Recovery Lighthouse

Recovery Lighthouse | Seaside Rehab & Detox Centre in Worthing, West Sussex

CQC Rated Good | 13-Bed Residential Centre | Coastal Setting | Doctor-Planned Detox | 12 Months’ Aftercare for Eligible Clients

In the seaside town of Worthing, Recovery Lighthouse is a 13-bed residential rehab and detox centre. We supports adults aged 18 and over who are struggling with alcohol, drugs or compulsive behaviours.

Our in-house chef cooks fresh meals, evenings bring film, quiz and games nights, and when the weather allows, the group heads out for walks along the beach. With only 13 residents at a time, everyone is known by name and recovery is a shared effort.

Recovery Lighthouse is run by UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT Group Limited), which operates ten treatment centres and more than 250 residential beds across the UK. Clients get the close, personal support of a small house, backed by UKAT’s wider clinical governance and experience.

Recovery Lighthouse at a glance

• Size: 13 beds, with bedrooms on the ground and first floors
• Detox: planned and overseen by doctors and the clinical team
• Programme lengths: 10 days to 12 weeks, plus the UKAT 90-day programme
• Approach: 12-step and DBT-informed, using integrative counselling
• Aftercare: 12 months of free weekly online aftercare for eligible clients
• CQC rating: Good

Is Recovery Lighthouse right for me?

Recovery Lighthouse suits adults who are ready to step away from daily life and commit to an intensive, structured programme in a small, close-knit group. Some people arrive after years of trying to cut down on their own. Others come after a crisis has made it clear that something has to change. If you’re unsure whether residential care is the right step, our guide to inpatient and outpatient rehab may help.

Many clients also live with mental health difficulties alongside their addiction. The team can support most co-occurring conditions, as long as they have been professionally diagnosed and are stable on medication. These include anxiety (including social anxiety), depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, PTSD and personality disorders. Where mental health needs are more significant, the admissions team will discuss suitability with the centre manager.

Recovery Lighthouse is a non-nursing centre, so clients must be able to care for themselves and move around independently. Anyone recently discharged from hospital will need to share their discharge paperwork. The admitting doctor always makes the final decision, and your options will be explained clearly from the start.

What does Recovery Lighthouse treat?

Alcohol and drugs

Most people who stay at Recovery Lighthouse come for alcohol addiction. The team also treats dependency on cocaine, crack cocaine, ketamine, heroin, GHB and GBL, cannabis, methamphetamine and other substances.

Prescription medicines

Prescription drug dependency is also treated, subject to medical assessment. This includes benzodiazepines, opiate painkillers such as codeine, and sleeping tablets.

Compulsive behaviours and related conditions

• Gambling
• Gaming
• Pornography
• Sex and love addiction
• Codependency
• Eating disorders that sit alongside an addiction, subject to clinical suitability
• Cross-addictions, where one compulsion replaces another, such as compulsive exercise

Starting with a safe detox

If your body has become dependent on alcohol or drugs, your stay will usually begin with a medically planned detox. Before admission, you’ll have an online assessment. We will review your history and set a withdrawal plan for your needs. The doctors and clinical team then oversee your detox remotely, while the residential team supports you in the house day to day.

Detox is available for alcohol, opiates, cocaine and crack cocaine, ketamine, GHB/GBL, benzodiazepines and other prescribed medications. There is no nurse on site and no 24-hour medical cover, so the pre-admission assessment is essential to make sure Recovery Lighthouse is a safe place for your detox.

Inside the treatment programme

Each week follows a full timetable that combines group therapy, step work, focus workshops, one-to-one counselling, written assignments, fellowship meetings and activities. You can see an example in what to expect from a week in rehab.

• Group therapy is central to the programme. In a group of peers, people often see their own behaviour reflected in others, gain new insight and stop feeling that they face addiction alone. Watching fellow residents change gives hope that change is possible for you too.
• One-to-one counselling gives you a private space with a qualified counsellor to explore painful or sensitive experiences you may not be ready to share in a group. Together you build a continuing recovery plan, so the coping strategies you learn come home with you.
• The 12-step programme runs through step work, assignments and Big Book discussion meetings.
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills help with managing intense emotions and impulses.
• An integrative therapeutic approach draws on person-centred, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural methods.
• Focus workshops cover the signs of addictive behaviour, relapse prevention, anger management and self-esteem.

Wellbeing is built into the week too, with yoga, personal training sessions, mindfulness, meditation, sound therapy and in-house art groups.

Fellowship and peer support

During their stay, clients are introduced to mutual-aid fellowships through local and online meetings. These include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous. Depending on their needs, clients can also connect with Eating Disorders Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (S.L.A.A.) and Gay & Sober meetings. Building these connections early means support is already in place when you return home.

How long will I stay?

Programmes are available for 10 days, and for 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks, with one-week extensions available where clinically appropriate. Every programme length includes detox where needed, group therapy, one-to-one counselling and the timetabled workshops and therapies. The 4-week programme is a popular choice, while longer stays give more time to work on the deeper causes of addiction. Anyone staying beyond eight weeks receives an individual secondary treatment plan to prepare them for life back in the community.

The 90-day programme and UKAT 90-Day Promise

Recovery Lighthouse also offers the UKAT 90-day residential programme. Clients who complete it are covered by the UKAT 90-Day Promise: if you relapse within 30 days of leaving, UKAT will offer a further 28 days of residential treatment at no additional treatment cost. This is subject to eligibility terms and clinical assessment.

The house and its surroundings

Recovery Lighthouse is a residential house with 13 bedrooms across the ground and first floors.

• Ground-floor and first-floor bedrooms, with shared bathrooms and showers close to the rooms
• A first-floor group therapy room, reached by lift
• Gardens and quiet outdoor space
• Communal lounges for evening films, quizzes and games
• Fresh, home-cooked meals from the in-house chef
• Laundry facilities and housekeeping

Take a look inside with the 360° virtual tour.

Bringing families into recovery

Addiction rarely affects just one person. Family members and friends often carry their own worry, guilt and frustration. Recovery Lighthouse’s family programme gives them a place to understand addiction and the impact it has had on their relationships. A qualified counsellor runs an online family group every other Saturday afternoon, and families also receive details of where to find ongoing support for themselves.

Loved ones can visit on Sunday afternoons. Under-18s can’t come on site, but they can meet you off site. Where relationships need extra care, a counsellor can run a family conference before you go home. For more guidance, families can read how to help someone with addiction.

Staying connected after treatment

Eligible clients receive 12 months of free aftercare once their programme ends. A weekly online aftercare group runs every Thursday evening, led by a facilitator with lived experience of recovery. Former clients can also join the UKAT Alumni Network for ongoing peer support, check-ins and recovery events.

Regulation and CQC rating

Recovery Lighthouse is registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England. In its most recent assessment, the service was rated Good overall, (report published 27 August 2024). You can view the latest CQC report here.

Arranging your stay

Admissions run seven days a week, and treatment can often begin within 24 to 48 hours of first getting in touch, depending on your assessment, bed availability and personal circumstances. Arrivals are usually planned for 10am, 12pm or 3pm, and same-day admission may be possible with the centre manager’s agreement.

You don’t need a GP referral to make an enquiry. The admissions team will talk through programme lengths, costs and suitability. They can discuss private health insurance as well as self-funding.

Ready to talk? 

Reaching out is free and confidential, with no obligation, whether you’re calling for yourself or someone close to you.

Telephone: 0203 826 8421

Email: help@recoverylighthouse.com

Website: www.recoverylighthouse.com · Contact us · Meet the team