With You - Glenbarr Woods - video Dailymotion

The Scotsman

With You - Glenbarr Woods    Glenbarr. Campbeltown Feature.     Drug, alcohol and mental health charity With You take clients into woods near Glenbarr in Kintyre. The new project takes clients outdoors and lets them take part in different activities away from traditional group therapy.   Who we are  WithYou is a drug, alcohol and mental health charity. With over 80 services across England and Scotland, we provide support and advice to more than 100,000 people a year.   We're working towards a future free from harm caused by alcohol, drug and mental health challenges, where anyone seeking help feels welcomed, not judged.    We Are With You.   WithYou is a drug, alcohol and mental health support charity. With over 80 services across England and Scotland, we provide free and confidential support and advice to more than 100,000 people a year. Here's what we're all about.   We are WithYou  We want to see a world where anyone seeking help feels welcome, not judged, and can get support, when and where they need it.   Our name reflects who we are – it’s a statement of intent, of support, and of our commitment to work side by side with our clients as equals, to help them believe that the change they want to make is possible.   Our mission has always been to help one another. From the beginning, we've provided vital services for those experiencing challenges with alcohol or drugs. But we understand that these struggles often intersect with mental health challenges. Just as substance use can impact mental health, so too can mental health challenges influence drug and alcohol use. That's why, alongside our core drug and alcohol services for adults and young people, we also offer a range of mental health and wellbeing support.   If you're facing challenges with drugs, alcohol or mental health and you don’t know where to turn, we’re here. Whether you need advice for yourself or a loved one, the journey starts with a step. When you’re ready to take it, we can help you along the path.

Transcript

00:00I'm Katrina Stewart, the Scotsman's Education Correspondent, and in the woods in Argyll,

00:19something truly special is happening. The addictions charity With You has set up a new

00:24project for people living with drug and alcohol challenges. The scheme is outdoors, it brings

00:30people out into nature and gives them the opportunity to take part in different activities

00:35away from traditional group therapy sessions and gives them the chance to bond with nature,

00:43experience the river and talk about the challenges that they're facing in a more natural environment.

00:50You can do things, you can put your hand in the tree and you can just ask the tree quietly a question

00:54and then you listen quietly to the answer. My name is Ailsa Wilson and I'm a recovery worker.

01:00The stone throwing is about getting people just to let go because people are often afraid

01:05of the feeling of anger and struggle with expressing that. So it's kind of like just a way of letting go

01:11of all that rage and anger and then I think when they first come they're quite often a wee bit like

01:16anxious and a wee bit like what's going on and you know energy's a wee bit high so I think sometimes

01:23when you get the the stone throwing it kind of it just kind of lets go of all that and then people

01:28kind of just feel a bit more relaxed a bit more release and ready then you can do the calmer stuff

01:33with them. If you're by the water you've got the negative iron so when water hits a stone it gets

01:42charged oxygen particles so you get this like feel good factor from the negative ions and the sound

01:48of the water and watching the movement of the water so you can do lots of metaphors about you know the

01:55water taking your anger away and your feelings away or you can just let go like release you know floating

02:02down the stream there's lots of soothing effects of just being by the water. How would you describe this

02:09to other people if you're telling somebody about it? Magical you know it's it's you're free from

02:16everything like that's going on and you could be anywhere um peaceful tranquil therapeutic yeah it's

02:26good not really thought about much what's going on in my head today being down here it's beneficial.

02:32It's helped me massively um it's just very peaceful yeah it kind of calms you doesn't it.

02:40So how often do you come down here? Depends the weather and stuff like that but we try and get

02:45down as much as we can because it is lovely down here it's good to get away from stuff because if we go

02:52walks people don't like to go walking in the town because then they think oh they're looking at me they're

02:57speaking about me so it's good to get away from that sort of thing. What do we do when they come

03:02down here? Make a fire and cook food on fire and just get back into nature and come down through

03:11stones in the river and stuff and scream and let go of your anger and frustrations and yeah just

03:17therapeutic stuff to get back into nature. Do you find that it makes a difference? Definitely I think

03:22just getting together with other people like in the same situation and stuff as well as well as

03:27being the nature that's the added bonus but yeah definitely makes a difference. I find that people

03:32before they're quite shy and reserved and when they come out and they're meeting other people then they

03:36open up more and it gets them used to being out and engaging with other people and being more sociable

03:43and yeah more open-minded to new possibilities and things. How do you feel afterwards? I feel more refreshed

03:51and that and my anxiety just goes because I think it's just because of the river and you're bought out

03:57of the trees and that. It's good to be in nature. Yeah just switch off really for me and just be free.

04:05So do you find this a lot easier than being in a more uniform group setting? Yeah because I'm not

04:12very good at speaking in groups and that and to give you your own time and that here. Take a handful of

04:18these and think of somebody you've lost or whatever due to substances and keep them in mind and we'll

04:25just scatter them in the river and let them go. I think we're going in the water in a wee while

04:29and I've not done that yet down here anyway but yeah I'm always out like from this now I'm always

04:38out taking pictures and I'm out twice a day walking about and all that because it does help me.

04:44Do you find the stone skimming and cooking and everything helps you? I like the cooking. I'm not

04:50really sure about the stone skimming. But what were you using for that when you were throwing stones in?

04:55Probably my stress at work at the minute. Well I'm volunteering and it's been very very busy.

05:01Well like kids that have have no connection to anything that have like grown up with nothing

05:06can form a connection to a tree or a piece of land you know because it's not trees don't judge you

05:11they don't give a stuff like what you do or where you're from or what you what happens they're just

05:15here and they just get on their own thing. Oh I love Eelsa. She's been a big part of my recovery

05:21in my journey and I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Eelsa and with you. Yeah definitely.

05:30This afternoon we've built a fire and cooked our own food. We've had a little bit of a dip

05:36in this river. We've spoken to trees. We've flown rocks and it sounds a bit airy fairy. It might

05:44sound a bit odd but everything that happens here is backed by science. The incredible Eelsa has spoken

05:50to us about Celtic mythology and we've learned about nature and how nature interacts with how

05:57we as people feel and how we engage with what's around us. It's been a really interesting afternoon.

06:06I feel a lot more relaxed and a lot less anxious when I came down here and for the people that I've

06:12been speaking to this afternoon this is a really vital part of their week and they find it much more

06:17easy to take part in the activities away from the traditional group settings that are that are indoors

06:24that are more confined and they enjoy interacting with other people but having that ability to just

06:30walk off if they need to and take that space for themselves. So with you this new project here

06:38in the woods is a really brilliant initiative.

With You - Glenbarr Woods

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