Testimonials

(From a recent client at Channah)

"I am still 100% clean - going really well !! Have started my PhD and also taking undergrad Psychology. Never touched another joint. Now I have quit smoking ciggis 2 weeks ago and going pretty good on that too. I am also exercising daily and getting really fit..... what a change since Channah. It was the best thing I have done for a very long time to come to Channah !"

My Channah Thailand Experience

(from the mother of a client who accompanied her daughter for the full program)

I came to Channah with an open mind. The homely atmosphere immediately put my mind at rest. It gave me a sense of belonging, especially during mealtimes. Unfortunately, eating together as a family has not been our practice – something I regret immensely.

In terms of location, it’s perfect. Weather could be a little cooler but you can’t have everything in life! The trees, green plants and flowers and not to mention the River Kwai add a special charm to the place.

Group Size

With the small groups, I felt assured that ******* would receive undivided care and attention. After a few sessions, I felt a huge burden lifted as I realized that my daughter was in good hands.

Personal Experience

It was a holistic experience. I was grateful to be included as a client not just an escort for my daughter.

The 1 to 1 sessions and the groups to reveal parts of my life and look at them objectively. These sessions made me realize that my daughter was not the only person who needed help. That we as a family had been caught in a web of emotional drama that had been plied out silently for years.

The CBT Sessions allowed me to see how I have played my own part in this drama. I was challenged and forced to look at the situation honestly. I found myself removing the protective covering I had worn for years.

I discovered the subtle but obvious affect her fathers drinking had on how I related to my child and others around me.

How I had, indirectly, enabled my husband to continue his objectionable behaviour. I felt the sessions forced me to become fearless in reasoning my own actions.

The sessions gave me a platform to voice:

1. My feelings about the domestic situation as a whole
2. My feelings about my husband
3. My feelings about my daughter The sessions enabled my daughter and me the opportunity to engage in open and honest dialogues. They also gave me the sense of fearlessness to bare my soul on issues I have previously protected ********* from.

I believe ********* and I have been given our compass. We both had a story to tell – good and bad. ******* can use her compass to steer a path away from the waves her father has left. I believe the 4 weeks ******* had at the centre have given her a sense of who she is and what she can achieve. She is an amazing young lady with a tremendous sense of humour. The world is out there waiting for her to explore.

Channah has helped both of us to look at the root causes of what got us here and helped us find ways to deal with issues objectively considering the benefits that we will reap. We must leave our pasts behind and press forward to a new level of understanding about who we are in this world.

Dear Simon, (from a past client)

Thanks for your email, received here almost four weeks ago! Apologies for not writing back earlier; things are hectic here and I am not referring to work. Yes, work is demanding now that a global recession is underway, but it is of course the busy-ness of the new sober lifestyle that prevented me from writing.

After returning from Thailand I immediately set up the support structure as you recommended. I have been attending three AA meetings a week, a life-changing and life-enhancing experience. From the first moment I was hooked to the people there, to their honesty, their outlook on life, their enthusiasm and willingness to support each other, as well as the absence of the regular crap that clouds human relations. The meetings are good and there is a bit of social life around them that I enjoy. Later this week I hope to connect with a sponsor -******, my age, similar occupation and style - to help me do some work on the “steps”. I decided to set aside some initial reluctance and just dive into the step work. It can’t hurt, I imagine.

I have been seeing a therapist here on a weekly basis. She is good, not the best in the world, but solid and helpful and she knows all about addictions. My ego loves the attention and the time with her is intensively filled with stuff from past and present. Not from the future of course, because we are not in the business of fast-forwarding here – one day at the time!

My support structure also has other sober elements: I meet weekly in a sort of philosophy group for reading and discussion. This provides a spiritual side to the work in process. Then there is the singing, in a big choir, a true passion. And then there is …… the gym. I have continued Num’s rigorous programme. Actually I am doing even more. I don’t believe I have ever been in the physical shape I am in now, and this I can tell you that it is a source of considerable pride. I stare at myself in the mirror almost as often as the vain Master Num himself!

You might remember that whilst in Channah I was often afraid that I wasn’t doing “the work”. My fear to waste my time even led me to ask for homework, unbelievably. Well, once I returned to **** I was in for a shock. Not only did I find out that I had in fact done a lot of work in Thailand but also that most of the work was yet to be done! The past six weeks have been at times very difficult, as anger attacks, emotional outbursts and other jojo behaviour seem to appear out of nowhere. Surely, this cannot be a bad thing; plenty of scope here to “sit with the feelings”. So, rather than a “cure”, an end station on the road to healing from addiction, the month in Channah was more of a jumpstart for the long journey to recovery. And it was excellent. I am sober for five months today and I am not at all certain I could have done it without rehab in the jungle. Thanks for everything!

(published with permission but edited to remove identifying information)