Testimonials

Why we do what we do

You can’t just take our word for it. So see what previous attendees have had to say about our retreats and their experience.

Testimonial One

I’ve known Terry (from Came To Believe Recovery gang), for quite some time. I watched him progress through a 12 Step program – then started to hear him talk about doing retreats, and about Jesus etc.

Long story short- I’ve always felt antagonised by ‘Jesus’ and any particular religious sect… I came to the retreat – after a conversation with my lovely friend Paul, because I felt blocked from God and needed to enlarge my spiritual life.

When Dee asked us to pray our third step prayer (to Jesus!) – I was praying hard for God to help me set aside my preconceptions about Christianity, and just followed what I was being asked to do.

The time came to ask someone to listen to my step 5. I felt drawn to Graham, even though Graham told me he wasn’t an alcoholic. Graham reminded me that the Big Book suggests for us to read our step five with a clergyman. Again, I prayed to God, as I was unsure I had picked my step five listener correctly.

Graham and I spoke for a bit – then we prayed. He put his hand on my shoulder, and asked God to help me find the willingness to be willing to forgive myself…

In that moment – sat on a bench in front of people milling around and some ducks quacking, the sun was shining. Graham said you are now unblocked – I felt that I was in the presence of God… I became uncontrollably emotional.

I believe that God (with Graham’s help) gave me permission to forgive myself.

It is now one day later. I’m sitting at work, in a job that I don’t particularly want to be doing, welling up with emotions. I’m eighteen years clean, but this is the first time I’ve ever truly forgiven myself.

I have been set free – on a Came To Believe Recovery retreat, at a Monastery in Aylesford. Right in front of lots of people and lots of ducks.

Thank you all – with all my heart 

Testimonial 4

I have been in the fellowship of AA since April 2025. I hadn’t, until 9th September 2025, been successful at achieving total sobriety, struggling with several one-day sprees.

Although I had completed step three prior to this date, I was unable to stay on the right path.

On the 9^th September, in desperation, I prayed as hard as I could and asked God to help me, as I could not help myself.

I continued to pray on a regular basis and noticed the obsession to drink lift. I spoke to my sponsor and suggested it may be a coincidence. It was at this point that she introduced me to the idea of attending a CTBR retreat.

I attended the Hertfordshire retreat on 17^th -19^th October 2025.

The challenges I was facing at the time were: limited spells of sobriety, procrastination over Step 4 of the programme, my thinking was running completely riot, and I faced incredibly low self-esteem and lack of confidence.

What I gained from the retreat was the consolidation that God could help and that it was not a coincidence. Going through the steps at such a pace (which was how it was done originally) helped to lift the fear that was causing me to struggle with moving further than Step 3.

Feeling the love and the warmth and witnessing people experiencing spiritual awakenings gave me a growing faith and belief.

Since leaving the retreat, I have continued to make conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation on a daily basis, and logged on weekly to the CBTR UK Zoom meeting. I am now able to calm my thinking (most of the time), so I am no longer in constant turmoil as I am learning to hand things over. This has been the biggest change, as my head was the problem, and the alcohol was the medicine. Now God is my manager, and prayer and meditation my medicine.

I felt supported during the retreat by both past attendees and facilitators, who engaged me in welcoming and informative talks, as well as light-hearted conversation. I felt at ease for the whole weekend.

Meeting like-minded people has been an incredibly important part of my recovery journey because I no longer find myself feeling alone and misunderstood. It has made me feel like I am part of a family.

I feel that the 12 Step 1-5 session stood out to me, as this was where I was struggling prior to attending; however, the whole experience has been a game-changer for me. I was able to take something positive and helpful from every session and every member of the team.

The atmosphere and environment of the retreat were welcoming, calming, warm, with superb surroundings and incredibly efficient centre staff.

I see my recovery journey improving the longevity of my sobriety. My thinking is so much more positive now than the doom, gloom, and depression. I feel I can begin to learn who I was meant to be before this insidious disease. Even better, I can start to enjoy life and carry the word to others who suffer.

I would thoroughly recommend the CTBR retreat to anybody who is struggling with a spiritual malady, or is curious or needs their faith strengthened. In fact, I would go as far as to recommend it to anyone.

If anyone came to me and was unsure whether to attend or not, I would say go for it. It was a game-changer for me. What have you got to lose? There is so much to be gained.

Testimonial 1 – One Year On

I was 18 years clean and sober- but in desperate need of a closer connection to God. I didn’t really know how to enlarge my spiritual life to be honest. I’ve always secretly belittled the idea of a retreat and “doing” the steps in a couple of days… but I was desperate. I tried it and had a life-changing experience. Suddenly I was freed from the burden of not being able to forgive myself- for eighteen years… I am still free of that burden, I didn’t even realise I hadn’t forgiven myself until I was given permission to do it- in an amazing, emotional, spiritual 30 seconds. It happened in full public view at the pond in Aylesford Priory and changed me forever.

Finally being able to forgive myself created a ripple effect in my life. My partner, especially, could clearly see that something fundamental had shifted. I’ve honestly never felt so grounded and confident – ever!

I’m the most grounded, mature, humble, non-argumentative, helpful person than I’ve ever been. I would be lying to say I don’t still have moments where I want to tell everyone off – but I’m genuinely more relaxed about life. Even being the father of a very lively eight year old. He isn’t terrified of me, and that means the world to me.

I haven’t experienced any setbacks or relapse- my life has improved immeasurably. I just keep working the program and seeking God’s will… not mine be done. Doing service and trying to give back is vital for me- not least to keep me as spiritually fit as possible.

Testimonial 5

In the final years of my drinking, I found it nearly impossible to stop. What might begin as a single drink would spiral into days, weeks, and on several occasions, months of daily drinking. From the moment I opened my eyes each morning, I would drink around the clock, eventually becoming gravely ill.

I lost the ability to work, and I became unable to see my partner, my daughter, or any family member. My life became a revolving door of hospital visits, only to return home and immediately buy more alcohol. I would lie in bed, desperately ill, unable to escape the torture of my own addiction.

I am a proud man – a proud father who takes care of his appearance. But when I was drinking, I became unrecognisable. I had no sense of self-care.

I was hospitalised multiple times, sectioned, and even imprisoned, all while blackout drinking. Eventually, I ended up in a rehabilitation centre. That should have been enough to convince me I had a problem, but even after years of drinking and consequences, and six months of attending AA without genuinely following the suggestions, I still hadn’t fully accepted it.

One evening, I decided I would have just one bottle of wine to quiet my mind. That single decision led to another three weeks of drinking. I lost my job and, once again, connection with my young daughter. I ended up in another treatment centre – though at the time, I didn’t feel lucky; covered in cuts and bruises, desperately ill and malnourished. It was then that it finally struck me: I could never drink safely. One drink was never just one.

In rehab, sitting among other patients and counsellors, I listened as they spoke about peace and serenity, something they said I could find if I was willing to work the 12 Steps. Having no answers left and years of trying to do things my own way, I felt crushed and battered. I looked at my counsellor, Binz – who years later remains a good friend – and said, “If this will bring peace to my life, I’m willing to give it my best shot.”

Without realising it, that was the beginning of my sober journey.

After leaving rehab 28 days later, I went to an AA convention that very first weekend. Soon after, a friend told me about a “Came to Believe Recovery” retreat. The idea of working through the steps in a single weekend appealed to me. I was desperate, willing to try anything to stay sober and well.

Though I was apprehensive, the weekend took place on beautiful grounds in Kent. The team running it were amazing, friendly, and guided us steadily through the work. It was freeing, inspiring, and it propelled me forward into my journey of sobriety.

For a long time, I attended AA but deliberately left out the spiritual side of things. I couldn’t understand how God could help me stop drinking or keep me from picking up a drink. What I’ve since learned is that being spiritually fit wasn’t just helpful, it was exactly what I’d been missing.

Once I embraced this, I felt armed with a genuine defence against that first drink. I got involved, took on a commitment, and stayed connected with others. I’ve now attended many retreats, and I’ve discovered that showing up for others helps me tremendously in return.

My most painful times in recovery have been recent losses, a close friend, and my uncle, whom I was very fond of, who passed while I was in my second rehab. Two years into my recovery, I lost a close family friend, only 35 years old, to alcohol. I was asked to carry his coffin and felt deeply honoured to speak at his funeral. These experiences have shown me that recovery gives us the strength to show up for the people we love, even in grief.

These last few years have been, quite simply, the most amazing of my life. I reached out to an old friend, Jamie, who I knew from my drinking days, he had five years sober. Together, we’ve climbed Ben Nevis and Snowdon. I took my first sober holiday, and a year later, we took our kids to Thailand. Watching my daughter snorkelling and riding through the jungle on mopeds in Koh Chang with her on the back saying, “Dad, we’re in a jungle”? Those moments are simply unbelievable.

Eventually finding peace within myself meant that me and her mum, my partner of 17 years, were able to come back together. We’ve enjoyed multiple family holidays, just the three of us, and we’re now 20 years together.

CTBR UK continues to give me that essential spiritual connection. I see it in others – how it changes their lives just as it changed mine. I see it in people new to sobriety, and even those with short recovery times who are completely new to this way of living.

If addiction is costing you more than just money – if it’s taking your jobs, relationships, peace, serenity, or health, and if you want to live a fulfilling life; I cannot recommend CTBR UK enough. It has the power to change your life.

To sum all this up: I like to joke the first 40 years of childhood have been difficult. Now, I navigate beautifully through life, even when faced with challenges. I’ve finally found a way to live.

Have a story you want to share?

Have you attended a retreat before and would be happy to share your story? Testimonials show what the experience of attending a retreat can bring, which can help those who are on the fence to take the plunge into finding freedom for their addiction. We can also create a fully anonymised case study, to allow us to apply for funding to reach those in need.