Many people feel like they need to get away to recover from a devastating addiction. Perhaps that is why some people elect to literally get out of the country for their rehabilitation, whether it means coming over to the United States, or going abroad to a discreet little island off the shores of England.
In Blackwater Bay, in the county of Essex, rests what is affectionately referred to as “Sobriety Island,” a tucked-away oasis of tranquility and abstinence, which resonates positively in addiction treatment circles.
Although this island has passed through many hands over the centuries, its most interesting owner was Frederick Nicholas Charrington (1850-1936), whose family owned one of Britain’s top breweries. Ironically, this man born of the drink turned Osea Island into a haven for those afflicted with alcohol and substance abuse disorders. No alcohol or drugs were permitted on the island, hence its nickname.
A unique departure from typical treatment centers
Following this same tradition are the new inhabitants of Osea Island, who operate the Causeway Retreat. This unique recovery spot has nontraditional methods to guide visitors on their way to a healthy, substance-free lifestyle.
“The Causeway is a very different departure in English treatment,” says Dr. Mike McPhillips, Medical Director of the Causeway Retreat, “We have chosen to employ 12-Step and abstinence-based treatment for addictions with a very different turn on conduct. Most of the treatment centers I’ve worked in have a very strong ethic on group therapy, and they use it almost exclusively as their main tool of treatment. They also have a lot of rules, and most are really quite rigid about dress codes, behavior, etc. during treatment.”
Many traditional treatment centers also have prohibitions about what books people can read, television shows they can watch, Internet sites they can visit, or where they are allowed to walk within the recovery facility itself. That is not the case with the Causeway methodology. They believe this is counterproductive.
“Even when it is done in a very, very good way, it very much puts a barrier between the patient and the therapist and staff at the treatment center,” McPhillips adds. “Many of the clients complain about this in other places, saying it is like being at school or chastised.”
The Causeway has its own one-of-a-kind environment. When you visit this facility — and really this is an unjust term for it — you do not get the feeling you are in a hospital or recovery center of any sort.
“It feels like being in a large beautiful country home with very good food, a couple of very nice chefs and very friendly people trying to help you get well,” McPhillips explains. “The staff doesn’t dress in uniform. It’s a very informal, nice place. It feels like family and it should because that is what we are trying to achieve.”
McPhillips feels the Causeway’s success may be due in part to its unique venue.
“I think the second thing that works with the island is the community of people on the island. There is something about living and working on an island that changes you and changes the way you are with people,” he adds. “The fact that you are on a small island, surrounded by water, means you know that you share the food and the buildings that are there. We eat all of our meals together. I’ve never worked in a treatment center before where the staff and everybody are on a first name basis with each other. This morning I ate my breakfast with one of my patients and I can’t recall doing that at any of the hospitals I’ve worked at these last 10 years.”
The village is a focal point for all who visit the island, hosting apartments, a gymnasium, swimming pool, library, sauna room, games room, cinema and even their own proper recording studio. All patients and staff have free reign of the entire 400-acre area, with no off-limit locations.
Osea Island harbors this recovery community with its quaint little village, calm coastal breezes and gorgeous views from the Manor house. Local wildlife, nature trails, gardens and breath-taking views of the tide all contribute to a serene environment in which to recover. Bound on all sides by water, patients are well isolated from temptation. The only physical tie between it and the mainland is a causeway (Roman Road), which is a few thousand years old. It is a tidal road, and only visible for four hours each day, while covered with water up to 16 feet the remainder of the time. The only other way off or on is by boat or helicopter (both always readily available for emergencies).
At this particular treatment center, those seeking help do not have to worry about being unfairly judged; they already know they need help — that’s why they are there. Dr. McPhillips has been a consulting psychiatrist for a decade, holding regular meetings with American treatment center representatives when they come over to England to learn more about various types of addiction treatment approaches, but he finds his way is still more efficient for his particular clients.
“We, at the Causeway, saw an opportunity to provide an incredibly safe environment. Because it is on an island, and surrounded by the ocean, we have total security in that environment. There are no drugs, there is no alcohol and there is a very high staff-to-patient ratio. We feel that what we are offering is a great deal more comfortable in terms of the physical environment for the client, but we are also much less strict,” McPhillips notes.
“We don’t feel the need to insist that people attend every group session every single day. We don’t make attendance at any meeting an absolute condition of being treated, and we find that by approaching people more gently and offering treatment under conditions of non-compulsion, that we get an enormous amount of compliance and willingness from people,” he adds. “We’ve all worked in other treatment centers before and followed unquestioningly the codes and rules of those centers, but I think when you take away some of those prohibitions and rules you’ll find you still have very well behaved, very well motivated patients who get better; who get well. So, I guess the tone and conduct of the treatment is what marks us out as different as much as the environment.”
Not only is the tone and environment different than most facilities, but here you do not have to recover alone. Because of the many options available to potential recovering inhabitants, such as cottages, one can bring his or her dog, wife/husband, children — the entire immediate family. This isn’t for a weekend visit either — they actually live and stay with you throughout the entire recovery process. This is virtually unheard of in most treatment centers worldwide.
According to Dr. McPhillips, this is very convenient for situations where couples work or family intervention is incorporated into a person’s treatment. Couples or families can accompany the clients to the island, where family interventions or relationship interventions with therapists may be conducted in isolation from the other patients, in a specially designated cottage on the property. This works well for both therapists, as well as the clients and their respective families, and has yielded a lot of successful cases, said Dr. McPhillips.
Currently, the Causeway only accepts 15 patients at a time, to ensure the best of care. Suitable for middle-class to high income earners, Dr. McPhillips insists the Causeway will not be taking on more clients, unless they are satisfied they can offer those additional patients the best treatment available in the world.
With alcohol and substance abusers increasing in number and decreasing in age, Dr. McPhillips recognizes an increase in the need of a solid adolescent program at the Causeway in the near future as well.
Dr. McPhillips believes that British culture views drinking a little differently than Americans. He explains that the culture of drinking in Britain is that of heavy binge drinking, and that it is not considered to be a disgraceful or bad thing in this country if a person becomes extremely drunk because it is a socially sanctioned way of celebrating or de-stressing. Of course, in most societies, there is a great deal of hypocrisy about living in that regard, and the United Kingdom is no different. For instance, it is considered a very bad thing if a woman is publicly drunk and a very amusing thing if a man is publicly drunk — the usual gender bias, according to McPhillips.
Although several prevention strategies for youth have been tested in the United Kingdom, McPhillips says youth prevention programs are still in their infancy. As an addictions specialist, he has been invited to speak at schools and before public boards of concerned persons who wish to educate youths, however, he insists it doesn’t have much effect. Like many addiction practitioners in the United States, he believes the result of campaigns to educate youth about drugs and alcohol may only marginally delay the onset of drug and alcohol experimentation in youths and adolescents.
“Scare mongering tactics are openly mocked by them [teens], so if you tell them Cannabis will make you psychotic they will say, ‘I have 50 friends who take it and none of them are psychotic so I don’t believe you,’” says McPhillips.
McPhillips points out that a number of colleges and educational schools are now starting to use tactics like zero tolerance, which do not work.
While McPhillips is critical of most types of drug prevention campaigns, he does not believe we should be silent or complicit on the issue. “I think the fact we have to face up to is that most people are going to experiment with drugs and alcohol, and we can really only make services available, and pray they don’t do themselves too much damage while they’re doing the experimenting,” he explains.
Moving toward the actual treatment of addiction, McPhillips is supportive of a variety of treatment protocols, such as cognitive therapy, which he practices. He points out that while the 12-Step method is one of the main treatment methodologies used at Causeway, it is not the only approach considered when helping clients sober up. He views 12-Step not as an exclusive treatment, but as a tool toward recovery, one that will work well in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating well, exercising and incorporating other complementary therapies.
One-size-fits-all treatment programs are not part of what Dr. McPhillips and the Causeway practice. Rather, they believe that clients should have an active role in choosing what treatment may work best for them, and then building on that treatment plan, accordingly. According to McPhillips, this approach seems to be quite effective because people seem to want to engage in treatment when it isn’t forced upon them. For instance, he explains that a surprising number of people who have hated group therapy, when they were made to do it, are perfectly happy to participate when they are making the choice.
According to McPhillips, the Causeway has successfully treated many people who have been unsuccessful in their recovery efforts at other treatment centers; some of these people left or were asked to leave other treatment centers. He believes that the Causeway attracts a group of people who wouldn’t otherwise accept treatment if it was offered on different terms, stating, “The island is more than just a treatment center, it is a new way of thinking with respect to addiction treatment methods, family interventions and general therapy. The island has a healing power all its own.”
Jenna Bensoussan is the associate editor of Counselor Magazine.
Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, our associate editor had the opportunity to visit a treatment center in the United Kingdom — one that offers a unique setting and somewhat unconventional perspective on treating its clients. We hope Counselor Magazine readers will enjoy this snapshot of an interesting treatment locale outside the United States.
This article was originally published in Counselor, The Magazine for Addiction Professionals, August 2008, v.9, n.4, pp.56-59.
