Addiction Treatment in the Middle East
Once an addict or alcoholic has decided to seek treatment, it is important that the help they need is readily available. The motivation to change is often induced by a recent crisis and if treatment isn’t accessed promptly they may have a change of heart and continue drinking and using, sometimes with dire consequences.
Stigma surrounding addiction is common in Middle Eastern countries and often drug and alcohol rehabilitation infrastructure aren’t as advanced as countries like the UK, Thailand and South Africa. We have many patients from Middle Eastern countries choosing to travel abroad to get the addiction treatment they need.
WeDoRecover.com offer a full range of rehabilitation options in the best facilities in the world.
VISAS
Visas are not necessarily needed to get into the countries where our facilities are. In most cases though, a tourist visa must be obtained to spend the first 30 days at our rehab centres. Patients from the following countries may enter some of the countries, where we are located, visa-free for a period of 30 days:
Bahrain – Thailand
Jordan – South Africa (30 days) and the United Kingdom
Israel – United Kingdom (6 months), Thailand and South Africa (3 months)
Kuwait – Thailand
Oman – Thailand
Qatar – Thailand
Turkey – South Africa (up to 30 days)
United Arab Emirates – Thailand
If you are from one of these countries and are looking for an urgent admission, then we can assist you immediately. All patients from other countries will first have to apply for visas while still in their country for which they hold a normal passport.
TRAVEL
With international travel hubs like Dubai and Qatar effortlessly accessible to, especially, middle-eastern travellers, it is easy to reach our facilities that are located mainly in the United Kingdom, Thailand and South Africa. With our facilities positioned in these popular international holiday destinations, many of our clients prefer to explain their visits to our centres as relaxing holidays.
Most of our centres are aesthetically situated, some near beaches or in nature. This makes them extremely attractive to the discerning patient, looking for a break from their unmanageable lives while receiving world-class treatment in these tranquil settings. We aim to make the recovery environment as comfortable and relaxing as possible, in order to enhance our patients’ spiritual, physical and mental well-being.
Once on our shores, we shall collect you from any airport on arrival and bring you straight to our welcoming facilities.
ESCORTED SERVICE
An escorted service also referred to as “sober chaperoning” is available on request. It involves that our patients are accompanied by a safe and responsible person, to ensure that they arrive at our facilities safely. We arrange for our patients to be collected from their homes, or met at any airport, from where they will be chaperoned to us. They will be collected at the arriving airport and chauffeur driven to the facility.
The purpose of the chaperon is to keep the patient safe during the entire journey. As our chaperones are mostly qualified counsellors, they also serve as an important source of support during the journey. They are not only a companion, but can also help to sort out any administrative matters that may arise during the journey.
Our patients appreciate this service not only for the one-on-support at their disposal but also for the sense of safety and security that they felt during the trip.
WHAT IS ADDICTION?
Addiction, according to the World Health Organisation, is a progressive and incurable brain disease.
It is seen as a group of physiological, mental and behavioural occurrences where the taking of (a) substance(s) has become more important to an individual than other aspects of their lives, which at some stage enjoyed a higher priority.
It also entails the sometimes strong and overwhelming desire to take a psychoactive substance (craving), as well as; withdrawal when taking of the substance has eased; loss of control of the amount consumed in relation of how much was planned to be used; tolerance to the substance, which relates to progression, where more of the substance has to be taken to get the same effect; neglect of other interests and responsibilities; and the continued using despite negative consequences as the result of taking it.
DO I NEED HELP?
The rule of thumb is that, if you ever wonder if you need help, then the chances are good that you do need help! People who do not have problems do not ask themselves if they need help.
There are various self-tests which you can complete and at the end, you are given an indication if you need help or not. One of the easiest test initially designed for alcoholism, but can be used for drug addiction too, is the CAGE test. All you do is answer the following questions:
- Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking (or using)?
- Have people annoyed you by criticising your drinking (or using)?
- Have you ever felt bad or guilty about our drinking (or using)?
- Have you ever had a drink (or taken a drug) first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover (or to lift yourself or stabilise yourself)?
If you answered “yes” to two of these questions, then we recommend that you seek help.
Call WeDoRecover.com to discuss your options in this regard. There is no need to suffer. Help is readily available.
WHAT DO WE TREAT?
Our facilities are geared to treat any form of addiction and most forms of mental health issues.
In terms of addiction, we can provide help with most conditions, including alcohol, all drugs (including both prescription and non-prescription medication), sex (including, but not limited to pornography), work, love, food, anorexia, bulimia, gambling, spending and gaming.
As far as mental health issue go we assist with conditions like depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), bi-polar disorder, Attention Deficit (and Hyperactivity) Disorder (ADD/ADHD) and many other not mentioned here.
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
We offer our patients the full suite of recovery options.
Many patients arrive at our centres, needing to be detoxed before they are able to join our program. Most of our facilities offer an in-house detox program or arrange for the process to be completed at a local hospital. This process should last in the region of 3 to 7 days.
Once the patient is capable of engaging in our recovery program, we admit them into our primary phase of treatment. This is normally the initial and introductory 21 to 30 days of rehabilitation. During this phase, patients are enabled to open up and talk about how their addiction has affected them and those they love. They start working with their individual therapists and are empowered to use these safe environments to dig down to the root causes of their problems. They immediately take part in group therapy, where they are inspired to share their stories and learn to trust their recovery community.
Once they have completed their primary phase of treatment, most of our facilities offer patients the option to stay longer to work more on themselves and entrench the principles taught during the primary phase. Modern research recommends for patients stay engaged in the recovery process for at least 90 days for maximum results. This phase is called secondary or extended care. During this phase of recovery, the groups are normally smaller and the one-on-one sessions more regular. The intensity of the therapy increase. Patients are normally given a bit more freedom of movement, to relearn the concept of taking responsibility.
The next phase is tertiary care and normally involves that clients are given more freedom to move around and dip their toes back into normal life. Patients may be working again or are encouraged to get jobs or do volunteer work. A structured program is still followed and strict rules still apply.
Once therapists are happy with a patient’s progress, they are allowed to enter a Halfway/Sober House. This is a house that people in recovery share with each other, but which is associated with a treatment facility. The facility normally employs a house manager who sees to adherence of rules and attendance of groups. Patients are mostly working again and are living their lives as normally as can be, but enjoy the ongoing support and safety of a recovery community. It is a very effective process to re-integrate back into society.
Most facilities also offer ongoing support to their ex-patients in the form of aftercare. These are groups that are ordinarily hosted at the facility once a week, where patients are given a secure space to come and process what is going on for them, share how they feel and get feedback on where they are in their process.
Another very effective form of ongoing support is to join an out-patient program, once patients have left treatment. This allows patients to work as per normal, but to get continuing therapy, both group and individual, at convenient times and at decent rates.
INTERVENTION
It often happens that family members seek help for loved ones who are not willing to get help. They are still in significant denial about their disease. Being in denial means that the patient is unconsciously applying a defence mechanism which is there to protect them from the reality of their disease, which is just too agonising to acknowledge.
In cases like this and where the family feels that the condition renders radical action, we offer an intervention service all over the world.
An intervention is one of the most caring things a family can do for a loved one and is an opportunity for them to co-ordinate formulated pressure on the addict to accept help. It has one goal and one goal only, which is to get the addicted person admitted to a rehabilitation centre).
It is best that an intervention is staged by a professional interventionist, who will carefully guide all the relevant people through the processes to be followed during the intervention. A proper intervention is a process, which consists of intense consulting with the family and coordinated planning to ensure the best chances of a successful outcome. The intervention takes the form of a direct and honest conversation between the family and the patient, during which the family indicates the behaviours and actions they find disturbing and how it makes them feel and how it influences the life of the addict – which they cannot see due to their denial. The conversation can become very heated and emotional, which validates the services of an interventionist to keep these contained and focussed on the end goal.
FOOD
Addiction influence the whole being of the addicted person. When treating addicts, we need to be sensitive to their physical, spiritual and psychological needs. We are committed to providing healthy, balanced and tasty meals and snacks. Our food is prepared in well-equipped kitchens by professional people.
We are aware that we treat patients from every corner of the globe and are thus sensitive to the specific needs of all cultures and religions. We do cater for halaal patients. In certain cases, this need cannot be met on the premises, upon which we bring the meals in from specialised halaal sources.
RELATIVES
Addiction is a family disease and rarely takes place in isolation. Each addict’s behaviour has a vast impact on the lives of various people. They normally end up hurting the people they love the most to worst. Hence addiction being referred to as a family disease.
All our facilities are acutely aware of the significant impact an addict in your presence can have on a family. Therefore we offer a structured a family program as a form of education and support for the families of addicts. Their sessions are conducted with and without the addict as part of the group and allows for a better understanding of addiction and how this has impacted each of the different family members. A lot of time is spent on communication and processing. A healthy family is one where interaction is open and honest and we strive to support our families to get to a point where they can communicate effectively and experience the gifts of open communication pathways.
We assist relatives with their accommodation needs, if needed, when attending sessions, by setting them up at our allocated facilities for this purpose. Where we do not offer this service, we help families to find accommodation at B&Bs, guest houses or in hotel comfortably situated to the treatment centres.
CULTURE, RELIGION and LANGUAGE
We welcome clients from all over the world and are happy to have a culturally diversified group of patients at any time. This cultural variety allows for interesting conversation and enriching exchange of ideas and customs. We embrace the spirit of diversity and acceptance at all our facilities and encourage our clients to practice open-mindedness in all aspects of their lives. We work with them to find themselves and learn to live their lives without masks, in complete integrity and in peace with the world around them.
Most of our treatment centres follow the Minnesota therapy model. This means that we combine cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a 12 step program. Our programs are strongly spiritually based, giving our patients complete freedom to practice any form of spirituality that works for them. We function on the principles of inclusiveness, where all spiritual practices are embraced and welcomed. We offer and encourage activities like prayer, meditation and yoga as part of their daily recovery routine.
The operational language at all our facilities are English. We do have a strongly diversified clinical staff, which means that much more than just English is used in one-on-one sessions. Some of our facilities do have Arabic speaking staff at your disposal.
The treatment for drug & alcohol addictions offered at this rehabilitation centre in the Middle East is of a very high standard. This clinic attracts many patients from the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East due to the excellent quality of care and value for money.
The clinical team has been working together many years and has developed a reputation for working well with the more difficult cases of alcoholism & drug addiction – people who are chronic relapser’s and those who suffer from a ‘dual diagnosis’.
A Dual Diagnosis is when patients have both a substance abuse disorder (addiction to alcohol or other drugs) and a coexisting psychiatric illness such as depression, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, social phobia, or other illness.
Alcoholism and addiction are ‘primary illnesses’ and have the ability to mimic psychiatric illness, so it’s imperative to focus the initial treatment on stabilising the chemical dependency.
If you wish to access in-patient rehab immediately from only £1000/R7000 per week. Please call 0800 955 4357 from the UK or 081 444 7000 from SA
The symptoms of one condition may mask or aggravate the symptoms of the other. It is possible for people to have more than two disorders. Having a dual diagnosis can make drug / alcohol rehab more difficult and demands a high level of competence from a multidisciplinary team of addiction treatment consultants.
Alcoholism & drug addiction can be related to unresolved issues from the past or current circumstances and personality. It’s critical to accurately assess each patient and develop a flexible treatment plan that will be negotiated throughout the patients stay in rehab.
Do You Need Help Finding The Right Addiction Treatment Programme?
The centre has a consultant GP who provides ongoing medical care. The addiction treatment program will also include individual and group therapy and when appropriate, couple or family counselling.
This treatment centre provides extended secondary care following a period of residential rehabilitation, which helps further develop the coping strategies and patterns of living to remain in recovery.
Finding a suitable and appropriate addiction treatment centre for yourself or a loved one is a tricky task and is definitely something that should not be done without the help of professionals.
This decision may have a major influence on whether treatment will be successful or not.
WeDoRecover specialises in helping those with addiction find the right treatment programme at an appropriate addiction centre. All our advice is free and impartial, and we can arrange immediate access to detox and rehabilitation if required.