The Therapeutic Poet in conversation with Thomas Delaney

Understanding Addiction, Recovery, and Transformation

 

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Thomas Delaney, who shares his deeply personal journey from ketamine addiction to recovery and advocacy. During his recovery, Thomas has spoken to audiences in the thousands and reached an online global audience of over 20 million people.  He has spoken at some of the UK’s most significant wellbeing events and the world’s largest performance arts festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Thomas's story offers a raw and honest look into the complexities of addiction, the challenges of recovery, and the potential for profound personal transformation.

 

Key topics discussed:

 

1. The interplay between childhood trauma, intergenerational patterns, and addiction

2. Hierarchies within addiction and their impact on treatment and societal perceptions

3. The realities of residential treatment and the recovery process

4. Power dynamics and stigma surrounding addiction

5. Controversies of ketamine therapy for mental health treatment

6. The importance of addressing underlying causes rather than just symptoms

7. Finding purpose and meaning in life after addiction

 

Highlights:

 

- Thomas's courageous sharing of his personal experiences with addiction and recovery

- Insights into the nuanced nature of addiction and the challenges of seeking help

- Discussion on the use of substances to treat addiction and mental health issues

- Emphasis on holistic approaches to healing and recovery

- The power of finding purpose and meaning in recovery

 

Takeaways:

 

This episode underscores that recovery is not just about abstaining from substances, but about rebuilding a life filled with connection, purpose, and self-understanding. Thomas's journey offers hope and inspiration for anyone struggling with addiction or supporting someone on their recovery path.

 

Remember, healing is possible, and every step towards recovery is a victory worth celebrating.

 

Join addiction psychologist and poet Jacky Power and her guest Thomas Delaney  for this enlightening and thought-provoking conversation that aims to destigmatise addiction and help those affected feel less alone in their struggles.

Creators and Guests

Host

Jacky Power

What is Words in the Wilderness?

The Words in the Wilderness podcast is for those who have the conviction to make changes in their life as they drag their feet through the messy middle, crying into the void "it ends with me."

Led by Jacky Power - The Therapeutic Poet - these are conversations that look underneath the label, the diagnosis, the tidy explanation, at what's actually going on.

If you've made a decision to change your life and now you're in that wobbly, lonely bit where nobody quite gets what you're going through, I made this for you. Because I've been there. Many times.

Each episode starts with one of my own poems, using therapeutic poetry to set the scene. Sometimes it's just me, unpacking human tricky things. Sometimes it's a guest - a therapist, a coach, someone whose lived experience has taught them something worth passing on.

We talk about leaving what doesn't fit anymore, about breaking the patterns you inherited and don't want to leave as your legacy, about all your human tricky things that you've maybe been taught to hide.

I'm Jacky Power and I'm on a mission to rehumanise, one poem at a time. Reminding you that you have permission to feel and use those feelings as data to decode, not symptoms to squash.

Follow Jacky on Instagram: @the_therapeutic_poet
Find out more: www.jackypower.com
Listen to Jacky on Insight Timer: www.insighttimer.com/TheTherapeuticPoet
Join her on Substack`:www.jackypower.substack.com