How does it work?

Most people's idea of 'rehab' is a remote house in the middle of nowhere away from all the stress and problems of everyday life. The treatment set up at Focus¹² is completely different. The main building is a large town house near the middle of Bury St.Edmunds. Clients come there each day either from their homes nearby or from one of the residential units provided by Focus¹². This enables them to maintain important contact with families and friends , and are able to do normal activities such as shopping or going to the movies. 

The reason for this type of approach is that we believe that people need to learn how to recover in the environment in which they are going to live. In some ways it is easy to stay clean in a remote rehab. At Focus¹² you have to motivate yourself each day to come in and take part. Clients appreciate been trusted and allowed to do normal things.

It also means that you are having to learn how to deal with the difficulties that life can throw at you. As a result we believe that by the time a client has completed treatment with us they are stronger and more resilient than if they had not had to cope with some problems.

But this approach does not mean that clients are stressed and worried all the time. There is a very uplifting atmosphere within the community and visitors are always struck by how positive everybody seems. This is not to say that every moment of your treatment is going to be fun. Facing up to the truth about ourselves is hard. We have often done things while using and drinking about which we feel ashamed and guilty. By confronting these things and learning new ways to cope and access help and support you will be able to live life drug and alcohol free.