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Why Some People Say Yes, Yes, Yes to Rehab!
To date it has been considered almost a luxury booking into one of the UK's few rehab centres in spite of the so called stigma associated with admitting one's vulnerabilities. We have heard of Elizabeth Taylor popping in and out of rehabilitation clinics in the USA, and the exploits of George Michael, the eternally forgiven talented boy/man of music, but who would want to criticise any of them? More recently, the hugely talented Amy Winehouse popularised rehab, sadly and unwittingly.
Dale Conlon is senior admissions counsellor for TTCPP rehabilitation centre, one of the UK's leading centres. Dale told me that the three Centres, which are privately owned by the company, were started up because the Directors recognised it was apparent that there were no reasonably priced options for people who wanted a safe and peaceful environment and if necessary some assistance to wean them off of what they most wanted. "Our aim was to start an affordable clinic, an Easy Jet rather than a First-Class only service, if you like. We noticed that there was a huge gap in the market and we wanted to help people who could not afford the prices of 'Celebrity Care Support and Counselling'. Our clients still get private rooms with en-suite bathrooms but at an affordable price range."
People usually approach TTPCC through parents, loved ones, friends or addicts themselves. The company has an 83% success rate, which is monitored and assessed by the National Treatment Association. Everything has to comply with a set of rules, which are monitored by a compliance officer who reports the statistics. "We are only as successful as the next person who walks through our doors," says Dale. "Our biggest form of advertising is telling someone they have been sober or clean for a year."
And what about Marijuana, I asked Dale, are the reports and health consequences really as bad as they appear in the press? He told me of one resident who came to their centre suffering from Bullous disease. The condition damages the lungs, which in this case were caused by the burning of his lung linings from the impact of holding the intake of Cannabis deep inside. "Once the lungs are damaged badly," explained Dale, "it plays havoc on the bodies system and emphysema, diabetes can be some of the health problems that develop and attack the system further."
He went on to tell me about the multiple cannabis factories that are popping up everywhere, on high streets and in broad daylight in the north of England. Often these are set up without the landlord's or property owner's knowledge, having leased the property to someone and unaware that illegal practices are being held within their premises.
Despite this Dale finds that "there is huge job satisfaction. Our therapeutic team works on a face-to-face basis. Denial or lying is one of the obvious problems when people do not want to see their problems themselves. Many people carry around massive boulders, and others pick up so many little stones that it weighs the same. It can affect their families, destroy their lives; everyone around them is torn to pieces. The moral compass gets diluted when you are 'using'." Some people want to visit for a quick seven-day break, free from life's daily stresses and temptations while others require longer support and may need medication to assist in their withdrawal programme.
