FAQ's

Only you really know the answer to this question, it’s not really for us to decide. A lot of people get into the trap of thinking ‘I’m not as bad as that person’ or ‘I don’t drink in the morning’ or ‘I don’t drink when I’m at work’. These could all be seen as justifications for someone to continue to use or drink. Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter what, or how much someone is engaging in addictive behaviour, if it is causing a problem for you, then it is causing a problem for you. 

Whether you need rehab, will depend on a number of factors, but ultimately if you have tried to stop of your own accord and weren’t able to, then you will need some form of support and treatment. There are many different options out there, but in our experience, rehab is the most effective form of treatment and if you are able to dedicate the time to go to rehab, it could be a life-changing decision which will reward you and everyone you know, for the rest of your life.

If you are drinking over 16 units of alcohol on a daily basis, and have done so for a period of even just a week, then it is quite likely that you will need a medically supervised detox. To attempt to abstain from daily alcohol consumption, without medical intervention can be highly dangerous, even life threatening. If you are taking opiates, or an opiate based prescription medication, then it is also likely that you will have developed an opiate dependency, and will require opiate detox. For most other substances, such as cocaine, ketamine and cannabis – these are not drugs which stimulate a physical dependency; there is no UK health body regulations or guidance which suggest that medical treatment is required, which indicates that people with addictions to these substances, have psychological, not physical addictions.

This is a question we are commonly and rightly asked by people looking for treatment. We measure it in three simple ways: Completion of detox – how many people arrive at the service with a physical dependency and complete the medical treatment, leaving the service physically free from that dependency. Completion of rehab programme. Whether a person agrees to stay for 2 weeks, 28 days or 3 months – how many of those people complete the programme that they set out to do. The third measure is the long term success rate, which we evaluate at 3 months post completion of treatment. We believe that if someone that attends our service is still completely abstinent from all substances, 3 months after leaving us, then we believe that we have accomplished what we set out to achieve. By reaching three months of sobriety after leaving TLC Rehab, you will have evidenced to us that you can fulfil your goal of long-term recovery, and all you have to do is, keep doing what you have been doing. 

It is TLC Rehab’s goal to continuously update you as to our progress and the progress of the people we have treated, by publishing our success rates as a piece of live data on this website.

Again this is a question that is difficult to answer. For most people, the longer someone stays in rehab the better the long term outcome will be. This makes obvious sense, as people staying in rehab for longer periods have more time to reflect on their past experiences and learn skills, tools and strategies for recovery. Breaking and building habits is also important. The more time someone spends building a new habit, the greater the chances that they will maintain this habit in the future. 

That said, it is our philosophy that the most important aspect to consider when answering the question of time…..is Quality over quantity. We have seen many people attend the service for 10 days, and stay sober for life and we have also seen people stay for 12 weeks and relapse on the way home. The take-away here is that if you are truly motivated and deeply committed to wanting to change, you will put the effort in, both in and after the rehab. If you are coming to rehab because you feel you are being forced to, and you haven’t really ‘had enough’, then spending longer in rehab isn’t going to benefit you that much.

Long story short, we would always recommend an absolute minimum of 14 days, ideally 28 days. This will give you ample time to build rapport with the team, undergo some intensive therapy and start building those new habits of change. We find that most people that come to rehab love it so much, they always want to stay longer, but often can’t due to time commitments, family and work life. 

No. Unlike many rehabs in the UK, we don’t base our treatment model around the 12-step programme. This is not to say that we don’t believe it works, because it is without doubt that for many people the 12-step programme has given them a platform to achieve abstinence from substances. However, we think that the understanding around all aspects associated with addiction, from the physiological and psychological to sociological and economic factors, have changed enormously since the AA programme was developed in 1930. We also believe that people can access 12-step based recovery programmes anywhere in the world, free of charge, so if you are paying for private rehab, you should be getting more for your money. 

Our rehab programme is based around the ABC’S treatment model and has been developed in association with our team of dynamic, integrative and eclectic Psychotherapists and has the scope to include treatment methodologies and interventions, including but not limited to EMDR, Equine Therapy, Art Therapy and Music Therapy. Evidence also shows that optimal nutrition, diet and exercise, i.e., looking after the body, can have a significant role in how we feel emotionally – so we have a strong focus on this holistic approach to ‘getting better’ – which is what our clients want to achieve. 

That’s not to say that we can’t and won’t use the 12 step programme. We have intentionally hired staff who are in 12 step recovery, so that we can educate our clients as to what it is, at is also our belief that our clients need to be able to use as many tools and techniques as possible to achieve their goals, and if someone has previously benefited from a 12 step approach and would like to pursue it, then we have the staff able to deliver this. Ultimately, we wouldn’t be doing our job if we refused to give people as much information and choice as possible.

Attending rehab is a choice. You don’t have to be here, you choose to be here because you believe you have a problem which requires professional support. Similarly, you don’t have to attend all of the group sessions that we provide. If you are having a bad day, or feeling physically not well enough to attend, then you can stay in your room, or spend time in the garden relaxing and recuperating – obviously, when people are undergoing a detox this may prevent them from attending.However, we do really try to encourage everyone to attend as many sessions as possible, as the more you participate and learn, the better your chances are going to be. 

When we speak with people prior to them coming into treatment, many are fearful of attending group sessions. Some say they don’t like speaking in front of other people, others say they don’t like listening to other people’s stories. Like all rehabs, most of the work we do is in group sessions and we do this for many reasons. Firstly, groups can be more fun – we can use humour and interactive tools, which makes the session more memorable. Secondly, actively listening to others is a skill and something that we should all be taught to do – we can learn a lot from other people, and when we talk in a group we share experiences and learn that we all have many things in common. Thirdly, when we get a good group of people, they often bring out the best in one another, supporting each other when a member of the team is down, challenging each other when another member of the squad misbehaves or says something inappropriate, and celebrates each other’s success. We have described overcoming an addiction as tough a challenge as climbing mount everest, do you want to climb Everest alone, or with a group of people?

It is for this reason that most people that come to rehab, end up loving the group sessions as they feel part of something. They soon learn that everyone is very friendly and that everything that is said in the session is absolutely confidential. Gaining the confidence to confide in others, no matter how difficult, is a massive part of the recovery process and a skill that will be needed in the future. 

As much as we believe that group work is important, it is vital that everyone that comes to TLC has an opportunity to talk to a professional counsellor on a 1-2-1 basis, as there may be aspects of their lives that they may feel is more appropriate to be shared in this setting. Whereas many rehabs offer only one counselling session per week, and attempt to charge for any more sessions, we believe that every client should receive at least two counselling sessions per week, so this is what we provide. Each session is with a qualified, registered Psychotherapist. Normally, counsellors work with clients for a minimum of six to twelve sessions. As the average length of stay is two to four weeks, it is essential that we provide two sessions per week in order to give our clients the opportunity to build rapport with their counsellor and the time to ‘work through’ the issues that are underlying their addiction.

Yes, our service is staffed for 24 hours a day, to ensure everyone’s safety, especially whilst someone is undergoing a medical detox.

Entering rehab has to be a voluntary decision and it is often difficult for family members to watch their loved ones going through an addiction without being able to help. Sometimes things get so bad that people feel that they need to intervene and take action, when people may not necessarily be in a place where they want to engage in a process. Though we do not directly employ an interventionist, we work with a number of interventionists who are highly experienced at staging and facilitating difficult conversations, where family members themselves are unable to get through to their loved ones. Please speak with a member of the team if you feel that this is a service you may need and we will put you in touch with someone who may be able to help.

Yes, we can collect you from anywhere in the UK. Travelling to rehab can be daunting and in many cases extremely challenging, frequently dangerous. We do encourage people to travel by car, with a family member who knows them well, but if this isn’t possible, we can send a driver to your door, to provide a supportive, safe transport service straight to our door.

Yes. The problem with mobile phones, especially with social media, provides another platform for addiction. They are also very distracting, and could stop people from engaging with others. It is for this reason that many rehab centres put restrictions such as ‘no phone 48 to 72 hours’. The question is why? If you are of the belief that someone having a phone is somehow dangerous to them, or may affect their treatment, what changes in 48 hours? Surely it would be better to restrict phone access entirely, for the duration of treatment? 

Living in today’s modern world, we think it is quite punitive to restrict someone’s access to their mobile phone, especially when many of our clients have families and work commitments. So, the only rule we have in place is that people have their phones on silent during ‘treatment time’ i.e., whilst groups and 1-2-1 counselling sessions are taking place. We also ask people to respect other people’s privacy and right to peaceful, quiet time, so ask for phones to be put on silent overnight and for voice calls to be kept to a minimum after 9pm. 

As a service provider that strongly believes in the relationship between mind and body, it is imperative that alongside our specialist nutrition sessions, that we provide 3 healthy meals per day, all cooked and prepared by our in-house Chef. We cater for all allergies and religious/ cultural dietary requirements. We involve our clients in the preparation of a weekly ‘menu’ and shopping list and even grow our own herbs and vegetables in the garden. 

We think that supporting the family members of people with addiction problems is crucial not only for them, but for the addict or alcoholic that we are treating. Many family members and close friends of our clients have suffered for many, many years, feeling helpless and hopeless as they watch their loved one’s lives spiral out of control. Often feeling the full force of the consequences of an addicts behaviour, family members themselves feel shattered and exhausted. 

Our family support service aims to ‘lighten the load’ by offering a space for family members to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences, sometimes with others going through the same thing (hyperlink to family group programme) and sometimes alone with a member of our counselling team. It is also critical that family members are educated and empowered to take control of their own lives and implement the necessary boundaries in the future to keep themselves (and the client) safe. We teach our family members the signs and symptoms of relapse or lapse into old behaviours, assertiveness skills and provide a support structure for them to reach out for help when they need it. 

We will ensure that every client’s ‘Next of Kin’ is contacted on the day of arrival. At this point we will explain the treatment process and agree on a communication schedule, so that we can provide feedback to families in a way, and at a time that works for them. We will then go on to plan a programme of support based on the individual needs of that person. Our aim is to get to know our client’s family almost as well as we do our clients – our goal is to help the family start a collective healing process. 

It could be argued that being in rehab is easy.. You have staff available to support you around the clock, and other like minded, recovery focussed friends to rely on. All in a structured, focussed environment, away from common triggers and the stresses and strain of everyday life. And then you have to go home, to integrate all of the things that you learned in rehab, whilst learning to be a parent again, a spouse, and going back to work to name but a few things.

We believe that we can play a pivotal part in someone’s long term recovery journey. We don’t want you to leave rehab and forget all about you, and we don’t want you to forget about us. It is our pledge to all clients that we will call you EVERY SINGLE DAY, for up to two months* after you have left rehab. We will show you how much we care, by checking in with you every day, to catch up on what you have been up to and any challenges that you may have faced. We believe that by doing this, we will greatly enhance the prospects of our clients maintaining long term recovery from their addictions.

The common quote that you may have heard is ‘addiction doesn’t discriminate’ – it can get to absolutely anyone no matter what their culture, background or economic status is. And this is certainly true of our experiences running rehabs. We try to encourage people to start thinking that everyone is equal, and that it doesn’t matter how old you are or what substance you are addicted to, we are all the same. 

Our rehab clinic caters for people from the age of 18+. Most of our clients are in their thirties and forties, there are probably more males than females generally, and the most common substance of abuse is alcohol. As above, we will keep this website updated frequently with the demographics of the people we treat, so that you can see a Live Tracker of such information whenever you visit the website. 

Attending a rehab in the UK is very much something that can only be done with free will. As a service provider, we have no legal authority to keep anyone against their will and as such, our clients are free to leave the service whenever they choose to do so. We will obviously try to encourage people to stay, when sometimes people may choose to leave after suffering from a difficult emotional moment.

Most of the services that we provide are done at the rehab clinic itself, though we do like to go for a daily walk and attend local meetings a couple of times a week. When going off-site, you will always be accompanied by a member of staff. If you wish to go off-site for any other reason, to buy cigarettes, snacks or a newspaper (for example) then we will ensure that you are able to do this.

As part of the everyday life of being in rehab; everything you should need is provided on site – food, bedding, washing facilities and detox medication. All you will need to bring with you is clothes, toiletries and very importantly, any regularly prescribed medication. Remember to bring clothes suitable for the season, so raincoats in winter and trainers/ sportswear in summer – as we do a lot of activities in the garden when the weather is nice!

You can also bring a laptop/ ipad, phone, cigarettes/ vape, books and pictures of loved ones. If you have any questions about any other specific items that you may wish to bring, please do let us know.

Yes, all rooms have a bathroom en-suite. Most of our rooms are single occupancy, but we do also have shared occupancy rooms, which have an en-suite bathroom to share.

As outlined above, we believe that the re-building of broken relationships is an absolutely critical part of recovery. By allowing your family to visit you in treatment, you can share with them how well you are doing and demonstrate that you can do it. Visiting can be a very uplifting experience for all concerned, but it also brings challenges. Our staff are here to support you before, during and after your visit and offer the exact same service to the family members and friends visiting. All visits take place on the weekend, either on a Saturday or Sunday between 1-5pm and clients are free to go off-site, enjoy some local food or a coffee in one of the many nearby restaurants, or go for a calming stroll around the fabulous Friary Park.