Just kick back, relax and enjoy yourself

because this is a PROMIS event..

Any excuse to get together with our friends and alumni, we cherish; however doing this over delicious food, freshly prepared for us to perfection is, well, simply our definition of having a great time. Our barbeques are not only becoming a tradition, they are starting to take on a life of their own with abundance of food, laughter, good conversations and luckily, plenty of sunshine. Our Master Chef Mark spoils us with mouth-watering steaks, seafood paella, salads, condiments, pastries and desserts whilst we chatter away with each other, make new friends and share old memories along with new experiences.

To see more pictures from our events, connect to us on our Facebook page. 

You can view more pictures from Mark’s kitchen via the following link…

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=70049174353&aid=166120

 

“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s”. Bernard Moitessier

Sailing is one of those things you have to experience to understand how it feeds one’s soul in so many unique ways. The inspiration, peace and joy that can be found so readily out in the open sea have always been the subject of many poets, musicians, authors and other artists. One thing that is fascinating is how being out in the ocean evokes different feelings and emotions for everyone, everyone gets to find their little piece of heaven.

To say the least, we have found a new passion at PROMIS which we absolutely love sharing with our patients. Experienced sailors among our group often take control of the tiller and novices are guided about the basics of sailing and boat handling. There is always something to do for everyone on a sailboat.

We now look forward to our weekend outings to explore the finest bays and sights of South Coast, England whilst enjoying the fresh air, new challenges and more importantly each others company. For more information please visit http://www.promis.co.uk/activities/sailing/

“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much”.    Robin Lee Graham

Cathryn Kemp chronicled her brave detoxification experience from powerful pain relieving medications last year in an article published in the Sun Newspaper in order to give insight into the difficultes of coming of prescribed medications and hope to others.

As well as writing about her experience at PROMIS Cathryn also spent her time creating a new body of art during this emotional and difficult time. She had a number of canvesses in her room and around our site that she was working on.

Since then the works that Cathryn created have received a good deal of public acclaim. Please take a look at them on the Saatchi Galery Website :  http://www.saatchionline.com/profiles/index/id/115385

Rediscovering one’s creativity is an important part of many people’s recovery. Often we are afraid that recovery will be a hindrance to our creativity when in fact it is the opposite. Cathryn shows us this very clearly.

Robin

Here at PROMIS Hay Farm we’re celebrating the arrival of 4 moorhen chicks. The chicks are, tiny black bundles of fluff no bigger than golf balls, they’re very quick to tumble into the water, where they swim around behind their parents at an incredible speed for their size, like little torpedoes. We have been witnessing many firsts with them, including their first, very careful steps into the pond. Mum and dad are looking after them well, along with helping hands from our patients who are ensuring they get plenty to eat and nothing tries to eat them, like the resident cat!

Moorhens are known for being very territorial especially when they have young, I’ve even heard of Moorhens seeing off hedgehogs, one in particular marched an intruding hedgehog off the premises as if he was some gamekeeper. During breeding season Moorhens can be heard literally screaming at their uninvited quests, but our Moorhens are happy for us to look out for them.

Moorhens are medium-sized, ground dwelling birds usually found near water, our resident hens live in the Hay Farm pond and spend the night nestled on the central island safe from any prey.

Dedicated moorhen parents will raise two or three broods of offspring every season. Their families are unusual, in the bird kingdom; in that young ‘teenagers’ from earlier broods will stick around to help their parents feed and guard their subsequent hatchlings. They truly are the epitome of teamwork!

For more pictures, please check our Facebook page.

What better way to take in the beautiful Kent countryside than on horseback!

Horse riding offers a great workout for both the mind and body, physically boosting the cardiovascular system and mentally easing stresses on the mind.

Horse riding is recognised as having excellent therapeutic qualities. The psychological benefits can be of equal importance to riders as the physical benefits.

Simply being outdoors and enjoying the countryside will boost your general well-being and act as a great stress buster. There is a real sense of exhalation and freedom when you ride, a feeling that is second to none.

Furthermore, developing a relationship and sense of trust between yourself and your horse is highly rewarding. Learning to control and care for an animal much larger than yourself can have a profound affect on your confidence and is a great feeling.

One of our patients, who went horse riding yesterday exclaimed that he felt ¨at peace riding through the beautiful countryside¨.

All PROMIS patients can book horse riding treks through their focal counsellor as well as taking it a step forward with EAP (Equine Assisted Psychotherapy).

The word ‘tipi’ comes from the Lakota language and is made up of two elements: thi, which means ‘to dwell in’ and pi, which means ‘they dwell’.

No temporary structure is more beautiful, more comfortable, more robust or more practical. The tipi is strong enough to withstand fierce storms and is capable of being a comfortable home all year round and we will definitely be making it a permanent spring/summer structure, so that our patients can truly enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.

We have our very own tipi here at PROMIS Hay Farm, situated next to our camp fire; patients can relax by the evening fire and take shelter in the relaxing tipi complete with comfy cushions.

Patients will also be enjoying the tipi for relaxing sessions of acupuncture, shiatsu massage and hot stones, making the whole experience completely tranquil.

On Saturday afternoon half a dozen of us went out to learn to shoot clay pigeons. We were given some excellent tuition from Peter who helped us get on target.

Recovery should also be about having fun, we have a busy therapeutic schedule at PROMIS, learning new skills, but it is also just as important to learn how to enjoy free time without our addictions. Whether it’s horse riding, climbing or shooting, we will help our patients find their recovery fun as well as uplifting.