There's no such thing as a perfect holiday season Society has largely agreed that Christmas is all about love and hope and family and togetherness. Yet, what many of us actually experience at Christmas is far from these ideals. We buy more than we can afford, commit to more than we have energy for, eat and drink to excess, and care for ourselves less than we ideally need. Many of us allow ourselves to be pressured into versions of Christmas that are not really satisfying or nourishing and that leave us feeling the opposite to what we should be feeling... read more

What the family need to know There are few things more distressing than watching someone you love head down a seemingly self-destructive path. Families and friends of those caught in the cycle of destructive behaviours often struggle to make sense of and cope with the crisis faced by their loved one, and find themselves at a loss in terms of knowing how to help. Just as the person suffering impacts their family, the family and others impacts them too. In this sense, the family’s power to support and invite change in their love one is often underestimated and misunderstood. More... read more

For many of us, the way in which this question is posed may result in a less than honest look at our drinking. When assessing ourselves against the term ‘alcoholic’ and what we believe it entails, it’s much easier to determine our patterns as normal, and brush over the impact drinking is having on our lives. The term alcoholic and whether we define ourselves as such is steeped in so much stigma and shame that we often stop short of a honest reflection of our relationship to alcohol. What if we were to reflect on our drinking in a different... read more