Jonathan Bellamy spoke with Laura Alm about the Genesis Process

Laura Alm

Gilead Foundations is a Christian Rehabilitation Therapeutic Community, offering a range of support services for people with life-controlling addictions. For the past five years they have been using the Genesis Process, an integration of proven relapse prevention techniques, cognitive therapy, Biblical principles, and the latest research in neurochemistry. The process has proven successful in maintaining long term recovery in clinical trials and recovery programmes. With a course coming up later this month, Jonathan Bellamy spoke with Laura Alm to find out more.

Jonathan: Briefly tell us a little bit about the work that you do at Gilead, because we often play the promo about your work on Cross Rhythms radio, but we've not unpacked what you do for quite a while.

Laura: OK. We're a Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre and we take both men and women and also families who've had addiction problems; aged between 18 and even to 65. We run the rehab with a Christian ethos, a Christian basis. We have work therapy because we're based on an organic dairy farm; so people get involved in the work therapy that's going on, as well as doing the relapse prevention course that we provide. In total, it's a year long course, for people to just get back on their feet and out of the addiction that they're in.

Jonathan: When we use the word addiction, it's not just the usual addictions that people might think of is it?

Laura: That's right yes. I mean the majority of people who come to us have either alcohol or drug addictions, but they can be very much connected with lots of other addictions as well. They can be food addictions, or self harm addictions, even work addictions; work addictions are especially tied with alcoholism. Then you've got sex addictions and all the things that come alongside with that. There are a lot of different addictions that people can be involved in.

Jonathan: This day long set of seminars that's taking place the end of September, it's about helping people to be able to get to grips with these kinds of self destructive behaviours isn't it?

Laura: That's right. The seminars are aimed at people who want to help people with addictions. So it can be people who are working in a counselling situation; or people in churches, even pastors who are just working with people in general. It's helping churches and people to reach out to the people out there who have addictions; whether they're big addictions like drug and alcohol or even simply anxiety and they just can't seem to get out of the rut that they're in.

Jonathan: So it's for people who recognise that they have issues that they want to get dealt with and it's also for people who want to learn how to be able to help those in similar circumstances?

Laura: That's right. Yeah, it kind of gives a taster of what can happen, the freedom that perhaps they've never experienced before.

Jonathan: This is called the Genesis Process. Have you used the Genesis Process at Gilead with some of the students that are there? If so what's been the success rate of it?

Laura: Yes we have. We've been using it for the past five years and we've also been doing counsellor training sessions every year as well, helping other people become counsellors too. We've had great success with this. Our success rate actually for people who complete the programme here; we got approximately a 90% success rate for those who've left our programme and we follow them up for two years afterwards. They're still doing well today as they put into operation the tools that they've learnt with the Genesis Relapse Prevention Course that we teach them.

Jonathan: That's a great success rate. So you know that it works!

Laura: Definitely, yeah. I wholeheartedly believe in it. I'm pretty passionate when I'm talking to people about the Genesis Process because I just know that it's something that really does bring people into a freedom in a very real way. It's not just airy fairy, its real tools that people can use on the day that they're having a problem, so yes, it's very good.

Jonathan: Even the name Genesis Process, sums up what it's about, because Genesis means, I understand, a new beginning.

August 2008 group that completed the 5 day Genesis training

Laura: That's right - yes. It's a new beginning for people who have had addiction problems, often - we get people - because it's a residential rehab people don't really come here unless they're at death's door, it's the end of the road; they've tried everything else and so often people have been in their addiction for 15, sometimes 20 years. When they come here they can find themselves a release by doing the Genesis Process, it's great just to work with people who finally the penny drops and you know it clicks in their head - ah I can see now, I can see what I need to do to get out of my addiction.

Jonathan: Just unpack a little bit the kind of things that people are going to learn on the day.

Laura: OK. I think - Dean Perry, he's actually coming over from America to take the day course and he's going to be talking a lot about the brain and about what physiologically it means to be an addict; what happens - the brain damage that happens when people get into addictions. Then also teaching the tools of how to recognise when you're going from recovery into relapse; then you can see the triggers and as you know your own triggers you can start controlling them and have a bit of control over the addiction that you're in.

Jonathan: Sounds extraordinary, it's actually quite scientifically based then.

Laura: Definitely, I mean that's what drew me to the Genesis Process - why I get very excited about it; because it's not just the spiritual side of things. It's very much the physical, the brain; you know the psychological; it kind of marries everything together in one package. Then also for the addict, they really start to understand their own addiction; it's not just someone's got to fix me. It's like, I've now got the tools to understand and fix myself. I find that very exciting.

Jonathan: Tell us where and when these day long seminars are taking place.

Laura: The first one is going to be on the 26th September and that's going to be held in London. I know London's a big place. I haven't got the actual address yet, but what I can give you is our website address to find out more info www.genesisprocess.org. The next one is going to be on 3rd October and that's in Wells at the Even Connect Centre. I've got a contact name and phone number for that one, Steven Fowler, 01749 677097. Then finally the one that's going to be down here in Devon on 10th October, that will either be in one of the churches in Okehampton or it will be at Gilead Foundations itself, because we're three miles outside of Okehampton and people can contact myself if they're interested in coming to that seminar, phone number 01837 851240 or on my email address which is laura.alm@gilead.org.uk.

Jonathan: Now there's one other thing that you're involved in. This is kind of a higher level. You'll have to explain, what's the difference between spending one day looking at this and a whole week long conference.

Laura: Well. The whole week conference that we're doing is from the 28th September through to the 2nd October; it's basically Monday to the Friday at the very end of September beginning of October. That's for people who want to become a Genesis counsellor, so if you're interested in actually counselling people and becoming a qualified counsellor then you would come to this five day course and you'd be trained up in the Genesis material and then you can be certified as a counsellor.

Jonathan: So you actually get a qualification at the end of it?

Laura: That's right.

Jonathan: Fantastic. Laura I presume it's the same details for yourself at Gilead?

Laura: Yes

Jonathan: Well I hope you get lots of response because it is a fantastic course as you say with a great success rate. That telephone number again to get Laura, or to find out more about the Genesis Process, both the one day events and the week long conference; telephone number 01837 851240.