Cirrus9 was set up in July 2003 by a group of therapists and healthcare professionals working in the substance misuse field. The original founder,Val Thomas, worked as a complementary therapist and counsellor in the substance misuse field since 1990, and she has specialised in therapeutic imagery.
Val’s work at City Roads Crisis Intervention Project, Islington became the springboard for developing good practice guidelines for therapists working in the drug and alcohol field.

“Our accredited training seeks to establish a professional entry route for complementary practitioners wishing to enter the drugs field and that it helps set standards for developing competency.”

(Thomas, Druglink, February 2003)

Val recently published her first book “Therapeutic Imagery with Substance Misusers – A practitioners Guide” (2006)

Pip Bateman and Val worked in tandem further developing guidelines and good practice. In November 2006, Val handed over the reins of the ACHPSM to Pip and Angela Page. Val is now working as a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Health and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University but is still involved as a trainer in therapeutic imagery.

The Committee

The committee currently comprises the chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer.

Chair : Lyn Hill

Lyn has been practicing as a Complementary Therapist since 1998, qualified in Aromatherapy Massage, Reflexology, Reiki and Indian Head Massage. Lyn joined Project 6 in 2004 on a part-time basis where she has increased her skills to include Auricular Acupuncture and EST (Electro Stimulation Therapy), therapies specifically designed for drug and alcohol users.

As part of the Project 6 Complementary Therapy Team, Lyn was involved in their in-house research in 2006 entitled "Complementary Therapies and Substance Misuse: An investigation of the effectiveness of Complementary Therapies with Drug and Alcohol Users."

Lyn is committed to increasing the availability of complementary therapies in the community, and in addition to working at Project 6, Lyn works as a complementary therapist providing complementary therapies and associated workshops to community groups.

Vice-Chair : Jill Allott

Jill has practised as a Shiatsu practitioner since 1996. In 2002 she began working in the Complementary Therapy service at Project 6, a street Drug and Alcohol agency in Keighley, West Yorkshire. She has since become qualified to also practise Indian head Massage, Auricular Acupuncture, Electro-Stimulation Therapy and Emotional Freedom Technique. Jill was also involved in the in-house research project which demonstrated the effectiveness of Complementary Therapies within a Drug and Alcohol treatment setting.

Aside from this work, Jill is currently involved in establishing a support centre in her local area for women with cancer to access Complementary Therapies free of charge.

She would like to see Complementary Therapies being part of the Service Level Agreement of all Drug and Alcohol treatment agencies, and sees Cirrus9 as a vehicle to further this aim, as well as being a support for Complementary Therapists working in this area.

Secretary : Faith Miller

Faith initially worked with substance misuse clients as a drug worker, and then went on to train as a complementary therapist. She has had a keen interest in the role that mind-body therapies play in addiction treatment and undertook a masters degree to explore this subject further.

Much of Faith’s current work is based in a busy homeless day centre delivering reflexology and massage, and teaching mindfulness meditation as a means of stress management.

Faith is passionate about the integration of holistic therapies into mainstream, community-based services, and values her involvement with Cirrus 9 as a way of helping to take this aspect of addiction treatment forward.

Treasurer: Rosie Humphreys: BA(Hons), MICHT, AKC, Healthy Highs (OCN)

Rosie has been an holistic therapist since 2000 specialising in massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, Thai Yoga bodywork, Reiki & Auricular Acupunture. Rosie is also a full time drugs worker with Chill Out Sound Support, a project that works with recreational drug users in Nottingham city and county (NHS Tier 2/3). Rosie established an ‘In House’ complementary therapy service whilst studying for the Healthy Highs qualification in 2004. Rosie then became part of the tutorial team for Healthy Highs in 2006.