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Contents
ON THE COVER
editor’s letter
‘Learn what you can. Try to
get vulnerable.’
Why aren’t we embracing diversity? p6
4
NEWS
ACMD warns on funding cuts; Liver disease stats map out stark inequalities
6 THE BIGGER PICTURE
8 NEWS FOCUS
9 WITHIN OUR GRASP
9 RESOURCES CORNER
Why aren’t we embracing diversity in recovery, asks Mark Prest.
Is there an end in sight for hepatitis C? DDN reports.
We need to seize the opportunity to win the war against hep C, says Dee Cunniffe.
George Allan recommends FEAD as a website worth viewing.
10 BEING HUMAN
Russell Brand tells DDN that recovery is about finding connection.
12 PRESCRIBE WITH CAUTION
Deaths from prescription drugs have risen dramatically, says Clare Kingsbury-Bell.
CENTRE PAGES: The DDN residential treatment directory
13 FOCUS ON FAIRNESS
The CQC has set new equality objectives, as Jenny Wilde explains.
14 ONE LOVE
DDN talks to Beck Gee-Cohen about tackling stigma and gender stereotyping.
16 LOSING THE LEGACY
Mark Reid tells how Nacoa gave him the means to tackle his alcohol addiction.
18 RECOVERY THRIVES
Recovery Month is going from strength to strength across the country.
20 A SOLID FOUNDATION
ESH Works was built from a dream of peer-based recovery, says Paul Urmston.
22 HELP AT HAND
The new UKAN website lets you tap into expertise, says Pardeep Grewal.
IBC MAKING IT REAL
Jamie Gratton shares how Aquarius brought a recovery conference to life.
Reporter: David Gilliver
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W
e talk so readily about the science of addiction –
dopamine receptors, the way our brains are wired. But
do we think enough about matters of the heart – the
direct connection between one human being and another? The
need for belonging runs throughout this month’s articles.
Russell Brand (interview, page 10) divides opinion and his latest
book will be no exception. Will his rewrite of the 12 steps make the
philosophy more accessible, translating it for a modern age where
just about everything is framed as addiction? Can you get past his
uncompromising semantics to tune into his argument for ‘looking
at life a little less selfishly’?
Beck Gee-Cohen (page 14) urges us to tackle the stigma of gender
stereotyping with an open heart and there is plenty in his advice to
make us scrutinise outdated systems. Avoiding the issue is not good
enough – ‘learn what you can, try to get vulnerable – and be ok when
you mess up. Learn to apologise,’ he said during the interview, adding
‘if this is too hard for you, maybe you shouldn’t be in this field.’
Mark Prest (page 6) has experienced the ‘level of invisibility’ in
treatment. He left rehab feeling full of fear and with ‘a sense of
homelessness’. Why is addiction framed as a criminality and not a
health issue, he wants to know – a scenario that takes care even
further away from the appropriate support systems and makes us
even less inclined to overturn stereotypes. We have to create the
safe space to make equality second nature.
And in this issue we relaunch our residential treatment directory,
which we hope will make the best treatment easier to find.
Claire Brown, editor
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October 2017 | drinkanddrugsnews | 3