Steve's
Successes
Sex
Addiction Clinic Opens in the Fylde - Read PDF
ITV's
This Morning - Chat
Show with Philip Schofield and Holly discussing sex addiction
issues
Danny
James says he has paid a high price for his compulsive sexual
behaviour. Sex addiction is in the news, following Tiger Wood's
infidelities,
treatment for sex addiction, and press conference where he apologised
for his behaviour. Holly & Phil are joined by Danny, 27,
and his therapist Steve Pope.
Danny's
compulsive behaviour has led him to sleep with more than
500 women. He believes his problems date back to his teenage
years: "I was out every night with my mates, getting drunk,
hitting the clubs and pulling girls and along with this came
drugs."
Danny
continues: "I got into a cycle of dependency
where sex gave me a feeling of self worth. It was the same
kind of
feeling I got when taking drugs."
Danny's
addiction cost him his relationship with the mother of his
child, and led
him to close his tattoo business down.
Danny
says: "I was suicidal and couldn't go out. I felt
completely empty but I didn't know what to do about it.
My mum and dad
knew I had a problem with drugs (not sex) so contacted
Steve for help."
Since
he's been in therapy, Danny has realised that his addiction
may have been triggered
by traumatic events in
his past: "I
think part of my problem was low self-worth: I needed
to feel needed."
Danny
says life is good now: "I
am just starting up a tattoo shop in Liverpool, I see
my daughter all the time and I have
started a new relationship, although we are taking
it slow."
Therapist
Steve says there is help out there: "When
I speak to addicts I let them know they are not alone, that
their addiction
is not a weakness, its an addictive cycle."
Jeremy
Kyle Documentary with Steve Pope
“
Our researches came across Steve when they were preparing for
the ‘Jeremy Kyle Confronts Crack Cocaine’ programme. The
number of young, British people using cocaine and crack as a
recreational drug is higher than many other countries. On that
basis we wanted to look at what it is, where it comes from and
what it does to people.
Steve has been through the mill having started using drugs
leisurely at weekends and ended up losing virtually everything
that was
important in his life at that time. He paid a fairly ultimate
price for something that started recreationally.
He is a good illustration of what can happen to people and
the fact he is recovered and now helping people is key to our
programme.”
Speak
Out to Stop Bullying at Work
Blackpool Gazette - Published Date: 23 February 2010
FYLDE
coast employees are being encouraged to break their silence
over bullying
in the workplace.
It comes as calls are made for an inquiry into allegations
of bullying in Downing Street after claims Prime Minister Gordon
Brown grabbed staff by the lapels, shoved them aside and shouted
at them.
Steve
Pope, a Bispham-based counsellor, said workplace bullying often
stems from fear, which employers can nip in the
bud by
holding workshops to tackle potential issues.
He
said: "Bullying – verbal
or physical – can
lead to depression and anxiety. People can become emotionally
overloaded. It can end up affecting the whole family because
of what is happening to someone at work.
" A
lot of local employers consult us. We go to the work environment
and talk about people who may unwittingly be part of
bullying. It can be because of colour, creed, intellectual
ability, physical
disability or people's accents.
" We
look at stress and anger management. We get people to embrace
diversity, knowledge and respect."
Hugh
Evans, director of policy at North and Western Lancashire Chamber
of Commerce,
based at Blackpool Business Park,
said: "Workplace
bullying has no place in modern business. The most prized
asset of any business is its employees, and so establishing
positive
working relationships within the workforce is essential
if the business is to thrive and prosper. Most businesses
have clear
established policies and procedures to ensure that these
relationships are dev-eloped and maintained."
Martin
Hunns, chairman of Cleveleys Traders Association, owns
the Carousel Cafe on Victoria Road West.
He said it's vital to have a good relationship with
staff. He said: "It's difficult because people may feel they could
jeopardise their jobs if they speak up but they should tell someone
about it. We have a good bunch of staff and we have a joke with
them. If you're nice and friendly with them, they respect you
more.
" I
think what's going on at the moment with Downing Street will
probably lead it to become more out in the open.
Maybe this will make more people come forward."
The
row over bullying at Downing Street exploded after claims in
a
book by political commentator Andrew Rawnsley.
It prompted the founder of the National Bullying
Helpline, Christine Pratt, to confirm the helpline
had received
several calls from
Downing Street. But now a patron of the charity,
Professor Cary Cooper – an
expert on workplace stress at Lancaster University – has
ann-ounced his resignation after accusing Mrs Pratt
of breaching confidentiality.
He
said: "I'm
resigning now on the grounds that I think she
breached confidentiality. One of the things that is really
important for any helpline or any counselling
service is to retain
confidentiality of the people calling up."
Mrs
Pratt denied allegations of breaching confidentiality,
insisting she had taken her decision to speak
out as a result of a denial issued by Downing
Street over the claims of bullying.
Sorry
confessions of a maneater
Lancashire
Evening Post - Published Date: 10 February 2010
Sex
addiction is not just for men – women struggle with
the condition too. Health Reporter Aasma Day talks to one Lancashire
woman who found herself out of control.
Variety
is the spice of life – or so Jane told herself
whenever she indulged in yet another sexual encounter with
a stranger. Like many young people, Jane found alcohol loosened
her inhibitions and she went from being a shy person to the
life and soul of
the party. Jane, now 38, of Frenchwood, Preston, says: "It
all started when I was about 18 or 19 and going out drinking
in pubs and
clubs.
" I was quite a shy person normally, so alcohol was the instigator
for my behaviour. I would go out and then end up in compromising
situations with strangers.
" At first, it just happened whenever I had a drink. But it soon
escalated and it took over my life and became an addiction.
" It
became something compulsive that I just had to do. I would
go out with the sole intention of finding a sexual partner."
At
first, Jane felt her behaviour was no different to that of
many of her friends as they too were going
out
binge-drinking
and having one-night stands. But Jane found herself
trapped in the cycle, and would be driven by a desperate need
to sleep with someone
new whenever
possible. Jane explains: "It started off with
me just wanting to be with someone and wanting to
be loved.
But then it took over my
life and I didn't just want to be with one man – I
wanted lots of them. I felt that the more people
who loved me, the better. I
cannot even remember how many sexual partners I have
had and some of them, I can't remember at all, which
is an awful feeling."
" They
were mainly one-night stands and any relationship I did have
would be short-lived. I think I have probably slept with
more than 300 men, which is a frighteningly high
number."
Jane
says she just couldn't stay faithful to any man as she was
hooked on the excitement of
finding
a new
partner.
She explains: "I was constantly chasing that feeling of
thrill. It was the excitement of finding a
new man, the chase and all the build-up I was addicted to. The
ultimate thrill for me was to have sex whenever and wherever
I could with a new partner."
But
like most sex addicts, Jane found her happiness was short-lived
and soon after each encounter,
she would
feel dirty and used. To combat this, she
would find herself another man to have sex with to make her
feel happy
again.
Jane
says: "The more
men I had, the better I felt about myself.
But then I would come off my high and feel
worse
about myself, so to counteract that, I would
go and find
someone else to sleep with. I was always looking for that thrill and sleeping
with
new people gave me a high and became like
a drug."
" But
it took over my life and on many days, I would not be able
to get up and go to work because I felt so exhausted and ashamed.
When you are sleeping with strangers, you are also putting
yourself
in dangerous situations as you don't
know who you are with or what they are capable of. I am very
lucky that I haven't ended
up dead. I have had a few close shaves
where my friends have come to my rescue."
Jane
began feeling disgusted with herself
and went through a lot of tears and
anger before
eventually
seeking help.
She decided she needed therapy and
was recommended to Steve Pope, a psychotherapist
and counsellor
of Steve
Pope Associates.
Jane
says: "Steve
was really good and listened to everything
I had to say. I never felt judged
by him and he helped me understand how I had got myself into
those situations.
" With his help, I have now got my life back together."
Jane
is now in a stable relationship and has a young child and admits
she still finds some
days
a struggle, but gets a lot of support from her partner. Jane says: "It
took a very long time for me to realise how and when my sex addiction started
and to accept I had a problem. I think a lot of people are disbelieving that
sex as an addiction exists.It is important for people to realise how widespread
sex addiction is becoming in society. More promiscuity
is promoted on TV and in magazines, so people accept that is how people behave
and
start seeing it as normal behaviour."
Jane's
name has been changed to protect
her identity.
Dozens
of People in Preston Addicted to Sex
Lancashire
Evening Post - Published Date: 08 February 2010
Health
chiefs are accused of failing Lancashire's sex addicts as it
emerged dozens of
people in Preston have the controversial
condition.In the past year, experts have privately treated
more than 60 men and women from Lancashire suffering from sex
addiction. And they believe hundreds more people could have
the affliction, which hit the headlines amid lurid stories
about golfer Tiger
Woods' private life.
Reformed
sex addict Danny James, 27, from Freckleton, near Preston,
who has bedded more than 500 women,
said: "Sex addiction
led to the breakdown of a long-term relationship and ruined
my business. I think a lot of people think sex addiction
isn't a real problem and that those who say they have it
are just greedy or
weak.Sex addiction is treated like a joke, but it is a real problem
and it took over my life."
While
celebrities such as Woods check into rehabilitation clinics
for sex addiction,
many people view the condition
with cynicism,
saying it is simply a convenient excuse. But one Lancashire
therapist today revealed sex addiction is very much a real
problem and that he alone saw around
65 sex
addicts for treatment last year. Steve Pope, a psychotherapist
and counsellor who lives in Garstang, said: "Human beings
can be addicted to anything; alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping,
sports, shopping...and
sex.
"
If someone has an addictive personality, they can potentially
get addicted to anything. As an act, sex results
in an adrenaline rush and if it is a clandestine relationship,
there is adrenaline through the build-up. There is a lot
of excitement in the chase, then the physical meeting and then
the actual act. All the happy chemicals are released – adrenaline,
endorphins and serotonin."
Experts
claim about 6% of the population are sexually addicted and
Steve criticised the NHS for
failing to
provide specialist
services to treat sex addiction.
He
said: "The
NHS does not offer specific services aimed at sex
addicts and I think this is a real failing. It is sad that
the NHS does not cover all forms of addictions.If
it is not alcohol or drug-related, the NHS seems
blissfully unaware of the problems affecting society at large."
And
it is not just men who suffer from the condition. Steve
counselled one 31-year-old Preston woman who was addicted
to sex and would go out every
night to find a sexual
partner.
He
said: "She was an intelligent girl who had had
hundreds and hundreds of partners. Even though
she knew she could die – either from picking
up a sexual disease or from getting herself
into a dangerous situation – she just couldn't stop. Knowing she was putting
herself in potentially dangerous situations actually heightened the adrenaline
and thrill
for her as it made her feel she was living life on the edge."
" In
the space of six months, she had 127 sexual partners and came
to us for treatment after things got completely
out of control and she ended up having sex on Preston's Moor Park with
seven strangers in one night."
Lancashire
Care NHS Foundation Trust, the mental health trust for the
area and NHS
Central Lancashire,
the
Primary Care
Trust covering Preston, Chorley and South
Ribble, both confirmed they do not offer
a specific
sex addiction service.
Talk of The Town is Inspirational
Evening GazettePublished Date:
29 May 2009
FLEETWOOD
Town FC hope that inspirational talks by one of their key signings
will help solve some social problems
... and we
don't mean one of the Highbury club's players. As part of its
commitment to putting something back into the community, Town
have made club psychotherapist Steve Pope available
to give free talks to local groups. His powerful message has
already spread further afield to Blackburn, where he gave a
talk at the Young Offenders Institute.
The
visit was arranged by Fleetwood striker Andy Bell, whose father
Norman works at
the institute.
Norman, a former Blackburn and Wolves player, may well have
crossed paths with Steve, who was on Chelsea's books, as
a teenager.
An
FA-approved sports psychologist, Pope also specialises in addictions,
depression, stress, life balance,
grief and
loss
issues and eating disorders. Steve himself beat a cocaine
addiction and Town felt he would prove an inspirational speaker
for young people.
Andy
Bell said: "The institute in Blackburn
offers one-to-one counselling, drug and alcohol awareness
sessions, as well as
help with family issues, accommodation and training.
It is also a drop-in centre where the young people can relax
and
socialise."
Pope,
who has a private practice in Hambleton, said: "I
grew up in London and Fleetwood, and I saw children's
lives destroyed before they had even begun through poverty,
abuse, violence,
drugs, alcohol, urban decay and no family support."
Of
his own drug problems, he added: "I had
no hope and no future but because of some inspirational
people
I resurrected
my life. If my story can give hope, strength and
courage to these children in trouble and show them
there is a way out it is a job well
done. It shows the role that football clubs can play
in helping the youth of Lancashire in these troubled
times.
" I
work with the social welfare issues and my colleagues work
hard on our football in the community programme
to give children a chance."
Fall from grace?
Evening Gazette - Published Date: 27 May 2009
With
politicians in the duckhouse – rather than doghouse – can
faith in our parliamentary system ever be restored?
The expenses scandal has disillusioned a great British public
already calling for economic leaders to atone for greed which
sent the world into recession. Now the whole house of cards
is tumbling down it's no joke even to the court jesters in
the pack.
But, love them or loathe them, we can't live without politicians.
Not with the county council and European elections looming
- and others counting the minutes to the General Election.
All
offer a mandate for change at local, national and European
level, for those who choose to use it. Yet opinion polls show
our growing disillusionment with politicians may feed inertia
rather than an impetus for action. Tory leader David Cameron,
quick to distance himself from fellow MPs as culpable of "unacceptable" expense
claims as Labour's overlords - with one Conservative grandee
lodging that
now infamous "duckhouse" claim - has seized the expenses
scandal as the initiative to reform parliament.Yesterday he
called for power to be handed from the "political
elite" to the "man and woman on the street." But
what does the man and woman on the street – and one
of our own MPs – have to say about it all?
STEVE
POPE - Hambleton-based psychotherapist, and Fleetwood Town's
mental fitness guru: "My
work, on raising awareness of drug issues Over Wyre, has brought
me into contact with the
local
MP Ben Wallace. Politics, for me, begins at home. Forget international
threats, and global warming, and connect with the average guy
on the street who is completely disillusioned.
Vote,
not for a party, or manifesto, but the character who can
make a change for the better."
"I'm
a socialist but Gordon Brown's position is untenable. We must
make politicians accountable rather
than let men in power
fleece the average Joe on the street. We should vote with our
consciences– Politicians have fallen
from pedestals. They are in it for their egos, and insecurities
- look at how many have addiction issues."
ARTHUR
ROE, Blackpool war veteran, and Lancashire's Help for Heroes
co-ordinator: "
I've
never trusted politicians. I'm all for reform, so much
is wrong with our political system. People
fought to protect democracy. We haven't got it. But what
I haven't lost is faith in my country - just its leaders.
"I'm
old enough to remember George V's visit to Bolton, all
us kids went out, and
sang Jerusalem,
and Land of Hope and Glory, and left with a tin of
chocs from the King, and our school teacher, Miss Butler, taught
us songs
about the yeomen of England. I'm still a card-carrying
Conservative and I'll use my vote for their values – but
I'd still rather like to see Guy Fawkes come back..."
JEAN
HANCOCK, former chairman of South Shore Ladies Conservatives,
and campaigner for blind disability equal rights: "I
think it's disgusting that MPs, of all parties, can
swindle us out
of all this money, and give peerships and golden handshakes
to those who blatantly err, yet blind people have to
wait until
2011 for a paltry £20 increase our disability
living allowance to put us on the higher rate with
others who
can see."
"Politics,
at any level, is such a dirty business I've walked away from
it, and it makes me feel I just
don't
want to
vote, but I've voted at every election, and will,
because my family
has always been in politics, Liberal as well as Conservative,
and we go back to the founding fathers of Blackpool,
William Cocker, the first Mayor of Blackpool, married
my great-great-aunt. History teaches you the wisdom
of using your vote. I will use mine, in the European elections,
in protest
at current
policies.
Politicians must ensure they are not all tarred with
the same brush."
GORDON
MARSDEN, historian and Blackpool South Labour MP - hailed as
one of the "frugal
few" in
a national league table of MPs expenses: "It's
the politics of disconnection. People feel out
of control. There's no quick fix. We need sensible
people across the political spectrum.
I don't want constituents to feel disconnected
from their MPs.
At least
now they can identify their local MP is, like or
loathe them, unlike their Euro representatives.
MPs need greater
focus
to go on the valuable work they do rather than
the weekly bear
baiting at PM Question Time."
"The
old culture of deference has gone, not just to MPs but doctors,
police officers, teachers,
others
in authority.
It's no bad thing.
Too many lorded it and got away with stuff that
way. But we've gone to the other extreme, the
default
position is
distrust.
We need a robust situation where people understand
the complexity
of issues otherwise the shock jocks of politics
will
rule the roost. The late John Smith said the
opportunity to
serve is
all we ask. Just because some don't live up to
those standards doesn't
automatically make all corrupt or culpable. We
need to give people real hope - mine comes from
my faith
in young
people
today, whose
knowledge of the big issues, and how to make
a difference, is much greater than young people of
15 years ago."
Drugs
Link to Guns' Fear
The Courier (Garstang) - February 22, 2007
THE
outspoken ex-solicitor leading the town's anti-drugs drive
claims the drug-fuelled gun-related
violence witnessed in London
could spread into places such as Garstang if such areas' drugs
sub-culture is not challenged.
Anti-drugs
campaigner Steve Pope upped the ante in the Garstang's highly
emotional drugs debate
saying: "The drug problem
is endemic countrywide. What we have seen on the TV news
in past few weeks - kids with weapons - is something that,
if
not here
already, is something that will be here".
MP's
Drugs Warning
Garstang Courier - Published Date: 21 December
2006
WYRE
MP Ben Wallace has written to the government's drugs minister
urging him to be cautious over a recommendation to
downgrade
Ecstasy and LSD from Class A to Class B. Speaking against the
background of the current controversy in Garstang over the
drug misuse in the town Mr Wallace said
those
thinking of downgrading the categories of dangerous drugs should
realise the move "would make matters far worse for the
community."
Professor David Nutt who chairs a committee of a drugs advisory
council suggested the downgrading to the Commons' all-party
Science and Technology committee.
Mr
Wallace, who has been following the drugs debate in Garstang
highlighted in recent weeks by The
Courier, said "A drugs review
was under way by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
If Ecstasy and LSD are downgraded, the prison sentence for
possession
and supplying would be significantly reduced".
Drugs
Minister Vernon Coaker has said he would examine any recommendation
put forward by the ACMD.
Mr Wallace said: "Though, I am sure that those who sit on
the Advisory Council are very knowledgeable about drugs
and their effects, I also have no doubt that if they came to
Wyre, and
witnessed first hand the drugs problem that exists here,
they would realise that downgrading of dangerous drugs would
make
matters far worse for the community."
He
said he would be writing to Dr Coaker urging him to be "very
cautious, no matter the recommendations of the ACMD,
over any suggestions to downgrade the likes of Ecstasy and
LSD
from Class
A to Class B."
Mr
Wallace said he had taken note of the views of Mr Steve Pope
of Stalmine, who has "warned
of the drugs crisis that the Wyre is currently facing."
Mr
Pope has already claimed that he has evidence of teenage girls
turning to prostitution to fund their habit and
youngsters snorting
cocaine on the playing field next to the police station.
Mr
Pope has set up an email address - drugsawarewyre
@aol.com - where people can ask for advice on drugs.
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