Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Guernsey

Asking for help for your addiction can be very tough – but regardless of your situation, you deserve to access support.

Seeking help with drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey will allow you to get the help you need to overcome addiction.

Rehab 4 Alcoholism are here to help you take the steps you need to access support from a drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey, whether for yourself or someone you love.

The Rehab 4 Alcoholism chat lines are open 24/7 to provide you with support and to answer any questions you may have.

You can call us on 0800 111 4108, or you can request a call back to speak to a member of the team.

How Do You Define Addiction?

When something has been in your life for so long, it is often hard to identify when it has turned from use to addiction.

Addiction is classed as a medical disorder and a clinical disease.

It is listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, which means that addiction is technically classed as a psychiatric condition.

Addiction can have a negative impact on all areas of your life.

If you or a loved one feel that your drinking is affecting any of the following areas –

• Work
• Social/leisure/ recreation time
• Physical or mental health
• Relationships
• Domestic responsibilities
• Financial situation

– then there is a likelihood that you are dealing with an addiction.

Statistics

Between 2019 and 2020, there were 347,761 hospitalisations related to alcohol in England. This equates to around 2% of all hospital admissions.

There was a total of 104,880 adults in treatment for alcohol addiction in 2019-2020.

How Can I Tell If I Have an Addiction?

Identifying addiction in ourselves can be very difficult.

When we do something frequently, it begins to feel normal.

This means that we sometimes do not notice that our behaviours may be turning into an addiction.

One way to screen addiction is to ask yourself the following questions:

• Have you ever felt you should limit your drinking?

• Do you feel annoyed when your drinking is criticised or commented on negatively?

• Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?

• Have you ever consumed alcohol early in the morning to help you get through the day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, there is a chance that your use of substances may be turning into an addiction.

You can speak with the team at Rehab 4 Alcoholism to ask how to access a formal screening for addiction.

Addiction Statistics: How Common Is Addiction In Guernsey?

A well-being report conducted by Guernsey Public Health Services found that 22% of surveyed Guernsey residents had ‘risky’ drinking behaviours and 5% had ‘high risk’ drinking behaviours.

On average, Guernsey also experiences 3 drug-related deaths each year.

What Treatments Are Available For Addiction?

All experiences of rehab will differ because addiction treatment is most effective when it is designed around the specific circumstances of the individual.

That being said, treatment for addiction tends to follow a similar structure.

The key components of drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey (and beyond) are the following:

1. Detox
2. Treatment
3. Aftercare

Detox

Detox is short for detoxification.

It refers to the process of all traces of a specific substance leaving the body.

When a substance has been used for a while, the body can get used to it.

This means that the substance leaving the body may cause some short-term effects.

These short-term effects are called withdrawal symptoms.

The kinds of withdrawal symptoms you may experience will vary depending on the substance that you are detoxing from.

During a detox, you may be given medication to ease some withdrawal symptoms whilst the body is getting used to functioning without the presence of the addictive substance.

Using medication during detox is known as pharmacological intervention, sometimes called maintenance therapy.

The medications administered in the detox process are safe and legal drugs.

They will be administered by specialised professionals, and the withdrawal process will be monitored by appropriate clinicians throughout.

Treatment

Treatment is the overarching term for the care you will receive whilst in rehab.

The aim of rehab is to address the psychological elements of drug addiction.

Rehab will assist you to identify your stressors and triggers and help you to develop positive coping mechanisms to continue into the future.

Aftercare

Aftercare is the support you access once your formal rehab treatment is completed.

There are many kinds of aftercare.

These are often outpatient forms of support.

The aim of aftercare is to help you to stay sober once you return to the Guernsey community.

It is a way of ensuring continued support to assist you with your recovery journey.

Your care team from drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey will work with you to design an aftercare package to work best for your needs.

Here are some aftercare options that may be available in the Guernsey area:

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Alcohol Addiction Counselling
• Home Detox
• AI Anon Family Group Meetings
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
• SMART recovery

What Should I Do Before Drug And Alcohol Rehab?

Assessment

To access formal drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey, you can request an assessment or screening to discuss your substance use and potential treatment options.

CRAFT

CRAFT (or Community Reinforcement and Family Training) functions on the belief that by building a positive, supportive family network, there will be a stronger system of care for individuals accessing addiction treatment.

Addiction carries a whole host of feelings: guilt, sadness, loneliness, regret, isolation and anger just to name a few.

By reinforcing support from loved ones, the CRAFT approach can act to consolidate professional treatment systems.

It can help to begin to open channels of communication and ensure interactions around addiction are positive and productive, not judgemental or emotionally loaded.

Intervention

Intervention is a more formal method of support.

Intervention is when a meeting is called between something struggling with addiction, their loved ones and an appropriate clinician.

You can meet with a professional interventionist in the Guernsey area.

The role of an interventionist is to gently help individuals to recognise that they may be experiencing addiction.

This can lead to signposting to appropriate services available through drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey.

Rehab Treatment: Inpatient Or Outpatient?

One key distinction between the different kinds of addiction treatment is inpatient or outpatient kinds of care.

Both inpatient and outpatient treatment options are available through drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey.

What Is Inpatient Treatment?

Inpatient treatment is any kind of residential care.

This is when you temporarily reside in a specialist facility for the duration of your treatment.

During inpatient treatment, depending on the kind of substance you are seeking treatment for, you may experience a detox.

A key part of inpatient treatment is engagement with different kinds of therapeutic activities, interventions and appointments with appropriate clinical staff in Guernsey.

What Is Outpatient Treatment?

Outpatient treatment is any kind of care that you access whilst staying at your usual living arrangements.

During outpatient treatment, depending on the kind of substance you are seeking treatment for, you may experience a home detox.

As detoxing can sometimes have complications, you will be visited regularly by appropriate clinicians to ensure your health and safety throughout the detoxing process.

The therapies you experience will take place in the Guernsey community, and you will be able to return home after attending these scheduled sessions.

Rehab Treatment: NHS Or Private?

NHS Addiction Treatment

For most people, addiction treatment is initially accessed through the NHS.

The NHS offer a variety of different treatments for alcohol or drug addiction.

Most of these treatments are different kinds of outpatient care.

These may include (but are not limited to):

• Alcohol Addiction Counselling
• Home Detox
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
• Support Groups
• Individual Therapy
• Holistic Therapy
• Outpatient drug and alcohol teams

Whilst you may be offered inpatient care through the NHS, it is not likely to be the first treatment plan offered to you—due to restrictions on placements, there is likely to be a waiting list for NHS funded inpatient care.

Private Addiction Treatment

Private addiction treatment is any treatment that you access through services that are independent of the NHS.

Private drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey can take many forms.

There are both inpatient and outpatient options available to you.

You can discuss the different kinds of private treatment offered in Guernsey by contacting Rehab 4 Alcoholism directly.

Rehab Treatment: How Much Does It Cost?

The price of addiction treatment will vary depending on the specific kind of drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey you access.

The average cost of inpatient rehab is £14,000 for 28 days, working out at around £495 per day of treatment.

Prices can range from between £1,000 and £10,000 for one week of care.

There are also deluxe options available, those usually accessed by celebrities.

These kinds of centres can cost up to £73,000 for 30 days of care.

In these centres, you will be offered luxury add-ons to your addiction treatment such as private chefs or access to on-site spas.

How Do I Pay For My Treatment?

NHS treatment is paid for by the national health service, whilst private treatment can be paid for in various ways.

The most frequent methods of payment for private treatment are:

• Financial support from insurance providers
• Payment packages or plans

Rehab Treatment: How Long Does It Last?

The duration of addiction treatment will vary depending on the specific kind of drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey you access.

The average duration of inpatient rehab is 28 days.

The length of rehab varies between 7 and 90 days.

7 days is the minimum amount of time spent in inpatient rehab, as it is the amount of time it takes to detox from alcohol, whilst 90 days is recommended for the most severe cases.

28 days is the average duration as studies have shown the period of time to increase the clinical value of addiction treatment.

Rehab Treatment: What If I Have Another Diagnosis?

It is not uncommon for people experiencing addiction to also have a mental health diagnosis.

A survey published by the States of Guernsey Public Health Services found ‘low mental wellbeing’ was experienced in 36% of those with high-risk drinking behaviour.

Having a diagnosis of a mental health condition whilst also dealing with addiction is known as dual diagnosis.

Dual diagnosis is also sometimes referred to as comorbid or co-occurring disorders.

Common dual diagnoses include:

• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Schizophrenia

Dual Diagnosis Care

Having a dual diagnosis means that your treatment needs to be tailored to treat  both your addiction and your specific mental health diagnosis.

This means that you will receive tailored support designed with your dual diagnosis in mind to ensure your treatment is curated to help you specifically.

Rehab Treatment: Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol belongs to a class of drugs known as stimulants.

Alcohol related deaths account for 3 million deaths a year worldwide.

Excessive alcohol use is associated with more than 200 different diseases and health care complications.

Alcohol is both physically and psychologically addictive.

This means that alcohol addiction treatment requires a detoxification.

Alcohol detox is often aided with the use of Librium.

Librium is a medication that can decrease some of the more difficult withdrawal symptoms you may experience during an alcohol detox.

Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal often include:

• Tremors
• Sickness or vomiting
• Shaking
• Sweating
• Seizures
• Hallucinations
• Anxiety

It takes 7 days to detox safely from alcohol.

The second stage of treatment for alcohol addiction is therapeutic intervention.

You will be given the opportunity to engage in therapies and access various kinds of 1-on-1 support from clinical professionals during your treatment.

Rehab Treatment: Heroin Addiction

Heroin belongs to a class of drugs known as opioids.

A report found that 280 patients were referred for opiate dependency between 2011 and 2013 in Guernsey.

Heroin is both physically and psychologically addictive.

This means that heroin addiction treatment requires detoxification.

Heroin detox is often aided with the use of Methadone.

Methadone is a medication that can decrease some of the more difficult withdrawal symptoms heroin can carry.

These can include:

• Pain in the muscles
• Sickness or vomiting
• Restlessness
• Insomnia/difficulty sleeping
• Goosebumps

The second stage of treatment for heroin addiction is therapeutic intervention.

You will be given the opportunity to engage in therapies and access various kinds of direct support from clinical professionals.

Rehab Treatment: Cannabis Addiction

Cannabis belongs to a class of drugs known as psychoactives.

A wellbeing survey conducted by Guernsey council found that around 11% of the residents surveyed have used cannabis in the last 12 years.

Cannabis is not a physically addictive drug.

It is psychologically addictive, meaning that there is no detox period for cannabis addiction.

The treatment for cannabis addiction is therapeutic intervention.

You will be given the opportunity to engage in therapies and access various kinds of support from clinical professionals during and after your treatment.

Rehab Treatment: Cocaine Addiction

Cocaine belongs to a class of drugs known as stimulants.

According to the office of national statistics,4,545 people accessed addiction treatment for cocaine in the UK between 2020 and 2021.

Cocaine is not a physically addictive drug, so there is no detox for cocaine addiction.

The treatment for cocaine addiction is therapeutic intervention.

You will be given the opportunity to engage in therapies and access various kinds of support from clinical professionals during your treatment.

Rehab Treatment: Therapy In Rehab

There will be several different kinds of therapy available to you whilst in drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey.

The three key kinds of therapy are:

1. Individual
2. Group
3. Family

Individual therapy – sometimes known as one-to-one therapy – is any kind of psychological treatment that happens between one clinician and one patient.

Group therapy is any kind of psychological treatment that happens between one (or several) clinicians and several patients in a group setting.

Family therapy is a kind of psychological treatment where several relatives come together with one clinician to discuss a specific topic.

These kinds of therapies can be tailored to fit your specific circumstances and needs.

For instance, you may be able to access holistic treatment in a one-to-one setting, or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in a group setting.

Here is a short guide to the different strands of therapy you may be able to access whilst in drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a popular kind of psychotherapy.

CBT pays close attention to the links between thoughts (cognitive processes) and actions (behaviours).

CBT helps you to see how your thoughts, feelings and behaviours can be connected, and to identify how changing one of these may help you to influence the others.

To help you work on this, you will be given the opportunity to practice different kinds of CBT techniques or exercises.

By talking to you about your thoughts and feelings in depth, your therapist will be able to suggest exercises that may be specifically helpful for you and your thinking patterns or behavioural tendencies.

You can then practice these inside and outside of sessions.

The aim of CBT is to help you to regain some control over your thoughts and feelings by recognising when they may be getting difficult and learn how to manage them through practice.

You may discuss topics like the different kinds of thinking traps, grounding exercises and the process of challenging difficult thoughts.

CBT can take place in individual or group contexts in drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey.

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) is a kind of psychotherapy that is very closely related to CBT practice.

Like CBT, DBT also pays close attention to the links between thoughts (cognitive processes) and actions (behaviours).

To help you work on this, you will be given the opportunity to practice different kinds of DBT techniques or exercises.

By talking to you about your thoughts and feelings in depth, your therapist will be able to suggest exercises that may be specifically helpful for you and your thinking patterns or behavioural tendencies.

The techniques you learn during DBT sessions will often focus on managing very extreme and intense emotions and finding ways to control impulsive, often dangerous or irrational behaviours.

DBT can also take place in both individual and group contexts.

Co-Dependency Treatment

Co-dependency treatment is a kind of therapy designed for relationships.

Co-dependency can happen when a relationship isn’t balanced.

Co-dependent relationships are often characterised by unequal power balances, repeated unfair requests, and the requirement for one person to sacrifice more than the other.

Unequal power dynamics do not nurture positive, healthy relationships.

By maintaining the relationship as two individuals with equal presence and respect, there are likely to be improvements in general wellbeing and mental health for both parties.

Co-dependency treatment establishes the importance of caring and respecting for ourselves as well as for our loved ones and being able to expect the same in return from those around us.

Holistic Therapy

Holistic therapy is often quite different to other therapies that involve a lot of talking.

Because of this, holistic therapy is sometimes known as alternative therapy.

Instead, holistic therapy considers that recovery is something that happens when the mind, body and soul are in balance.

This means that holistic therapies are often closely related to recreational activities that can help us to lower our stress levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Some holistic therapy options available in Guernsey include:

• Art Therapy
• Adventure Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Equine Therapy
• Aromatherapy
• Yoga

There is a kind of holistic therapy to suit everyone.

Brief Intervention

A brief intervention is when a meeting is called between someone struggling with addiction and an appropriate clinician.

You can meet with a professional interventionist in the Guernsey area.

Depending on the circumstance, family, friends or other loved ones may also be in attendance.

The role of an interventionist is to gently help individuals to recognise that they may be experiencing addiction.

Motivational Interviewing

Whilst interventions are about helping people to recognise that they may be dealing with addiction, motivational interviewing helps people to identify their reasons to recover from addiction.

Addiction is not an easy process.

It is much easier to work towards recovery if you have found motivations to do so.

Some examples of motivation may be:

• To return to work.
• To increase your presence in the life of your children or other family members.
• To improve your physical health.
• To improve your mental wellbeing.

Motivational interviewing can help you find your reason to recover, and to put in place a plan to help you take the steps to get there.

Twelve-Step Facilitation Treatment (TSF)

Twelve-Step Facilitation Treatment (TSF) is a kind of intervention that was made especially for treating addiction.

It has been a popular treatment for addiction for many people since its development in the 1950s.

The twelve-step approach revolves around twelve tenets or ways of living your life that can help you to move away from substance use.

Treatment programmes include attending group meetings for peer support, and being allocated a mentor or sponsor to assist you through the process.

Staying Sober After Rehab

Asking for help for your addiction can be tough– but regardless of your situation, you deserve to access support.

Rehab 4 Alcoholism are here to help you take the steps you need to access support at drug and alcohol rehab in Guernsey for yourself or someone you love who is struggling with addiction.

The Rehab 4 Alcoholism chat lines are open 24/7 to provide you with support and to answer any questions you may have.

You can call us on 0800 111 4108, or you can request a call back to speak to a member of the team.