Highland House - Addiction Treatment and Recovery
Primary Facilities
Nestled just above the heart of down town Plett and yet only 700 meters from the sea front, our primary centre has stunning views of the Outeniqua and Tsitskama mountains to the west and the sweeping bay to the south.
The Primary Care Centre is the patient’s first port of call, its here we conduct our detoxification programme and settle patients into their new environment.
When designing the centres we did not want to come across overly clinical, the overall look and feel of all of our centres is very much that of a homely, warm and comforting feel.
In line with the level of care we offer throughout our treatment programmes, the Primary Care Centres capacity is for 12 patients, this enables us to offer a very bespoke and individualised treatment, enabling us to afford a high counsellor to patient ratio and ensuring we provide the best levels of support and treatment.
Plettenberg Bay is an incredibly healing environment and offers clients a wonderful opportunity to connect to nature. This is done in many different ways throughout a client’s stay in treatment, such as weekly outings in primary care, weekly visits to the beach, daily walks, workshops held on the beach, as well as the safety of a small town feel. Outings include whale watching, visits to Elephant Sanctuaries, Monkey land, Birds of Eden, the snake park, river ferries, beach hikes, paintballing; sea kayaking, deep sea fishing, picnics on beaches and many more.
As it is a long time for clients to be away from home we have done all we can to assist in making our clients feel comfortable in all areas. The bedrooms are laid out in a very comforting way, ensuring privacy and a sense of safety. All sleeping quarters are shared to ensure that no client isolates. Most of the bedrooms are on suite and clients are encouraged to keep their personal space clean and tidy. A laundry service is provided for the clients in both primary and secondary care. The team works together to provide a supportive, structured environment that allows the clients to feel safe and held during their time in treatment. Within 24 hours of arriving clients will be seen by the medical team, including both the doctor as well as registered nurse. A detoxification regime is set out for each individual client.
Clients will be shown around the property and introduced to their counsellor. The therapeutic process begins immediately whereby the counsellor will begin assisting the client in working the 12 step programme. A valuable part of treatment is to help the client to understand the value of boundaries and structure. Throughout their stay in primary care clients are encouraged to focus on the consequences of their addiction and to begin to face the reality of their lives.
Clients spend approximately 6 weeks in primary care during which time they will complete steps 1 through to 5. The time spent in primary care may vary according to the needs of the individual client. The treatment plan is discussed with the team as well as the client.
The programme in primary care includes group therapy, individual counselling, workshops, goal setting, topic groups, morning walks, therapeutic duties as well as written assignment work linked to the step work the client is focusing on. Clients follow a very structured day and are expected to attend all activities on time. During this phase of treatment clients are kept together as a group and may not leave the property without being escorted by a staff member. Clients do not have to worry about finances as this is taken care of for them by the administrator. Client are encouraged to focus on the here and now as well as the 12 step programme; as a result all ‘distracting’ items are kept for the client for a later stage of treatment, items such as mobile phones, i-pods, books, magazines and computers. Clients are encouraged to have contact with family members, and phone calls are allowed at night, and afternoons on weekends. During primary care clients are introduced to NA and AA meetings and attend 3 per week. All activities are compulsory and are done as a group. There is 24 hour care in primary care.
