What have our industry peers said of their experience of attending Music Support’s Addiction & Recovery workshop?

Participants who have completed Music Support’s Addiction & Recovery Workshop have told us the following:

97% improved their personal knowledge and understanding about addiction
96% improved their confidence in recognising the signs and symptoms of addiction
96% improved their personal knowledge of the factors that perpetuate the cycle of addiction
95% improved their confidence about starting a conversation aimed at guiding an individual towards recovery

I honestly needed this workshop as I've been working with some people who are really struggling. It was a breath of fresh air to take a step back and look at the information without emotional attachment.

I loved being in the space with other people in recovery…as I felt it brought an extra element of empathy for people, too. I genuinely believe we changed people’s minds and opened their hearts in this space.

It was an insightful and informative session. Norman is a great trainer, putting everyone at ease, and being open about his own lived experience does make a difference. I've gone away having learnt a lot that I know that I can put into practice.

I really enjoyed the course, going into it I thought four hours seemed like a long time but it went very quickly in a good way! The facilitator was excellent, one of if not the best I've come across. I thought there was a really good mix of presentation and group work which I found helpful

“I gained a lot from this experience and found the course very insightful. I felt at ease and enjoyed the group discussions because everyone had a chance to voice their opinions and share knowledge. It was great to learn in a friendly environment and I feel more confident in discussing this subject going forward which is something I really wanted to achieve from the course.”

“Incredibly positive and welcoming learning environment. Norman made learning easy yet such in-depth information was shared. Loved the group approach to it, much more presence by everyone than a solely presentation-based course. I had never seen the breakout room function on zoom before and found it great! the interactive style really bought about a focus and presence from the participants and everyone was made very comfortable to speak. Norman was everything I had heard he would be – a total gem and a wonderful fountain of knowledge”.

“Norman was an excellent and very warm facilitator. It was very engaging with good use of breakout rooms for group work. The real-life experiences provided a human element to the training and the fact a lot of it was backed up with personal experiences meant a lot. Norman created a safe space for us to explore a potentially sensitive and personal subject and I personally felt comfortable by the end to be able to share my lived experience. The materials were brilliant, and the cycle of addiction and recovery really helped me gain a much more in depth understanding of the process”.

“This was by far the most welcoming yet thorough workshop on addiction/recovery I’ve attended. I found it to be informative on the science of addiction as well as the step work, yet very easy to follow. I could have used this when I was in treatment!”

“It was a great experience with so much helpful information and very worthwhile. I would highly recommend this course to others. I came away from the workshop with a much better understanding of addiction and recovery and feel I would be more confident to talk to someone about this in the future”.

“I just wanted to take a minute to thank you properly for your inspiring delivery yesterday. This course was a real eye opener for me in some respects, not least as it made me realise, somewhat starkly, how far I have yet to go in terms of my own recovery. I feel that the foundation you provided with this course will undoubtedly set us all in good stead to go forwards in helping others to forge positive paths for themselves.”

Click here for further information on the Addiction & Recovery workshop.

Click here for available dates and to apply.

Click here for workshop assets to share with your peers who work in music and live events.

Thank you to The BRIT Trust, Backup Tech, TPG, We Need Crew, Hipgnosis, Massive Attack and Rock-It Global for your initial funding that enabled more than 300 music industry peers to attend the workshop.

Thank you also to Backup Tech and Stagehand for your recent funding to keep the workshop running free of charge to freelance production workers.