Addiction Support Groups & Services in Warwickshire

Addiction help in Warwickshire

The following list comprises the addiction support groups and addiction rehab services available in the Warwickshire area.

If your looking for help for addiction issues, the following guide will provide you with information on addiction rehabilitation units, meetings in Warwickshire and when they are held, including their location.

This list includes information on the following groups and services to help you overcome an over-reliance on addictive substances:

• Alcoholics Anonymous (The AA) – What is ‘The AA’?
• Narcotic Anonymous (The NA) – What is ‘The NA’?
• SMART Recovery – What is ‘SMART Recovery’
• Addiction Therapists in Warwickshire

Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Warwickshire

Anyone who finds their lives are detrimentally affected by their addiction to alcohol can attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. People with problems other than alcoholism are eligible for AA membership, but only if they have an alcohol abuse problem as well.

There is no need to sign up for AA meetings, you can just turn up on the date and time listed on the AA website.

‘Addiction is a biopsychosocial disorder characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences.’

Reasons why people go to addiction support groups like the AA:

• Unable to stop drinking or avoid situations and individuals who encourage drinking alcohol to excess
• Alcohol misuse is having a detrimental effect on their work or studies
• Relationships are suffering through alcoholism
• Self-care has diminished from alcohol dependency e.g. being reclusive, lack of personal hygiene or not participating in their usual hobbies
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms and cravings when alcohol isn’t consumed

Narcotics Anonymous Meetings in Warwickshire

The Narcotics Anonymous group is a fellowship of individuals recovering from addiction who meet regularly to help each other stay clean and sober. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only ONE requirement for membership, the desire to stop using drugs.

‘The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting because we can only keep what we have by giving it away.’

NA is not affiliated with any other organisations, there are no fees or pledges to sign. Anyone can join no matter what drug they are addicted to using, their age, sex, religion, lack of religion, race, sexual identity or creed.

Narcotics Anonymous meetings welcome individuals seeking recovery from ANY drug addiction, however, there are more ‘drug specific’ fellowships. Cocaine Anonymous (CA), Marijuana Anonymous (MA), Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA).

No appointment is needed, so just turn up.

“Open to all” meetings welcome everyone who has, or thinks they have a drug addiction problem. “Open to all” on request meetings allow anyone with a drug addiction problem to turn up early & ask if it’s okay to sit in.

‘We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean.’

Reasons why people go to addiction support groups like the NA:

• Unable to stop using drugs or avoid situations and individuals who encourage drug taking
• Drug misuse is having a detrimental effect on their work or studies
• Relationships are suffering through drug misuse
• Self-care has diminished from the overuse of narcotics e.g. being reclusive, lack of personal hygiene or not participating in their usual hobbies
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms and cravings when drugs aren’t being used

Addiction Therapy & Counselling in Warwickshire

Addiction therapy treatment can help you address the causes of your addiction to help you stop your addictive behaviour. The chemicals within drugs and alcohol are often used as a way to ‘medicate’ an individuals pain, depression, self-esteem or anxiety.

Substance abuse helps individuals self-soothe in the short term, but their health, work and personal life start to suffer as a consequence of their addiction.

Types of Counselling:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): One of the most commonly used therapies to treat addiction in rehabilitation centres is CBT. CBT encourages clients to investigate their thoughts in order to phase out thoughts that do not serve them.
• Motivational Interviewing (MI): Motivational Interviewing encourages those with addiction to accept their alcohol or drug misuse and embrace recovery.
• Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Intense emotions can often lead to self-destructive behaviours. DBT teaches clients how to regulate their emotions to reduce the need to use drugs and alcohol.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR helps clients recover from traumatic experiences, which often result in distress. The method utilises exercises to discuss past trauma while simultaneously engaging other parts of the brain through bilateral eye movements, tones, or taps.

“EMDR helps heal the brain’s information processing system and promotes emotional stability.”

• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): REBT helps clients identify, challenge, and replace their destructive thoughts and convictions with healthier, adaptive thoughts.

To find addiction therapists in or around the area of Warwickshire, take a look at the BACP directory of therapists. The BACP aim to promote and develop safe, ethical and competent practice in addiction counselling and psychotherapy.

Therefore you can rely on this directory of addiction councillors to only list approved and accredited professionals.

Concerned you’re abusing your prescription meds?

Prescription medication can be used to treat an array of issues such as insomnia, pain or psychological problems such as PTSD, anxiety, depression or OCD. Subscription meds can be really helpful, but sometimes people can increase their dose because they have built a tolerance to their meds, or perhaps they desire a higher level of relief from their mental or physical pain. This is when addiction can begin to creep up on you.

If you think you have been abusing your subscription and have become addicted, speak to your GP or local addiction services about your concerns. Your doctor isn’t going to stop your medication if you make them aware of your worries, they are going to do their best to help you wean off them or perhaps switch your prescription to a less addictive drug.

Worried about Chemsex?

The three main drugs people take as part of ‘chemsex’ are methamphetamine, mephedrone and GHB/GBL.

Why not have an informal chat with the organisation ‘London Friend’, who specialise in chemsex concerns.

If you would like a referral into structured support, or just want a confidential and informal chat about your drug or alcohol concerns, call London Friend on 020 7833 1674 (10 am-6 pm, Monday to Friday) or email antidote@londonfriend.org.uk.

Chemsex is enjoyed by all types of individuals of different sexes, identities and sexual orientations. If you are a man who has sex with men, some guys prefer to use gay-friendly services which are more likely to have a much better understanding of the issues that come along with the chemsex scene. However, services such as ‘London Friend’ or sexual health clinics will be able to provide you with extensive knowledge and advice too.

Most addiction services aim to be welcoming, respectful, knowledgeable, and compassionate.

The chemsex scene can sometimes come with dangers such as accidental overdose, becoming addicted to drugs, experiencing sexual abuse or contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Take control of your health and contact your local sexual health team in Warwickshire for further advice on this subject. The sexual health team at Birmingham LGBT 7 days a week on 0121 643 0821 for more information, or e-mail them at sexualhealth@blgbt.org