Life at Studio House Project

The Journey Through Studio House Project

Change is a daunting prospect. But change in recovery is everything. Feeling both excited and anxious is entirely natural but you won't be alone. It will also be normal to have a thousand questions, and all the while you'll be tentatively looking around you, seeing new faces and wondering if you made the right decision. Don't worry, you have!

You'll also be given a copy of your Service Agreement which you'll read and sign. This is a contract between you and Studio House Project detailing our expectations of you, the resident. It will also address the finer points and details of life at Studio House Project (not included here), such as personal laundry, when residents get their mobile phones back (typically after 6 weeks), and visiting arrangements (no visits in the first two weeks).

You'll be shown to your room and given the opportunity to settle in. You'll also be given pens and a couple of notebooks, one of which will be your journal - as alien a concept this may be to you, journalling will turn out to be your best friend - and you will make a lot of notes too! You will also be given fresh bed linen and essential bathroom items like soap and toothpaste.

After a while, you'll be encouraged to come down and meet your peers. Don't be surprised by the friendliness; it's all very real and straight from the heart. Your peers will be the ones to answer your real questions. You'll get to see the structure of groups, and the way there seems to be a team ethic and order to the way we do things together. Above all, relax. Your journey has begun, and know that you are in a safe place. Welcome to the journey.

As mentioned earlier, your Service Agreement will have more specific detail, but you will have a regular weekly laundry slot and your dietary needs will be met when we do the weekly shop. Very often, we have charities that donate items of clothing which are offered to those most in need first.

The Studio Day

The Studio Day is best defined as 'The Programme'. The emphasis is that Studio House Project is a community; here we live together, and support each other - it is peer led. There will be periods in the day where you will be cleaning and cooking, and attending the various groups (below). We'll have a morning meeting which consists of a daily reading from books such as the Narcotics Anonymous 'Just for Today' (JFT) book, and sharing back on the daily message with principles in mind.

Evening time is generally free time, except for the two evenings where we attend a weekly fellowship meeting of either Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Once per month we hold an in-house meeting with a visiting representative of Cocaine Anonymous (CA). Every evening we have Reflections - a space where we all share back on our day - the challenges it brought, the things we learned and achieved - what we liked and what we didn't like. Reflections is followed by medication and then bed. There is also a local shop run in the evenings when there is no fellowship meeting.

This would be considered a typical daily structure of life at Studio House Project, although Tuesday is entirely devoted to skills which you will be doing for the whole day. Skills sessions consists of activities that provide opportunities to learn or improve your skills in a variety of things including arts & crafts, cooking, gardening, household maintenance - even bushcraft!

At weekends, you get a bit of a lie in! We still have the morning meeting and breakfast will be a full English on Saturday. The weekend day consists of free time where residents can relax, watch films, read and entertain visitors. For those eligible (after two weeks), there is an accompanied shop run to ASDA or ALDI, and as your journey through the pogramme progresses, you will be given added responsibilities and freedoms such as extended visiting rights, meaning you can go 'off project' with your friends and family.

The Programme

Group Work

During your time at Studio House Project, you will Learn about addiction and recovery in relation to your own life experience. Much of your learning will come from group work. Group work provides a holistic and personal approach. Founded in honesty and connection, this is where you begin to learn about the tools of recovery - what they are, what they do and how and when to use them. This is where you begin your journey of self discovery; where you will begin to unravel your past. This is where we explore the very nature of what got us into addiction in the first place. It takes a great deal of courage to do this, for we need to get vulnerable; but we are not judged and we are not alone - and we are wholly supported. A great deal of healing happens in groups. There are many paths to recovery and each person's recovery is different. Our groups are designed to expose you to as many of these methods as possible.

Feelings

Our inability to handle or process emotions is prevalent in active addiction, meaning we often wore masks or displayed behaviours to hide how we really felt. In this group, we explore and learn to unravel our feelings, to make sense of them and how they play a vital role in the balance our emotional state.

Peer to Peer Group

Our actions have consequences - and the Peer to Peer Group is a weekly group where we are actively encouraged to challenge our behaviours in a safe group environment. Often our behaviours have impacted us negatively in the past and this is an opportunity to see how others see us, so we can reflect on how we may wish to change.

Specialised Groups

This will include groups on such subjects as ACT - or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This group is a model or tool to look at our behaviours and encourage us to pause before we act. In life, we have things that we value, and this model looks at whether our actions will have consequences toward that value or away from that value.

Holistics

Life is all about balance, so alongside the more academic subjects, we also include in the programme practising mindfulness. Mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. We also practise Meditation, which is about learning the ability to be present; to rest in the here and now, and be fully engaged with whatever we’re doing in the moment. Often, as addicts, we find this very hard to do, but through engaging, we can achieve a state of calm and serenity.

Train, Don't Complain

We are big believers in the physical aspect of recovery, which in turn helps to build up mental stability too. So we incorporate circuit training to include all physical abilities. This develops an individual's cardiovascular system which not only builds up our physical strength and resistance, but facilitates mental stabiltity too We also attend a local boxing club, run by Active Choices where we get to train with professional coaches, which improves agility, skill, and is a good platform to unload any pent up frustrations.

Introduction to Stepwork

Many people have found recovery through 12 Step fellowships, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. This group serves to help you better understand the 12 Steps - being open minded, honest and willing, through coming to terms with our past, to maintaining what we practise on a daily basis in all of our affairs.

The Studio House Project Journey

is your time with us at Studio House Project. All staff and volunteers have either come through the programme here or at a rehabilitation facility with a similar approach. Therefore, all staff and volunteers were at some time, deep in active addiction themselves. They have been where you are. That is always worth remembering. If you accept the programme, are committed and willing to change, are willing to engage and do the suggested work, then you will grow. This is your journey. It will be both challenging and rewarding. Your peers will notice the change in you, and you will feel the change in you.

You will be assigned a 1:1 key-worker who will work with you closely throughout your journey. During this time, they will periodically give you 'written works' that are staged questions / reflections based on what you know now, what you have learned, and how you can apply the principles of recovery in your life. All theory without practice is of no use unless you apply what you have learned to direct aspects of your life - recovery is a journey of self discovery - re-learning who you are, your identity. At first, these assignments are shared honestly and in depth with your key-worker, who after an honest conversation will assess if they feel that you have shown sufficient understanding of that level to be given the next written assignment, and so on.

Written works continue throughout your Studio House Project Journey. When it is considered that you have shown sufficient depth and understanding of recovery, you will be able to enjoy privileges such as time away from project, and being able to go out to a voluntary position within the community.

As scary as all of this may sound, it is utterly achievable if you have put the work in. You will know (and so will we), if this is the case. The feelings of accomplishment and boost to self esteem this gives a resident, are second to none; they are real achievements. And you will begin to carry yourself in a way you never thought possible. And this demeanour is visible to everyone you meet - your friends, your family, your fellows - anywhere and everywhere you go, because you are beginning to speak and practise the language of recovery - and it feels great!

We now run an Aftercare programme that will support you in your next steps after completing the Programme. This includes temporary accommodation (up to 6 months) in one of our follow-on properties and support in finding a permanent, suitable place to live (if you need this), as well as help with maintaining your recovery, structuring your week, support with volunteering or accessing training, or anything else you need support with.

"Reach out today to begin your journey"

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