Charter News

The mind is sometimes too complex for its controller to understand. Sometimes it takes control.

Sometimes it sets a bad example for the rest of your body to follow. This can result in outbursts.

Trust me... you need to take control. The mind is very complex but not with me.

D.S (11 yrs old, Kent) 

Copyright 2012

Teenagers who smoke, drink alcohol and eat junk food are significantly more likely to be unhappy than their clean- living counterparts, a study has found.

About 5,000 children were questioned on their appearance, family, friends, school and life as a whole, and had their happiness levels rated.

Researchers discovered that those who never drank alcohol were between four and six times more likely to have higher levels of happiness than those who did, while those who shunned cigarettes were about five times more likely to have high happiness scores than young smokers.

The authors of the study, based at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University, used data from Understanding Society, a long-term study of 40,000 UK households, to analyse the home life and health-related behaviour of about 5,000 ten to 15-year-olds.

Their results found that unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and not taking exercise were closely linked to substantially lower happiness scores, even when factors such as family income and parents' education were taken into account.

Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables, and less eating of crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks, was associated with high happiness levels. Also, the children who played a lot of sport were deemed happier.

Cara Booker, co-author of the research, said that children could be turning to damaging vices to cope with their unhappiness. She said: 'Another explanation could be that youths who smoke and drink first fit themselves into certain groups that tend to be unhappier, and then they find themselves unhappy. It becomes a vicious cycle.

'It's probably a combination of both. Some will take up smoking because they want to feel more adult, but then find themselves hanging out with people who are less happy and then they become less happy.

'But if you're participating in sports and have a social group who are also interested in the same things, you're happier versus not doing much of anything.'

The study found that between the ages of 13 and 15, teenagers' food consumption became unhealthier – only 11 per cent reported eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables every day – and their participation in exercise fell. And the figures for alcohol consumption revealed 8 per cent of ten to 12-year-olds admitted having had an alcoholic drink within the last month, rising to 41 per cent among 13 to 15-year-olds.

Dr Booker added: 'The message [to teenagers] is that you need to be as healthy as possible, and participating in more adult behaviour such as smoking and drinking is not necessarily going to make you happier.'

Comedian Russell Brand is expected to tell MPs that drug addiction should not be seen as a crime or a romantic affectation, but as a disease that will kill.

The flamboyant film star has been asked to give evidence about his own battle with addiction to MPs reviewing the Government's drugs policy.

Brand has given frank accounts of his battle to overcome drug addiction and has said society needs to change the way it views addicts.

Writing on his website last July after the death of singer Amy Winehouse, Brand, 36, said addiction should be treated like a potentially fatal illness.

"Addiction is a serious disease; it will end with jail, mental institutions or death," he wrote. "Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant. It is not preventable today.

"We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease. Not all addicts have Amy's incredible talent. Or Kurt's (Cobain) or Jimi's (Hendrix) or Janis's (Joplin), some people just get the affliction. All we can do is adapt the way we view this condition, not as a crime or a romantic affectation but as a disease that will kill."

Brand has also accused the media of being more interested in "tragedy than talent", saying they focused more on Winehouse's personal battles than her musical career.

Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, said Brand would be questioned "about his own experiences and about his latest project, a documentary of the nature of addiction and how it is viewed by society". Mr Vaz said: "Hearing from those personally affected by drugs use is essential to our inquiry. I welcome Russell Brand's openness about his addiction and recovery. I hope that his experiences will help us understand the nature of addiction and the impact that it has on addicts and those around them."

22 April '12

I am sitting in my customary seat on my train home tonight feeling moved and inspired after completing the family workshop this weekend with ten of Charter's bravest family members! I run Charter to treat addiction as completely as I can, to expose this illness that hides in plain view, and to arm all those affected with ways to stay healthy around it. Addiction robs the life out of someone right under their noses and in the name of love, the family often unwittingly enables this to happen. Not any more, well not from the work that was done today anyway! The weekend programme may have looked the same as that of many other treatment facilities, but I believe the work was extraordinary today. Risks were taken in the room as family members made themselves vulnerable, let go of control and opened themselves up to the intimacy of identification and change. Not just intellectual change, but change cemented in tears, laughter and camaraderie (by the way my own parents would have cringed at the prospect of such a thing as a group with tears etc...many families do. But those families who face their prejudice and do come usually find it enormously beneficial and even fun!) Everyone has a part to play in any family dynamic, and around addiction, it is no different. When the family members are properly onboard they can sleep at night knowing they are no longer contributing to the problem. Without the enablement of the family the addict will start to feel their consequences.

The journey begins...

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Campaigners have tried to put a stop to Britain's binge drinking culture

Charter are pleased to announce that certain treatment is subsidised by private health insurance providers Cigna, Bupa, Simply Health, Aviva and Bupa International.

Please contact the office for further details.

Teenagers who smoke, drink alcohol and eat junk food are significantly more likely to be unhappy than their clean- living counterparts, a study has found.

About 5,000 children were questioned on their appearance, family, friends, school and life as a whole, and had their happiness levels rated.

Researchers discovered that those who never drank alcohol were between four and six times more likely to have higher levels of happiness than those who did, while those who shunned cigarettes were about five times more likely to have high happiness scores than young smokers.

The authors of the study, based at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University, used data from Understanding Society, a long-term study of 40,000 UK households, to analyse the home life and health-related behaviour of about 5,000 ten to 15-year-olds.

Their results found that unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and not taking exercise were closely linked to substantially lower happiness scores, even when factors such as family income and parents' education were taken into account.

Exercise makes you smarter 'by boosting energy levels in the brain'

Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables, and less eating of crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks, was associated with high happiness levels. Also, the children who played a lot of sport were deemed happier.

Cara Booker, co-author of the research, said that children could be turning to damaging vices to cope with their unhappiness. She said: 'Another explanation could be that youths who smoke and drink first fit themselves into certain groups that tend to be unhappier, and then they find themselves unhappy. It becomes a vicious cycle.

'It's probably a combination of both. Some will take up smoking because they want to feel more adult, but then find themselves hanging out with people who are less happy and then they become less happy.

'But if you're participating in sports and have a social group who are also interested in the same things, you're happier versus not doing much of anything.'

The study found that between the ages of 13 and 15, teenagers' food consumption became unhealthier – only 11 per cent reported eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables every day – and their participation in exercise fell. And the figures for alcohol consumption revealed 8 per cent of ten to 12-year-olds admitted having had an alcoholic drink within the last month, rising to 41 per cent among 13 to 15-year-olds.

Dr Booker added: 'The message [to teenagers] is that you need to be as healthy as possible, and participating in more adult behaviour such as smoking and drinking is not necessarily going to make you happier.'

Charter is pleased to announce further expansion into three quiet, private and stylish rooms on the top floor at 15 Harley Street. This is to meet the growing demand for 1:1, couples and family counselling, mediation and psychotherapy.

Although not all those in treatment for addiction require individual counselling as part of their care plan, frequently the family does, whether their loved one is at Charter, in treatment elsewhere, or still using. Honouring a systemic approach, at Charter we aim to support all those affected by an individual's addiction to let go of resentment and to develop healthy coping mechanisms and ways to communicate.

There is also a growing demand for counselling for issues that are not always related to addiction. The skills, experience and training of the Charter team extend beyond addiction into mediation, divorce, grief, loss, depression, anxiety, stress, anger, trauma and child and adolescent psychotherapy.

Therefore as a different entity Charter has set up Charter Counselling in rooms that are separate to the treatment facility (www.chartercounselling.com) to provide a dedicated counselling and psychotherapy service, for clients prior or post treatment for addiction as well as to support people suffering from problems unrelated to addiction.

Internet addiction can be as damaging to teenagers' brains as alcohol and drugs, a study suggests.

Prescriptions for drugs such as antidepressants and sleeping pills have jumped 20% in just three years, according to new figures.

Experts believe the stress of recent years, including the economic turmoil, means more people are experiencing mental health problems.

Data from the NHS Information Centre shows antidepressant use alone rose 28% between 2007/08 and 2010/11 in England.

Just under 34 million prescriptions were dispensed for antidepressants in 2007/08, rising to 43.4 million in 2010/11.

The use of anti-anxiety drugs rose from just over six million to 6.5 million in the same period (an 8% jump), while prescriptions for sleeping pills rose 3% from around 9.9 million to 10.2 million.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said there were several factors that could lead to increased prescription figures.

For some people depression just happens, but for others it is triggered by stressful events, for example losing a job, property or bereavement.

Emer O'Neill, chief executive of Depression Alliance

"The tough economic times may have contributed to more people experiencing depression but improved awareness around mental health problems may also mean more people are seeking help for their problems, with doctors also getting better at spotting symptoms.

"It's important to remember that antidepressants can be a lifeline for some people which enable them to manage their mental health problems.

"It is worrying that antidepressants can be the first port of call for some doctors, despite the fact that 'watchful waiting' and talking therapies are recommended as the first line of treatment for mild to moderate depression."

Antidepressants alone cost the NHS £264.5m in 2007/08 and just under £235.4m in 2010/11.

A breakdown by region reveals the North West had the highest antidepressant use in 2010/11, with 7.2 million prescriptions dispensed. This was followed by the East of England and the South West.

Emer O'Neill, chief executive of Depression Alliance, said: "For some people depression just happens, but for others it is triggered by stressful events, for example losing a job, property or bereavement.

"These uncertain economic times are linked to an increase in the number of people with the illness."

The Information Centre figures came out at the same time as the Co-Operative Pharmacy unveiled its own numbers following a freedom of information request to the Prescription Services Authority.

It found antidepressant and anti-anxiety drug use alone had cost the health service more than £1bn since the start of the economic downturn in 2007.

Mandeep Mudhar, NHS business director at the Co-operative Pharmacy, said: "It is clear more people are seeking medical help to treat depression and anxiety.

"However, there are many more people who do not share their experiences. If people do feel depressed we urge them to seek medical help."

Babies with depressed dads are at risk of developing behavioural and social problems by the time they start school, researchers have found.

The finding has sparked calls for doctors to check new dads for signs of depression in a similar way to how mums are routinely screened for postnatal depression.

The Australian researchers found the effects of paternal depression in the first year of a baby's life were just as detrimental to a child's development as postnatal depression.

Babies with depressed dads were more than three times as likely to have behavioural, emotional and social problems by the time they were five as infants whose dads didn't suffer depression.

Even after stripping out the effects of the mother having postnatal depression, the family's socio-economic status and education levels, the risk of the child having problems remained high.

Lead researcher Dr Richard Fletcher, of Newcastle University's Family Action Centre, said the findings suggested GPs and other healthcare workers should check dads for paternal depression so they could get help quickly.

"What we have is a system that says to mum, 'are you depressed?', and if the answer is yes then she is steered towards support," he said.

"But at no time does anyone say, 'is your partner depressed?'

"Generally, dads respond to treatment in a similar way to mums, but dads are less likely to get treatment."

Postnatal depression is estimated to affect about one in seven Australian mums. The number of dads with paternal depression is believed to be about half that rate.

In their study of 2600 families, Dr Fletcher and his colleagues found 1.3 per cent of dads had paternal depression while 2.6 mums reported postnatal depression.

The effects of parental depression were different for boys and girls.

Depression in dads was more likely to lead to more hyperactivity and social problems in boys than girls, who had larger struggles with emotional and conduct issues.

Mums with postnatal depression were found to have a bigger effect on boys' social skills and girls' conduct.

Dr Fletcher said reasons why dads with depression impacted the development of their children were sketchy.

He said dads were often an "anchor for discipline" in the family and if they were depressed they were less likely to set boundaries, possibly opening the way for boys to become hyperactive.

Other studies had shown when dads were depressed they were less likely to read and play with their children, activities which can help teach youngsters about behaviour.

The study was published by The Medical Journal of Australia.

Mandy Saligari recently attended a three day course on Relapse Prevention with Terence Gorski who is world renowned for his pioneering relapse model, and wealth of experience in the field of addiction over the last 40 years.

Children as young as 12 claimed they drank the equivalent of 19 glasses of wine per week when questioned for a UK-wide survey of 83,000 school pupils.

Parenting style is one of the strongest influences on how a child drinks as a young adult, a study suggests.

Independent think tank Demos studied data based on about 15,000 children born in the UK in the last 40 years.

It found that a "tough love" style of parenting was the best way to ensure children drank more responsibly when they were aged between 16 and 34.

The research also suggests that being too authoritarian with children could be as ineffectual as being too casual.

Researchers found that the best approach was for parents to be warm and affectionate until the age of 10 and then combine this with more discipline. Then at ages 15 to 16 there should be more supervision.

It found high levels of parental attachment when children were aged under five significantly reduced the chances of them drinking excessively later in life.

Authoritarian: Set absolute standards, value obedience and structure over freedom and exploration

Tough love: Expect children to conform to rules that can be negotiated. Encourage autonomy in decision making

Laissez-faire: Emotionally engaged but tend to abrogate responsibility for setting rules. Few standards imposed

Disengaged: Uninvolved emotionally with their children. Do not structure activities or set boundaries

It studied data gained from questioning of parents on two broad areas - warmth and discipline.

When their children were young, parents were asked about how much time they spent with them and whether they ate meals together, among other questions.

Regarding discipline, they were asked whether they knew where their teenage children were in the evenings, how often household rules were broken, and other questions.

When the children reached adulthood, they were asked about alcohol consumption.

Report author Jamie Bartlett said that parenting which combined high levels of both warmth and discipline "results in the child overall in their lives achieving lots of positive things - well-being, responsibility, efficacy, and responsible alcohol consumption is one of them.

"This isn't just about alcohol, but it's one of those things that's affected by parenting styles."

Government action urged

Demos's study found bad parenting at 16 made children more than eight times more likely to drink excessively at that age and over twice as likely to binge drink when they were 34.

Its report says parents should discuss alcohol with their children and set firm boundaries on drinking, avoid being drunk around them and actively ensure they develop sensible expectations of consumption.

It says ensuring teenagers do not have easy access to alcohol at home and monitoring drinking in the home environment is another important element of a tough love approach.

Those difficult moments of enforcing tough rules really do make a difference, even if it doesn't always feel like that at the time."

The think tank recommends that parents take a lead role in dealing with "an entrenched binge drinking culture" in Britain with government support.

The government should enforce under-age drinking laws - in partnership with local authorities and retailers - so that alcohol boundaries are clear, it says.

Investment should also be made in alcohol-related school programmes involving parents, the report says.

Activities for at-risk children are also important during school holidays when there can be more opportunities to engage in binge drinking, Demos says.

Mr Bartlett said the impact of parenting on children's future drinking "cannot be ignored".

"This is good for parents: those difficult moments of enforcing tough rules really do make a difference, even if it doesn't always feel like that at the time."

After 3 years working alongside Mandy Saligari at Charter Day Care, Anthony has decided to step back from the front line. He will continue to invest his considerable experience into consulting for Charter and providing assessments, but will hand over the day to day management to Mandy. "It has been a joy and thrilling to work alongside Mandy and to set up Charter". I am very proud of what we have achieved and have every confidence that Charter will continue to go from strength to strength' says Anthony. Mandy, who has known Anthony for over 20 years comments that she will miss him, but that she knows she can always call on him for his experience and support.

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The report says £730m is spent each year on the heroin substitute methadone

The only Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in the UK has been successful in improving outcomes for children by tackling the substance misuse of parents at an early stage of care proceedings, according to an independent evaluation of the court published today by the Nuffield Foundation and Brunel University.

The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in England has topped one million for the first time, according to official statistics.

Allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older. In fact, such a "harm-minimization" approach may actually lead to more drinking and alcohol-related consequences, according to a new study in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Recent report from SAMHSA.

Research released by the BMA today adds to the evidence base showing the links between cancer and alcohol consumption.

Charter's popular family support groups, currently held on the first Tuesday of every month, are to increase in frequency.  

Karen has many years of experience working in the healthcare sector, both within the NHS and for the Priory Group and leading psychiatrist Dr. Mike McPhillips amongst others.

Madeleine Muir has joined Charter as a key member of the therapeutic team. Madeleine has worked in the addiction recovery field for over eight years, in public health and private settings.  

Emma Leech, who works with Charter clients using innovative dance and movement therapies, appears in the Evening Standard to discuss her work both inside and outside the addiction recovery community. 

Charter Day Care's supported accommodation house in Primrose Hill celebrated its first year under Charter management on 2nd April 2011.