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Most of us have heard the term mindfulness being bandied about, with interpretations varying from cultish origins to deep religious mysticism, and sometimes with no spiritual connotation at all. In the therapeutic world, there is no universally accepted definition of what it is, how to achieve it, or its exact purpose. However, the concept has […]

Images of children suffocating from collapsed buildings in Iran, Lebanon & Israel, the state of the government in South Africa, military posturing between the United States and China. We are all familiar with hardship. Some people go through poverty and abuse, while others may require the support of a center for addiction treatment to navigate

Last month we examined the power of denial in our lives and discovered how it causes us to reject the reality of a painful event, feeling or thought. Denial is a natural, primitive defence mechanism, that left unchecked can lead to numerous problems in our lives. Often, the journey to recovery begins at a center

Have you ever asked yourself, “What is my true identity?” Mother, Father, sister, brother, the responsible one, the fixer, the rescuer, the comedian, the negotiator, the caretaker, the addict, the child. Who are you? By not knowing the answer to these questions, you keep on creating new identities of yourself, consequently going farther away from

A genuine thank-you often leaves people feeling warm inside, but gratitude is far more than good manners. For many people beginning addiction treatment, gratitude becomes a grounding force during recovery. Most of us think of gratitude as simply saying thank-you when someone helps us or offers a gift. Yet from a scientific perspective, gratitude is

As an outsider, witnessing a friend being abused by their spouse or a relative spiralling down the hole of substance abuse as their entire life falls apart can be soul-destroying. It reminds me of a powerful quote from the film American Beauty: “Never underestimate the power of denial.” Many people only confront this truth once

When I meet with clients at Ocean Bay Recovery, one of the leading rehabilitation centers in South Africa, I notice a real shift in them around Step 11. This step takes people beyond just physical and emotional stability into something deeper. It’s no longer simply about staying sober. Now it’s about finding a spiritual and

When I first walked into Ocean Bay Recovery, a recovery addiction centre, I figured recovery just meant quitting drinking. I had no idea how loud my mind actually was until everything went quiet for the first time. That silence? It freaked me out. I had always drowned it out, with booze, with music, with any

Recovery from addiction is not a one-time event; it’s a lifelong process of self-awareness, accountability, and growth. Step 10 of the 12 Step Minnesota Model captures this truth perfectly: “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” From a therapist’s perspective, Step 10 is more than a maintenance tool; it’s

When I first heard about Step 10 in AA and NA, “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it”, I thought it sounded exhausting. I was already tired from the work of earlier steps, digging into my past and making amends. But now that I’m living in a rehabilitation centre,