Our Services
Psychology Today defines addiction as “engaging in the use of a substance or in a behaviour for which rewarding effects provide incentive to repeatedly pursue the behaviour despite detrimental consequences”.
People with addictions have an intense focus on using a certain substance or substances, such as alcohol or drugs, to the point that it takes over their life.
Addiction or “Dependent Behaviour” can radically alter a person’s life. It can affect their social and personal relationships, their work, their family and their own mental health. Yet, despite all of the negative consequences, the use of the substance of choice continues without an apparent ability to stop or reduce its use.
Does this sound like you? Then we can help, with counselling and therapy for: alcohol addiction, drug addiction, prescription medication addiction, behavioural addiction including food and eating, screen and Internet, social media, gaming, gambling and work addictions.
Crisis Intervention
Drug Addiction Treatment, Alcohol Addiction Treatment and Behavioural Addiction Therapy
Crisis intervention is a very specialist part of what we do. Usually driven by a loved one, partner, parents or family of the addict. At this point they have often tried everything, often given up hope of ever getting well or even getting stable, they may be on the verge of losing everything – house, marriage, job, children and still mentally fight against Recovery.
An Intervention is a specific process to help the chemically dependent to take that final step in their old life. To finally get them to the first step on a road to Recovery. Recovery is not for those that need it; it’s for those that WANT IT. Intervention is turning the desperate need into a want and then into immediate action. It can be an especially difficult process and requires massive experience and expertise to overcome those final blocks.
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At Balance we are not an “agency” and do not take commission or fees from rehab centres. We want to help you get into and stay in Recovery so if a residential rehab is what need we will help you to find the right one for you.
Sober Coach
As a Sober Coach we are usually engaged to provide highly bespoke and discreet tailored support. Our primary goal here is to ensure a relapse is prevented. This is a very immersive, confidential, and convenient service for our clients. The client is often someone early in recovery from substance or behavioural issues and needs support providing structure to their days or help to maintain their recovery through an especially challenging event; possibly a work or family commitment where our client fears that their Recovery may be challenged beyond its endurance. As a Sober Coach we can be by their side hand holding, supporting them and allowing their journey to Recovery to continue.
A Sober Coach is not only on hand to help to prevent a relapse; we will be helping to create a new “Life Plan” and then working with the client to implement that plan. A Sober Coach is on hand to make new habits, new systems and new support to our clients new life in Recovery.
This service may be “live in” but is not always. However it is far more than a “live in sponsor” – a Sober Coach will act as a guide, therapist and support helping our client to adapt and cope with the new life in Recovery.
So how does it work?
As a Sober Coach we will usually start with a full sweep of the home to remove any drugs or alcohol from the residence. This is not a game of hide and seek, we look to the client to actively help us to help them. Then working very closely with our client we will ensure that the day is structured around all the activities that need to be accomplished; from food shopping and exercise to work and family time. Creating new habits for their new life. This support often includes just making sure things get done, medical appointments or outpatient programming, or 12-step meetings – whatever is necessary to prevent relapse and become confident in their Recovery. We will work with you to create a dedicated and unique plan to help you to maintain your personal journey of Recovery.
In many cases, we will generally work as part of a wider support team; consulting with psychiatrists, doctors or other health care professionals to complement and assist them to provide the medical care whilst we attend to the recovery process on a minute-by-minute basis. Our role in all cases is to ensure our client stays in Balance and Recovery focused.
As a Sober Coach the assignments vary in length, from a few hours to as long as a month.
Sober Escort
Many of our clients especially in the very early stages of Recovery or immediately after leaving a residential rehab facility find certain events to be especially stressful and the risk of relapse or loss of Balance is especially high. A Sober Escort may be utilised to help an individual client to remain grounded and sobriety-focused and provides emotional support and encouragement in subsequent high-stress situations.
Very occasionally this might involve a longer term assignment to support a client in a very discrete and private manner perhaps whilst on tour, on-location shooting a TV show or film, or living in a remote area where there is little support for a sober lifestyle.
At all times no matter what our client requires and whichever service we are providing our intention is always to move our clients life toward better “Balance”.
Women-Only Residential Rehab
A female-only therapy and residential rehab for one client at a time to ensure complete privacy and discretion. One-to-one residential treatment and counselling, 24hr care and support programme (including a medical detox if necessary) to give the very best opportunity to start your own journey to Balance.
Recovery Coach
A Recovery Coach is considered by some to be the “next stage”. Our client here is in Recovery and has reintegrated into their new life, formed new habits and feels that they are now adapting to a life in Recovery. However the tragic statistic is that 85% of those who enter recovery relapse within the first year and 66% relapse within 12 weeks of starting addiction treatment. Often a relapse can send the addict back to the chaos that they worked so hard to leave. This is the role of Balance Recovery Therapy as a Recovery Coach; to help the hard work not go to waste; to help to prevent relapse over a longer term and to make Recovery a life altering choice not just a temporary phase.
We understand that you don’t get over addiction by stopping using. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier not to use. If you don’t create a new new then all the factors that brought your to your addiction will catch up with you again. You need to be in Balance.
As a Recovery Coach we have huge personal and professional experience both in the treatment of addiction but also in the signs of relapse, the key moments, the points and subtle shifts in attitude that can lead to fresh addictions. We have the experience to spot these tell tale changes before the addictive behaviour takes hold again.
More on our Recovery Coaching Service
As a Recovery Coach we are focused on not just today or this week as a Sober Coach might be but working with our clients to help them not only to cope with their long term Recovery but to enjoy it!
Working with our client to create a bespoke plan we act as a mentor, guide or coach providing support 1-3 times per week (more or less as required or needed). A Recovery Coach is akin to an Addiction Life Coach, aiding our clients by helping them to understand and move away from their substance or substances of choice without replacing them with some other form of addictive behaviour. Crucially to learn the signs, to spot the challenges and what to do about them.
Balance Addiction Therapy works by applying our own considerable life experiences and a broad range of complimentary therapies such as the 12 Step Programme; SMART Recovery; Attachment Therapy, Harm Reduction Techniques; Hoffman Family of Origin Theories and combined with Life Management Strategies and Life Coaching. We work with our clients to create a bespoke and often unique treatment plan to help not only to address and overcome their addiction issues but also to create, clarify goals and identify obstacles that keep them from leading the life they desire.
As an extended part of a Recovery Coach we also work with families or the partners of our clients. This is a crucial part of the process and helps them each to assimilate the needs of the Recovering Client; to better understand the process and to help everybody concerned to not only have a voice but to enjoy the Recovery. Its often a very emotional experience and can honestly be one of the most pleasurable and memorable times in a life of Recovery.
For our clients our primary goal as a Recovery Coach is to help them to regain the Balance missing from their life, after all Recovery is a “Bridge to Normal Living” and not a constant terrifying roller coaster, with days spent in fear and anticipation of a relapse.
At Balance Addiction Therapy we work with our clients to build with them their own unique “Recovery Toolbox”. This toolbox stocked full of strategies, techniques and tricks to help them thrive in any situation; to help them recognise when things are going wrong and what to do about it when they do. Most importantly we help them to be more confident in their recovery and so to ENJOY their new life!
Serenity Booster
A bespoke exclusive retreat for individuals and couples to leave you uplifted, refreshed and content.
What we are not… A note of caution!
The team at Balance Recovery Therapy are in long term recovery and abstained sobriety themselves (Susan the Founder and Principal Counsellor has been in Recovery and Abstinent since March 2008) they have significant experience and skill in assisting others to move away from substance or behavioural dependence toward a more healthy and less destructive life.
We do not advise or diagnose mental health (psychiatric) issues or create a treatment plan for psychological concerns although as you might expect we do have considerable experience in the field. We do not diagnose medical conditions and cannot prescribe medication. Rather, we are mentors, guides, coaches who have had success in lifestyle change in our own lives and can help an individual address and overcome obstacles to making life changes.
Most importantly we do not consider ourselves to be a friend or 12-step programme sponsor. Nor are we personal assistants or a goffer or errand boy doing the client’s bidding.
We will however be dedicated and determined to guide you toward Recovery, toward a better life, using a suite of techniques and therapies we will help you to find Balance.
Balance Recovery cannot MAKE you get clean or sober but we can and do ASSIST and GUIDE you to handle your addicted behaviour to help you to take that initial step; to get or stay clean, sober and most importantly get your life back into BALANCE.