From Struggle To Strength, A Pathway Of Transformation
How has Gareth Carter's personal experience with addiction shaped his approach to treatment and recovery at WeDoRecover? Get help from qualified counsellors.
- Private residential rehab clinic
- Full spectrum of treatment.
- Integrated, dual-diagnosis treatment programs.
WeDoRecover wasn’t born in a boardroom, it was born in crisis. The kind of crisis that strips you bare, that forces you to rebuild your life from the wreckage. Its founder, Gareth Carter, didn’t create this organisation because it looked like a good business idea. He created it because he had been there, deep in addiction, facing his own destruction, and somehow, he made it out alive.
Gareth knows the panic that families feel when addiction takes hold. He’s lived the fear, the denial, the guilt, and the hopelessness that addiction brings. And after finding his way back through recovery, he made it his life’s work to help others do the same, not from theory, but from experience.
“I didn’t just study addiction. I survived it.”
That survival became his purpose. And that purpose became WeDoRecover, a lifeline for people lost in the storm of addiction, and for the families who love them.
The Man Behind the Mission
Gareth Carter, N.C.A.C., A.D.C. (UK), is an internationally accredited addiction counsellor. For over 20 years, he’s been clean and sober, not just maintaining recovery, but building a life around it.
He’s held the position of Head of Treatment in both England and South Africa, overseeing programs that have saved countless lives. But beyond the credentials and titles lies something rarer, empathy grounded in truth. When Gareth sits across from someone still using, he doesn’t see a case file. He sees himself, years ago, a person who couldn’t stop, who didn’t know how to ask for help, and who thought they were beyond saving.
That’s what sets WeDoRecover apart. It isn’t just an addiction helpline, it’s a bridge built by someone who’s walked both sides.
Filling the Gap Between Panic and Hope
Most people don’t wake up knowing how to get help for addiction. They Google in desperation. They call numbers that lead to dead ends. They don’t know who to trust, what to believe, or where to turn.
That’s the gap WeDoRecover was built to fill.
It’s a free, impartial, and confidential helpline that connects people directly to the right treatment, quickly, safely, and without judgment. Whether it’s an addict ready to ask for help, or a parent terrified of losing their child, the mission is the same: make the first step easier.
WeDoRecover doesn’t just recommend treatment, they walk families through the process. From intervention to admission, they make sure no one faces the chaos alone. “I realised people don’t just need rehab, they need reassurance. They need someone who’s been there to tell them it’s not too late.”
What WeDoRecover Does Differently
Addiction treatment is not one-size-fits-all. Every story is different. Every addiction is personal. Yet too often, people are thrown into generic programs that miss the deeper issues.
WeDoRecover changes that. The team, all qualified addiction counsellors, personally assess each situation. They take into account:
- The type and severity of the addiction.
- The individual’s physical and mental health needs.
- Their budget and medical aid coverage.
- Family dynamics and urgency of care.
Then, they match each person with a rehab that actually fits. Every treatment centre in their network — across South Africa, the UK, and Thailand, is carefully vetted for clinical standards, ethics, and aftercare support.
This personalised approach is more than practical, it’s powerful. Because when someone feels seen, they start believing recovery is possible.
Why Personalised Treatment Saves Lives
Two people can be addicted to the same substance and still need completely different treatment paths. One might respond best to trauma therapy. Another may need medical detox before any emotional work can begin. Gareth often says: “Addiction isn’t about the drug. It’s about what the drug’s fixing.”
That’s why WeDoRecover ensures every patient receives a customised program, not just detox, but real recovery that addresses the emotional and psychological roots of addiction.
From evidence-based therapies like CBT and DBT to family support programs and relapse prevention, every recommendation comes from experience and understanding, not sales targets.
The result? People get the help they actually need, not just the help that’s available.
Families Need Healing Too
Addiction doesn’t just destroy the user. It breaks families. It isolates partners, turns parents against children, and leaves everyone trapped in cycles of blame and fear. WeDoRecover understands that healing has to include the people closest to the addict. That’s why they offer family support and aftercare programs, giving loved ones the tools to set boundaries, rebuild trust, and recover together.
Families often call WeDoRecover in tears, exhausted from years of failed promises and false hope. By the end of the call, they’ve spoken to someone who gets it, someone who can translate the chaos into a plan.
Because the truth is, recovery doesn’t just belong to the addict. It belongs to everyone who’s been hurt by addiction, and everyone who’s ready to heal from it.
The Turning Point That Saves Lives
Many of WeDoRecover’s calls come at breaking point: a spouse passed out again, a child missing, a parent threatening to give up. That’s when intervention work begins.
Gareth specialises in pre-admission crisis and interventions, stepping in before tragedy strikes. He works with families around the world, helping them break through denial and get their loved one into treatment safely and compassionately.
Interventions aren’t about confrontation, they’re about connection. They give the addict a chance to see the truth without being shamed into it.
“You can’t force someone to get help. But you can stand beside them until they see they’re worth saving.”
This is the heart of WeDoRecover, meeting people in the chaos and walking with them into calm.
Making Treatment Accessible
Addiction is expensive. But treatment shouldn’t be unreachable.
WeDoRecover ensures that budget never becomes a barrier to getting help. They partner with rehabs that accept South African medical aid schemes, covering most or all of the first 4 weeks of treatment, including supervised medical detox.
This means recovery can start immediately, not after months of waiting or financial panic. Because the window between readiness and relapse is short, and every hour matters. What makes WeDoRecover’s approach different isn’t just the credentials. It’s the lived truth.
Every recommendation, every piece of advice, comes from people who’ve seen addiction up close, in themselves, their families, and their patients. They know what it feels like to think you can’t stop. They know what it feels like to fail, to relapse, and to rise again.
That understanding builds trust, the kind of trust that can’t be faked.
When someone calls WeDoRecover, they aren’t talking to a stranger reading from a script. They’re talking to someone who has been where they are, and who knows the way out.
The Long Road of Recovery
Recovery doesn’t end when someone leaves treatment. In fact, that’s when the real work begins.
WeDoRecover stays involved beyond admission. They help families navigate aftercare, relapse prevention, and community support. They connect clients to counsellors who follow up and ensure long-term stability. Because recovery isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about transformation. It’s about rebuilding life, one honest day at a time.
There are many organisations that promise recovery. But very few that actually understand it.
WeDoRecover’s mission isn’t to sell beds in rehabs, it’s to help people find the right help, the first time. Their measure of success isn’t how many people they place, it’s how many lives are rebuilt. “Our job is to make sure no one gets lost in the system. If we can help one person find hope again, that’s enough.”
That’s the heartbeat of WeDoRecover. Compassion over profit. Clarity over confusion. Hope over helplessness. If you or someone you love is trapped in addiction, you don’t need to navigate it alone. You don’t have to figure out which rehab is real or which promise is empty.
You can call WeDoRecover today for free, confidential advice from people who understand what you’re going through, not from a distance, but from the inside. Every journey starts with one step. Let this be yours.
Call 082 747 3422 and speak to a counsellor who knows how to help. Whether it’s your first time reaching out or your fifth, it’s never too late to recover.
Because recovery isn’t a miracle. It’s a decision, and WeDoRecover is ready to help you make it.