Annual Report 2007
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The Association of Complementary Healthcare Practice with Substance Misusers (ACHPSM) 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.
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 be managed in Nottingham.
Activities to date:
December 2006
The new management committee was established:
Name changed after consultation with therapists and service users involved in substance misuse and complementary therapies (CTs): Cirrus 9 website goes live! Artist Rob Milliken (www.robmilliken.co.uk) designs a new-look website on a voluntary basis. The site includes all the information gathered by the previous board (ACHPSM). Visitors to the site www.cirrus9.org are able to find a practitioner and /or treatment services delivering complementary therapies in their area. The site also boasts a news page, training section and service user feedback facility.
January 2007
Constitution amended
February 2007
Small grant received from Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Promotional flyers designed and printed. March 2007 Volunteers and board members supported Cirrus 9’s first promotional stand, workshop and presentation at the National Drug Treatment Conference in London. The display, which was designed by Rosie Humphreys, received a lot of interest from service users, therapists, drug workers, service managers, pharmacies and DAAT commissioners. We were particularly pleased to meet up with the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Practitioners who are keen to develop links. 32 x taster sessions of Onsite Massage and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) were delivered throughout the event by therapists Kath Markham and Angela Page. One service user commented: “Better than the black box and the only massage I have ever had. I would 100% recommend to people – great.” The 2 parallel sessions were well attended and attracted people from a diverse range of specialisms. Pip Bateman presented evidence of how CTs have gained the confidence of service users and treatment agencies in Nottinghamshire and demonstrated the importance of developing a competent therapy team. The TFT workshop was a hit. This self-help routine consists of tapping acupressure points and is useful for anxiety, anger, phobias and addictions. Angela Page introduced techniques to the participants to relieve minor anxieties and fears. (www.atft.org ) Membership development: First applications accepted from Practitioner Members and Member Organisations April 2007 Rosie Humphreys and Pip Bateman attend DrugScope’s focus group. Useful links established but we fail to get complementary therapies on the main agenda for the July conference
May 2007
Bank account opened Pip Bateman visited Nottingham Service User Drug Forum. Several people submitted feedback forms expressing their personal experiences of receiving CTs whilst in recovery. AGIS Project. Pip Bateman delivered a presentation to visiting representatives from Holland as part of the AGIS Project (www.agis-tdrc.eu) ‘Tackling Drugs – Reducing Crime’ is a project between Nottinghamshire Police and the areas of Poznan in Poland and Assen in Holland. It involves their police, local authorities and agencies working together to improve their effectiveness in tackling drug problems. The project is funded from June 2006 to May 2008 and will carry out research in Nottinghamshire, Poznan and Assen to evaluate current practice in
The project will identify best practice that can be applied in the three areas and in towns and cities in all European Member States. The research will be discussed at seminars in the three areas and subsequently presented at a conference of all European Member States, in Nottingham in April 2008. Library Development: Project 6 joined Cirrus 9 as a new member organisation. Based at Airedale Voluntary Drug and Alcohol Agency, Keighly, South Yorkshire, they submitted their 2006 investigation of the effectiveness of Complementary Therapies with Drug and Alcohol Users. July 2007 Volunteers Rosie Humphreys, Pip Bateman and Kath Markham attend DrugScope’s first national conference and negotiate free attendance for an opportunity to promote Cirrus 9 with the help of free massages delivered to registrants throughout the event. “Extremely relaxing – felt an intense emotional rush towards the end. Took about a month’s worth of tension and stress out of my shoulders. Should be available at every conference and to every service user in the country” Feedback received. Funding support. Kath Markham created links with Grenville Levy of the Change Management Service at Nottingham Council for Voluntary Service (www.nottinghamcvs.co.uk). Grenville is now helping the board explore ways that Cirrus 9 can successfully acquire funding to create sustainable growth whilst benefiting service users in Nottinghamshire. August 2007 Therapists and service users from Lifeline’s Outlook Project, Kirklees, visit to find out more about the work of Cirrus 9. Invitation extended for a return visit. Effective links created with a view to attracting the team as a Member Organisation and Practitioner Members. (www.lifeline.org.uk) Interest received from the Lighthouse Project in Liverpool. More volunteers recruited with a view to creating a larger board and providing a platform locally for the service user’s voice to be heard. Date set for AGM – 19th October 2007
September 2007
Cirrus 9 join DrugScope
October 2007
AGM and Focus Group
Report prepared by Pip Bateman October 2007 | ||||||||||||
