Alpine Horizons Rehab Facility Switzerland – By Nicola O’Hanlon

In October I was invited to visit Alpine Horizons, a new rehabilitation facility in Switzerland that deals with addiction treatment and preventative programs for those at risk. I was given access to some of the program activities and taken through the program structures, all of which are impressive.

Their team of international experts is headed by Chief Counselor Bridget Cullen, a fellow Irish Woman. Bridget developed all the programs offered at Alpine Horizons. She has extensive experience working with addicts, family services and private practice in individual therapy. Having spoken with her and the owner of the facility at length regarding her ideas on combating the issue of addiction, it’s clear that she feels prevention and education is the way forward.

I absolutely agree with her. And the education needs to not only be about the harm and risks of using drugs and drinking alcohol, but also in the form of effective self-care, promoting self-esteem and good mental health, so that our children are less likely to abuse substances and develop obsessive behavior. Bridget and her staff also believe in targeting the underlying issues of the addictive or problematic behavior and teaching coping skills to alleviate or lessen the problem.

During our conversations, Bridget highlighted the fact that there’s little point in treating a young person with addiction issues, if the parents are not involved and making changes to provide a supportive parental structure. This is also true for adults. If we don’t work with the other family members and make changes in our environment, it can be almost impossible to remain addiction free.

Let’s take a look at what Alpine Horizons offers in the way of treatment and support.

Your personal history and needs are the basis of their treatment programs, adopted from internationally evidenced based methods to treat addiction. They combine the best medical, therapeutic and complementary treatments. All their therapeutic programs are tailor made and exclusive for each client.

It’s recommend that you stay a minimum of two weeks at Alpine Horizons to fully engage in their customized therapeutic program and develop a comprehensive aftercare package on completion of your program.

Alpine Horizons has an intimate and highly experienced staff whose priority is your recovery and well-being. They consist of:

• Psychoanalysis Therapists
• Physicians
• Psychologists
• Masters level Therapists
• Addiction counselors
• Complementary Therapists

The therapies offered include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Addiction Counselling
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• Motivational Interviewing
• Alpha Stim
• Mindfulness
• 12 Step Facilitation

Along with the above therapies they also offer:

• A family program which looks at codependency and the family`s role in recovery.
• Psychoeducational workshops
• Relapse prevention program
• The SMART recovery program
• Both individual and group therapy sessions.
• Comprehensive tailor made aftercare packages

What I really love about the programs at Alpine Horizons is that the emphasis on self-care is paramount. There are a whole range of exercise and nutritional plans included as well as natural healing therapies. The activities you can expect to find are:

• Golf
• Yoga
• Nutritional program
• Art therapy
• Hiking
• Skiing
• Massage therapy
• Swimming
• Fitness training
• Acupuncture
• Reflexology

There are a range of different programs to chose from at the facility, all delivered by experienced staff from around the world.

Burn Out Prevention Program:

This program  offers employers an opportunity to identify staff that may be struggling and in need of support at an early stage. Early intervention is key for avoiding burn out and this program offers a means of providing this.

This is a week long  (Monday-Sunday evening) residential program. Participants will stay at a luxury hotel and engage in a full week program. This program is designed to give people the skills they need to avoid future burn out. This program will include individual therapy for those who feel they would benefit from it. There will be a number of workshops throughout the week focusing on managing stress and anxiety, managing difficult people within the work setting and also changing the persons way of thinking in stressful situations to try and avoid burn out. All therapeutic programs will be delivered from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy perspective. To complement the clinical program there will also be a full alternative therapy program with a variety of activities such as hiking, yoga, meditation, golf, tennis, massage and much more. The idea of this type of program is to try and provide a holistic approach to self care. This type of program will cater not only for a persons emotional wellbeing but also for their physical. Clients will also benefit from a healthy meal plan on a daily basis for the duration of their stay.

Intensive Burn Out Program:

This is a 2 week residential program. All relevant physical and mental state history will be gathered prior to the client`s admission.  Once they arrive a complete a comprehensive Initial Assessment takes place, from which their tailor made program will be developed. Their weekly program will include individual therapy on a daily basis. The client will also have workshops similar to those offered in the burn out prevention program specially designed to focus on managing stress and anxiety. Again, similar to the burn out prevention program a full range of alternative therapies will be offered to the client. The client will receive a nutritional assessment on admission and will receive a tailor made diet plan for the duration of their stay. Within this program we a family program is offered, which is aimed at the spouses/partners of those experiencing burnout. This is designed to support the family member and provide them with some advice in terms of how to best support the person experiencing the burnout in the future.

Once the client has completed the 2 week program successfully they begin to work with their key therapist on their aftercare program. This will include individual therapy sessions either via skype or personally. Support is also offered to employers in terms of return to work issues that may arise for both the employer and the client.

This option also includes private transport to and from the arrival and departure airport or from the any major train station in Switzerland.

Addiction and Substance Misuse Treatment:

This is a 2 week residential program. Again, the client will receive a comprehensive initial assessment and a tailor made treatment plan will be developed. This program will contain a combination of individual therapy sessions. A series of workshops will be offered linked directly to the psychological reasons for misuse. A relapse prevention program will run in conjunction with these workshops. A range of alternative therapies will be selected and offered as a means of holistically treating clients. The client will receive a nutritional assessment and a diet plan will be developed from this for the duration of their stay. We offer a family program which is designed to look at codependency issues and supporting family members to try and care both for themselves and the client in a healthy manner. If clients do not want or feel they are in a position to engage in groupwork an individual program can be made for them.

Once the 2 weeks are completed successfully, the client will then work with their key therapist around developing their individual aftercare plan. This aftercare plan will combine skype or face to face therapy sessions, phone support in between sessions, access to local supports within the client`s area, if appropriate along with a week top up program back at the chalet to ensure that the client continues to make solid progress . We also offer support to the employer in terms of return to work for the client.

This option also includes private transport to and from the arrival and departure airport or from any major train station in Switzerland.

Family and Adolescent Program:

This program is a week long residential program (Monday-Sunday check out) and will focus around school holidays. This program is designed for young people aged between 13yrs-18yrs and their parents. The idea behind this program is to try to prevent problematic drug and alcohol misuse in the future and improve communication within the family. Within this program individual therapy is offered to both child and parents, and a family therapy session. Workshops will also be provided for the young people around drug and alcohol misuse, self esteem, anger management, managing anxiety and effective communication.  The children will engage in a wide variety of activities such as hiking, canoeing, canyoning, mountain biking, climbing, tennis to name a few. The parents will take full responsibility for the children during their stay.

This is without doubt a luxury facility, and you will be treated to the very best in accommodation, food and clinical expertise. The surrounding countryside is breathtaking and you are ensured of a very private and confidential service. It’s not within everyones budget, but from a personal point of view, it was a breath of fresh air to see an ethos of prevention, education and awareness before the addiction takes hold. Something perhaps that other facilities could take note of.

To contact Alpine Horizons and for more details please visit their website here