Testimonial: One Client’s Experience At Hope Rehab

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The person who wrote this Hope Rehab Center Thailand Review for us has requested that we keep his name private, and of course, we respect the anonymity of our clients. We are very grateful that he took the time to write a positive review about Hope Rehab. Of course, we invite you to ask around for independent reviews. Results can vary by each individual and according to how long a client stays in treatment at Hope Rehab.

“I am very grateful to Hope and the team for helping me get my life back together, so I have written a Hope Rehab Review. The idea of going to rehab had been going through my mind for sometime. I thought that I had hidden my drug life away from my wife and family. I told her it was just the drink, but she knew there was more to it. The lowest point of my drug using life was when I was caught smoking meth (ice) at work. For years I’d been getting praise for my overtime and commitment to the job, but things were beginning to fall apart. Meth was taking over my life, and I was on the verge of losing everything.

“… no one seemed to understand or be able to help me.”

I spoke to my doctor, but he was clueless as how to help me. He offered me medication and told me to get treated for anxiety and depression, but I knew it was my drug addiction. The amount I was using had sky-rocketed. I was forced to try the private sector for treatment for my meth addiction, as no one seemed to understand or be able to help me.

“I couldn’t find anything that I could afford (in Australia)”

First I checked all over Australia for a suitable rehab, but I couldn’t find anything that I could afford. Even though I had spent hundreds of dollars a week on meth, I couldn’t find the huge sums of money needed to get my foot in the door of any of the rehabs and those that I could didn’t seem much focused.

I realized that getting out of the country for a while was exactly what I needed

During an internet search, I found Hope Rehab Center Thailand. I read through their content; I liked what I saw. It made a lot of sense to me, and I had a good feeling about it, but Thailand? Sure, I liked the idea of sun, sea, sand and Thai-food but going there for rehab? I thought about it; then I realised it was just what I needed. It would be healthy to get out of the country for a while, reset my mind and beat this terrible pattern of drug use. So I gave them a call.

The admission call: Finally, someone knew what I was talking about…

During the first call I spoke to a lovely lady named Natalie, she seemed to understand, I felt at ease. She said I’d be called by one of the counsellors. A counsellor named Dylan called me up, he told me he’d been working in London for years and had seen the rise of meth in Westminster, I felt reassured, and finally, someone knew what I was talking about. I felt more confident and ready to make a choice. I decided to book.

Pick-up at the airport in Bangkok and full assessment on arrival

Within a few days I was leaving the country for Thailand, I felt excited and anxious. I had spoken to Rob to confirm all the details before leaving, and I was ready to meet a man named Paul. Paul was waiting to collect me from the airport; we drove south towards Hope. Paul was a great guy, he was also a counsellor at Hope, he gave me a full assessment, I told him about my past, and what I’d been up to recently, he seemed to have a great understanding. I was beginning to feel more and more like I had made the right choice.

Hope was both – beautiful and surreal with its huge DC-3 plane

I was sweating bullets when I got to Hope. Thailand was hotter than Australia for this time of the year. I was still coming down off the gear, and I was a bit strung out, the tropical weather was making it pass through me quicker, which was great, I needed that shit out of my body.

Hope was set in the hills of the small village of Bang-pra, Siracha, which was to be my home for the next two months. I’d never seen such a place before; it was both beautiful and surreal with its huge DC-3 plane within the grounds and various exotic tropical plants.

“I felt happy and glad that I was with a team of professionals…”

I met with Dylan for the first time after speaking to him on the phone; he conducted a further assessment, I felt happy and glad that I was with a team of professionals who knew what they were doing and really seemed to understand my problem. I then met the rest of the team, Sue and Paul from London, Henk the Dutchman from Holland – or the Netherlands as he preferred to say – and the head honcho Simon Mott, who along with his partner Alon Kumsawad founded Hope Rehab. I gave a slight courteous bow as I felt humbled by his presence.

“I instantly felt at home”

Everyone else at the rehab was great, I instantly felt at home. There were many other Australians there with identical problems from the same parts of the country. Some had been at the rehab for some time, one fella was in his fourth month on a second stage and learning to teach English. It was great to see someone who’d had a great experience of Hope sharing their joy.

“This was the first time in ages I’d been able to just sit with myself and enjoy life…”

The program felt world-class, it consisted of group therapy sessions, combined with 1:1 counselling sessions, massages, relaxation, yoga, Pilates and meditation. I was sceptical about some things, to begin with, I didn’t see what the fuck breathing was going to do for me, but with guidance from Alon, I realised it was a very important part of my recovery. One thing about my meth usage was I was unable to find peace, I felt anxious, I felt like I had to have something all the time. When I wasn’t on the pipe, I was down the bottle shop sucking down beers; this was the first time in ages I’d been able to just sit with myself and enjoy life on life’s terms.

“The center used up-to-date cognitive behaviour therapy techniques…”

The group sessions were really amazing, I really connected to the other people around me, and we really supported each other. The center used up-to-date cognitive behaviour therapy techniques combined with the traditional twelve step model to overcome drugs and alcohol. I couldn’t believe that these had such a profound effect on me. For years I thought I just loved the high but now I was unmasking my meth use, in the tropical weather my ice addiction was melting away.

“The penny really dropped, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

Some of the sessions I had were amazing. For a counselling session my counsellor Simon took me to the top of a mountain, there he showed me how to work through the CBT tools we were using to deal with difficult emotions. The penny really dropped, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Afterwards, I gazed out towards the countryside of Siam in awe. You just simply can’t get that experience at other rehabs, I felt truly serene and at peace. I could feel a change coming.

“Hope Rehab Center Thailand has a big focus on sports and exercise”

Hope Rehab Center Thailand has a big focus on sports and exercise. Every day there are morning and afternoon exercises, I loved every one of them. Being on the pipe for years I’d done bugger all, and I was lazy as. Henk and George were up in the mornings to keep me motivated, each morning I was springing out of bed and getting into action. There were loads on offer, Thai-boxing, swimming, running and cycling. I got professional 1:1 personal fitness training too from Alon; she was previously a lieutenant in the Thai-army, so I had a lot of respect for her.

The food was “absolutely mouth-watering delicious.”

The food at Hope Rehab Center Thailand was good as everyday there was a huge selection for breakfast and lunch. The quality of the seafood was beautiful, the best shrimp I’ve ever tasted. I was a big fan of Thai-food previously but this was just spectacular, Tom-yum, phad-thai, green curry and red curry – all absolutely mouth-watering delicious. A far cry from my usual take away and bottle-shop shop life that the meth caused.