Beyond Craving
Beyond Recovery is proud to announce a new programme designed to help participants overcome addiction.
Called “Beyond Cravings”, the new six week programme will be piloted at HMP Onley where it will be run by peer mentors. In addition to six once a week formal group sessions, mentors will also be available for one-to-one sessions on the wing as required. The first programme will focus on smoking cessation.
The programme is based on the Three Principles approach, which explores the inside out nature of human experience (i.e. our psychological experience is created moment by moment by our state of mind and level of thinking in the moment NOT by external situations). The programme has four key aims:
- to understand the cause and the nature of cravings and what to do and what NOT to do;
- to dispel the myth of the addictive personality;
- to recognise the innate nature of wellbeing / common sense (i.e. everyone has it); and
- to realise the implications of this understanding specific to cravings and suffering.
An outline of the programme’s six groupwork sessions is set out below:
Week 1 Intake (Reality)
- WHY – discuss challenges; goals; coping strategies; hopes
- Overview of the next 6 weeks
- Describe the cycle of addiction
- Lapsing and what to do about it
Week 2 Experience
- Cravings, Feelings & Thoughts – how are they related
- The impact of state of mind / low mood and connection to feelings
- What to expect and how to deal with it
Week 3 Awareness
- Taking thinking off the table
- What is an addictive personality
- Realising patterns & associations / habitual thinking
Week 4 Freedom of Mind
- Explore and experience deep listening
- Understanding choice & acceptance and the impact of consciousness
- Explore innate health / common sense
Week 5 Behaviour
- Explore the link between thoughts & behaviour
- Explore the illusion of the Hook (of addiction)
Week 6 Implications
- Explore clarity vs busy mind
- Failing vs learning
- Next steps / How to get help / support each other
