Aquarius is a Midlands-based charity with over 40 years’ experience supporting individuals, families, organisations and communities to overcome the physical, emotional and psychological harms caused by alcohol, drugs and gambling.

From its earliest days, Aquarius adopted the functional model of drinking, seeing “drinking as an act that a person does, rather than helplessly suffers, and that drinking behaviour is learned and maintained in the context of the person’s whole life. This includes their biological predisposition, cultural background, family, employment, housing and personal and social issues."

Aquarius has always held the view that clients could resolve their problems with support and guidance and that people have the ability to find their own solutions to their problems.

The services Aquarius provides are underpinned by cognitive behavioural approaches and methodologies, all of which centre around the following concepts:

• People use substances, gamble and carry out certain behaviours in order to cope with a variety of problems
• People are responsible for their own thoughts, feelings and actions, and are capable of change
• With the right support at the right time, people can change their behaviours and find alternative ways in which to cope with their problems.

This recovery ethos is at the heart of Aquarius’ support, and drives our commitment to work alongside the people we support to discover new passions, meet new people and identify ways in which to challenge problem behaviours for a better future.