recovery 2014 When

Services

Route

Interested? Contact...

8 to 12 Sept

Phoenix Re:United

Greenwich to Portsmouth

Stuart Plant

14 to 19 Sept

Leicester, Derby, NORCAS

Portsmouth to Plymouth

Richard Maunders

21 to 26 Sept

Hampshire Residential

Plymouth to Plymouth

Anthony Reith

28 Sept to 3 Oct

Foundation66, Barnsley, Birmingham

Plymouth to Portsmouth

Stuart Croft

5 to 10 Oct

Wirral Residential

Portsmouth to Plymouth

Eugene Chapman

12 to 17 Oct

Sheffield Residential

Plymouth to Plymouth

Carly Taylor

If any of your Service Users are interested in getting involved in the Voyage of Recovery, please ask them to get in touch with one of the above contacts.