| Please tell us what you found to be most helpful about the sessions? |
| The friendliness of the group |
| All of it |
| Input from other people |
| Information on a variety of methods to get and stay clean, most of which I was unaware of. |
| Nothing felt too rushed. Was given a good synopsis of each mutual aid programmes out there. Being able to take turns to speak/ ask questions, without others interrupting. |
| Learning about the models, listening to people sharing about where they were at from thinking about recovery right up to being in recovery. I felt very grateful and privileged to take part in this training. Everyone who is thinking of working in this field, and Counsellors, I personally feel it would be very beneficial for them to do it. Also, the public in general, as it would help to de-stigmatise Addiction and Dis-ease. |
| The coverage of everything that was recovery based and the specifics of the presentation were on point. |
| Nothing felt too rushed. Was given a good synopsis of each mutual aid programmes out there. Being able to take turns to speak/ ask questions, without others interrupting. |
| I really believe that not only does it show clients that they are not alone in this, and that there are people who understand. But also that there is so much out there that can be beneficial and helpful to clients as they go through there journey. I’m a big fan of SMART Recovery and as this is explained and shown during the sessions I think this important! |
| Learning more about drug use and alcohol abuse and about mutual aid |
| Informative, friendly and welcoming. |
| Interaction with peers alongside course content |
| Understanding the availability of what is available and sharing with others |
| All of it |
| That the step 12 does work and by working the program your life will get better |
| The simple, but concise overview of Mutual Aid. |
| Overall view of different mutual aid and how not one fits all. |
| It was helpful finding out about the different mutual aid meetings/programs, as before starting the course I only knew about the 12 step program. I also enjoyed sharing and listening to experiences from other people in similar situations to my own. |
| Not feeling so isolated with my issues around alcohol. Feeling hopeful about abstinence again. |
| The interaction with other people |
| all very good |
| it helped me have a much better understanding of my alcohol addiction and how to address it properly. |
| All of the mutual aid available. |
| Friendly, open and informative. Really looked forward to the sessions. |
| Meeting other abusers |
| The options on display here are incredibly valuable to the recovery community and those looking to move forward. |
| Very clear and focussed on topic but delivered in a easy to understand format. |
| Matched everyone’s knowledge levels |
| Discovering all different options available and hearing other people’s experience. |
| realising we’re not on our own |
| This has got me a lot more motivated to find out what other help is out there. It does not matter how far you are in recovery you still need to reach out for help. When you engage in meetings like this you are not just helping yourself your experiences helps other people. I now know a lot more about SMART. Which I intend to follow up on. This has helped me to commit to a programme once more as I have not attended a meeting for about 11 months. This programme has also highlighted how well I am actually doing in my recovery. This was fascinating to talk & listen to other people at different stages of their recovery. |
| Each mutal aid was explained well and very informative giving me the information to make choices about mutal aid. |
| informative |
| Relating to other people. Having shared experiences and learning about different forms of treatment. In starting my recovery it has given me confidence and the realisation that the recovery community is firstly there and also wonderful. |
| Listening to others experiences |
| The whole program worked well for me, so I will say all of it. |
| Meeting other people who are experiencing similar issues |
| Everything |
| All of it |
| Direct help from people who have been addicts who run the course. Also being informed about other self help groups. |
| I found watching the film Dear Albert |
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Other Comments, Observations or Feedback |
| John and Nathan were fantastic |
| I have sent this once I think I am just doing this again to make sure |
| Would be better in face to face meeting |
| None |
| I can’t thank you all enough. Even though I haven’t had a drink. This course has helped me stay sober, and has given me the courage to pursue peer mentoring as a career. Maybe invite graduates to future classes, to share their experiences with newcomers. And/or hold a one-off follow up session down the line, with the same group, to see how everyone’s doing. |
| I felt the delivery for the 1st time you delivered the course via. Zoom, was really good and beneficial. I felt the comments about how the delivery of the course could be improved on, was really good feedback. I would like to thank the whole team behind the scenes, not just the facilitators,
I think it is only fair to say I did feel a bit of a fraud or ‘spy on the wall’, as I attended to enhance the volunteering I will be doing with Turning Point. However I could relate a bit what it was to go through withdrawal. I have a spinal injury, caused by a motor bike accident. The level of injury was not apparent at the time. Over ‘x’ number of years it did become more apparent, but they had to give me more opiates to help control the pain and discomfort, as no surgery could fix the nerves and tissue damage due to its severity. I had to decrease these by half, in the end as my body could not cope with the toll they were taking on my body, so it started shutting down. I had to chose whether I wanted to live or die! That meant learning to live with and despite the pain, using mindfulness techniques, distraction and pacing myself (still not very good at that lol). I faced quite a few years suffering from withdrawal, by ‘cold turkey’. Thank you again, for this very valuable insight and understanding you have helped me to have. |
| The whole experience showed a way forward as in people that are anxious about stepping into a recovery unit will most definitely feel more comfortable doing the course online and promote actually stepping out and finding the services they require. its a fantastic precursor to the start of their recovery and the course is packed with all the help and information aiming at the individual to step out and make he change they so desperately need if they so desire. |
| I can’t thank you all enough. Even though I haven’t had a drink. This course has helped me stay sober, and has given me the courage to pursue peer mentoring as a career. Maybe invite graduates to future classes, to share their experiences with newcomers. And/or hold a one-off follow up session down the line, with the same group, to see how everyone’s doing. |
| I would like to say thank you to both John and Nathen who facilitated the MAF’S sessions. I thought they were both really professional and engaging throughout the six weeks. Long may it continue as it’s of huge benefit to clients and I believe will make a real difference for many people. Thank you! |
| Keep up the good work |
| Would like to thank all that put the course together as really enjoyed it and helps alot. |
| Great to be taught by those who have suffered from addiction themselves |
| Many thanks. Well pitched and delivered. Guest speak was very important with her share |
| Very good |
| This is a great course and it show you all the way of recovery you can do
____________________________________________________________________________________ I think this is a great course but noticed areas for improvement. There was too much repetition in each session, is ruled for the course and the free gift from the hamper. I noticed that this took about 15 minutes out of each session. Perhaps just to do this once? On occasions the group was led by ‘john?. It was the first session and third I think. Anyway he came across as quite bridge and impatient with responses from the attendees. I noticed that he raised eyebrows, gutted and showed signs of impatience when attendees did not respond quickly or did not know answers. Well I did not go on the course to be judged because I didn’t know something. This made me uncomfortable. Also it was said you would address a reduction method but this current seem to happen. I enjoyed the course but presenters must realise that participants can see reactions, fitting and frowning and raising eyebrows should not happen as feeling judged just adds to the distress of addiction. I don’t know who he was but he does need some camera training |
| I am a massive fan of Dear Albert, for me Mutual Aid should be suggested as a cornerstone of anyone in Recovery from alcohol and substance issues. Wherever possible in my persona life l and professional role, signpost people in recovery to the Dear Albert ‘Brand’. |
| Really enjoyed the course. Enjoyed hearing others share their recovery journey |
| I really enjoyed this course, I’ve been on other courses which I’ve found boring but this kept me interested and wanting to attend every week, I actually learnt new things (e.g. about SMART and ACT) and it has given me more confidence to attend mutual aid meetings going forward as I am now used to sharing / joining in discussions with others. The length of course (2hrs) is good, especially as we have a short comfort break. John and Simon are great and make me feel comfortable to join in on discussions, the slides are not too long and are interesting, I also really enjoyed the guest speakers. I think either having access to the slides or some kind of workbook would be really helpful so people could refer to it in their own time etc. To summarise this was an awesome course, thank you! |
| I feel more in control and less anxious. |
| Great hosts and informative |
| very good back up as they rang me for missingthe last 30 mins of the course |
| Realy enjoyed taking part in the dear Albert course, has realy been a big help and support in helping me come to tearms with my alcohol abuse to the point of where im almost abstinent. |
| Just a great introduction to the mutual aids available. |
| Thanks! I missed the first session, will enrol again hopefully! |
| They have covered all the bases & as long as you have access to the internet you should be going forward. |
| The right amount of time given to each section, bite size and not overly complicated, well presented and time/length is spot on. i think this is a great way to get people motivated about stepping into recovery rooms of any sort especially the online approach which seems the way forward now , it actually is less frighting i feel for the people who may be quite terrified of going to a meeting in actuality..that walk through the door is far less imposing i think, excellent presentation here too..Nate n Lou go through the programme with a casual friendly skill and make everyone feel important and part of the moments, i saw light in the eyes of many whO may just be making the most important choice of their life..AMAZING to see..good luck to them and and your team also in its continued growth..KUDOS!!! |
| Thanks to all at Dear Albert for the excellent course. Currently 68 days abstinent and long may it continue. Courses like this definately aid and promote recovery. |
| Must have been more difficult over zoom but the sessions all flowed and the two hours flew by |
| Excellent course. |
| found it very helpful and informative |
| I would like to thank the team for I now feel more confident about being able to support my sister through her recovery with all the tools I have learnt from Dear Albert. |
| Enjoyed the sessions thought that they were delivered well by everybody. The set was welcoming and cosy. |
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| I really would recommend the course. Particularly for me at the start of my recovery journey it gave me a really good overview of the help out there and also the confidence to access it. |
| Maybe , while on Zoom, have a lite time to chat , casually to form friendships. |
| Just think you could open the lobby earlier and leave it open for a bit longer after each session. |
| Excellent course I would recommend in the future, very well put together and I will always remember the great team and watching the film about Jon and how Dear Albert came along… Thank you |
| A very good course |
| Excellent facilitators and support, honesty and willingness from group members |
| I found the course very friendly and welcoming. |