The Basics
Promis is an England-based recovery conglomerate with locations all over the world. It’s also a tight-knit family business, which goes a long way in characterizing Promis Hay Farm, located in the English countryside of Kent County in the historic village of Nonington.
Nonington is a sleepy town full of opportunities for sight-seeing and serene outdoor walks through the country. Promis Hay Farm (actually an ex-farm) sits on 12 acres, and affords residents a cozy, homey feel. It also offers an overwhelming number of treatment and recreational options, including many different experiential treatments as well as supervised group and one-on-one therapy. Dr. Robert Lefever and his wife Margaret founded Promis in 1986, with their son Robin Lefever is now acting as managing director of all clinics.
Accommodations and Food
Promis’ policy is that self-reflection and comfort are crucial to recovery, so each resident is given a private, plush room with the option to upgrade to a deluxe suite for even more space. Each room comes fully furnished with a bed, dresser, nightstand and cozy rugs. Natural light is plentiful, as is storage space.
Amenities include adjoining bathrooms, all-inclusive housekeeping and laundry services, flat screen TVs in each room and WiFi and laptop access in common areas. There are no restrictions on bringing electronics to the facility, and residents can contact the outside world as they please.
Meals at Promis Hay Farm are also a strong point, with gourmet chefs preparing food with the help of an on-site nutritionist—that means breakfast, lunch and dinner all cater to each client’s individual needs. Clients eat together around an elegant, dining room table in the old farmhouse. Dishes vary, though they include meals like salmon with mashed potatoes and broccoli, or grilled steak with mushrooms.
Treatment and Staff
Treatment begins with a medically-supervised and assisted detox; an addendum is that residents can also undergo sleep analysis when necessary, and will be allowed access to the jacuzzi, spa and massage therapy to ease the discomforts of detox.
After detox, residents begin a busy treatment program with an exhaustive list of treatment options. Aside from day-planning sessions, days can include meditation, group psychotherapy, affirmations, mindfulness practices, horticultural therapy, psychodrama, music therapy, psycho-educational sessions, mindfulness groups, life coaching, cooking classes, art therapy (creative writing and art discussions), equine therapy, cranial electrotherapy, neurofeedback, NLP, acceptance and commitment therapy and Motivational Interviewing (MI) as well as one-on-one therapy (with DBT, CBT or EMDR as necessary).
The staff-to-resident ratio is nine-to-12. All staff are specialists in their respective fields—among them therapists, psychiatrists, a physician, a nutritionist, a personal trainer and several 24-hour care staff. In order to foster a community experience between staff and residents, Promis Hay Farm employs staff members who are often in recovery themselves.
While AA and NA are encouraged, they are not mandatory (SMART Recovery is also available). Each resident is guided rather than forced into a specific treatment plan.
Finally, Promis also integrates family into recovery. They welcome parents, children, spouses and siblings on Sundays to not only visit but also to participate in joint therapy sessions with residents.
Extras
Exercise is highly encouraged, and can include fitness and nutritional assessments, one-on-one personal training, Pilates, yoga, aerobics or circuit classes and countryside walks. Since relaxation is a major focus in the evenings, clients may also request a shiatsu massage or beauty treatment before bed to recenter themselves.
Extracurricular options are also seemingly endless, and include billiards, table tennis, golf, sailing, horseback riding, tennis, quad biking (otherwise known as four-wheeling), paintballing, seal watching, beach walks, castle and cathedral trips, hovercrafting, archery and kayaking. Because there are few residents, trips are easy to organize and happen frequently.
Once residents have completed the program, Promis gives them the option to revisit the facility at any time in the following 12 months for “top-up” days. A top-up is Promis’ term for a refresher course to remind alumni of the mental strategies they learned during treatment. Residents are allowed to visit any Promis facility for a top-up session, each of which can last from one to several days. Promis allots a total of 24 top-up days per resident—the only asterisk being that they can’t all be taken in a row.
In Summary
Promis is a rehab with just about every bell and whistle imaginable for a cost that’s unimaginable in the US. The quiet, country setting, bountiful activities, individualized therapeutic treatment and professional staff make Promis Hay Farm a great choice for recovery for Brits, Anglophiles or just those who want to recover in style.
Promis Hay Farm
Hay Lane
Nonington, Kent
CT14 0EE
United Kingdom
Promis Hay Farm Cost: £16,660 [$21,208 as of this posting] (30 days). Promis Hay Farm can be reached at + 44 (207) 581-8222 (from the US) or 0207-581-8222 (from England). Find Promis Hay Farm on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+
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