Sanctuary Lodge

Sanctuary Lodge | Countryside Residential Rehab & Detox Clinic in Halstead, Essex

CQC Rated Good | Consultant Psychiatrist-Led Detox | Countryside Setting | Weekly Fellowship Meetings & Alumni Shares | 12 Months’ Aftercare for Eligible Clients

On Hedingham Road, on the edge of the market town of Halstead in north Essex, Sanctuary Lodge offers private residential detox and rehabilitation for adults aged 18 and over. The centre is surrounded by gardens and open countryside, which gives you space to think, away from the places and routines connected with drinking or drug use.

Detox, therapy and recovery planning all take place under one roof.

Sanctuary Lodge is part of UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT Group Limited), which runs ten residential centres with more than 250 beds across the UK. UKAT’s clinical governance, safeguarding standards and treatment experience underpin everything at Sanctuary Lodge.

Five reasons people choose Sanctuary Lodge

1. Detox led by a consultant psychiatrist. A consultant psychiatrist assesses every client and sets their withdrawal plan. A nurse is on site five days a week, and the centre works with a local GP surgery.
2. A programme with a weekly rhythm. Fellowship meetings, step workshops, therapy and activities follow a steady pattern, which helps people settle and focus. Former clients regularly return to share their recovery.
3. Health built into treatment. A nurse-led detox group and monthly hepatitis C testing support your physical recovery alongside therapy.
4. Families included from the start. A fortnightly online family group runs for adult relatives, and a counsellor-led family conference is offered before discharge. 
5. A recognised standard of care. The Care Quality Commission rates Sanctuary Lodge Good in every area as of our latest inspection.

Conditions we treat

Sanctuary Lodge is a specialist centre for people whose main difficulty is with alcohol or drugs. Clients may come for alcohol addiction or drug addiction, including dependency on:

• cocaine and crack cocaine
• heroin
• ketamine
• cannabis
• ecstasy
• crystal meth
• GHB and GBL
• legal highs such as Spice and mephedrone

We also treat prescription drug dependency, subject to medical assessment, including benzodiazepines, opioid painkillers, sleeping pills and stimulant medication.

Addiction rarely comes alone. Alongside substance or alcohol treatment, the team can help clients work through related issues such as gambling, sex and love addiction, codependency and cross-addiction. Gamblers Anonymous meetings can be arranged as part of your care plan.

Many clients are also living with anxiety (including social anxiety), depression or PTSD. The team supports most co-occurring conditions, including bipolar disorder and personality disorders, where they have been professionally diagnosed and are stable on medication. The consultant psychiatrist discusses suitability with you face to face on the day of admission.

Eating disorders can be supported at Sanctuary Lodge where they occur alongside an addiction. Where an eating disorder is the main concern, specialist treatment is available at UKAT’s sister clinic, Banbury Lodge.

Your first days: assessment and detox

The consultant psychiatrist assesses you before admission, looking at your medical history, substance use and mental health, and prescribes a detox regime suited to you. Medically supported detox is available for:

• alcohol
• opiates and opioids, including heroin, methadone and buprenorphine
• cocaine and crack cocaine
• benzodiazepines
• ketamine
• GHB/GBL
• amphetamines and methamphetamine
• Spice and other synthetic drugs
• prescription and over-the-counter medications

Sanctuary Lodge is not a hospital and does not provide 24-hour medical supervision. Clients need to be able to care for themselves and take part in the programme within a reasonable time of arriving. Your pre-admission assessment will confirm whether Sanctuary Lodge is the right place for your detox.

The therapy programme

Treatment is built around group therapy and one-to-one counselling with your own focal therapist. Therapists draw on integrative, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive and solution-focused approaches, choosing what fits each person. The programme includes:

• 12-step work. Weekly workshops cover Steps 1, 2 and 3 of the 12-step programme. Clients also complete a written life story and further assignments, depending on how long they stay.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Practical skills for changing unhelpful thinking and managing difficult emotions and urges.
• Motivational interviewing. Helps strengthen your own reasons for change.
• Psychosocial workshops. These cover self-esteem, assertiveness, cross-addiction, relapse prevention, creative workshops, peer evaluation and the “drama triangle”, a way of understanding unhelpful relationship patterns.
• Therapeutic duties. Shared household responsibilities that build routine, responsibility and a sense of community.

Holistic sessions include yoga, mindfulness, meditation, gong bath therapy, music and auricular (ear) acupuncture.

A typical week

Every day is different, but the recovery meetings give each week a familiar shape.

Between meetings, days are filled with group sessions, one-to-ones, lectures, workshops and holistic activities. There’s also downtime: a weekly walk, a self-care group, quiz nights, board games and TV evenings. Meals are freshly prepared by the in-house chef.

Choosing your length of stay

You can stay for a 10-day detox, or for 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks, and extend one week at a time where clinically appropriate. Four weeks is the most popular choice. It gives time to complete detox and work through Steps 1 to 3. Longer stays allow deeper work on the issues underlying addiction.

The UKAT 90-day programme and 90-Day Promise

Sanctuary Lodge also offers UKAT’s 90-day residential programme. Clients who complete it are covered by the 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.

Your room and surroundings

• Mostly single bedrooms, many with en-suite bathrooms, plus a small number of shared twin rooms
• Televisions in bedrooms for use outside group times, plus a communal lounge TV
• An on-site gym, open three times a week after induction, early mornings and after afternoon groups
• A small music room
• Gardens and countryside views
• Freshly prepared meals from the in-house chef
• Laundry facilities and a housekeeping team
• On-site parking for visitors

You can explore the centre before you arrive with the virtual tour.

Support for families

When someone is caught up in addiction, the people closest to them are often affected in similar ways: worried, exhausted and unsure how to help. Sanctuary Lodge’s Family Support Programme helps loved ones understand what’s driving the addiction and separate the illness from the person. It also shows them how best to support recovery, both during treatment and afterwards.

• Online family group. Adult relatives can join a fortnightly online family group on Sunday afternoons.
• Joint sessions. Where your focal therapist feels it would help, joint sessions with family members can be arranged.
• Family conference. Where relationships are strained, a counsellor can guide a family conference before discharge.

After you leave

Eligible clients receive 12 months of free aftercare through a weekly online aftercare group on Fridays. You’ll also have the oppertunity to join the UKAT Alumni Network, which offers check-ins, events and peer support for as long as you want it. Some alumni choose to give back by returning to share their own recovery with new clients.

Quality and regulation

Sanctuary Lodge is registered with and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In its latest report, dated February 2024, the centre was rated Good overall, with Good ratings for being Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Read the full CQC report.

How admission works

The admissions team is available seven days a week, and treatment can often begin within 24 to 48 hours of your first call, depending on your assessment, bed availability and circumstances. Most arrivals are during the day. Evening admissions can sometimes be arranged with the clinical admitting team.

You don’t need a GP referral to enquire. The team will talk you through suitability, programme lengths and costs, and can discuss self-funding or using private health insurance.

Call the Sanctuary Lodge admissions team. Every call is free, confidential and comes with no obligation, whether you’re looking for help for yourself or someone you love.

Telephone: 0203 835 5445

Email: help@sanctuarylodge.com

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