A stint in rehab has become shorthand for something celebrities do when they’ve been caught ingesting substances they shouldn’t, or when they want to escape the heat from the paparazzi for a while. Open any tabloid newspaper or celebrity website almost any day, and you can read how Selena Gomez is staying away from alcohol after her stint, or how Ant McPartlin is doing well after his. It’s no wonder the phrase conjures up images of spoiled celebrities enjoying a few weeks of peace surrounded by fluffy bathrobes, aromatherapy oils and detox facials.
But the reality of what goes on behind the doors of Ireland’s rehab clinics, or – as they’re more correctly termed – addiction treatment centres is very different. There are no fluffy bathrobes, no caviar-based facials, and if there are any celebrities, they’re treated just like everyone else. Instead, there is a lot of hard work, empathy, talking – and a series of slow and difficult realisations.
“You’ll have a surgeon sitting beside a schoolteacher sitting beside a stay-at-home parent sitting beside a guy who’s homeless in Cork sitting beside a lad who’s just out of prison. There’s no ‘typical addict’, and everybody gets treated with the same respect and compassion. It could be your sister, your dad, your brother. Addiction doesn’t care who you are,” says Sara Cassidy, team lead at Aiséirí Cahir in Co Tipperary.
All the same, you could easily mistake Aiséirí for a comfortable country house hotel. A handsome, white-painted Georgian building with tidy gardens is surrounded by more modern outbuildings, where it’s more than possible to imagine gentle yoga sessions taking place. Inside, the tall ceilings, soft carpets, plush floral furniture and tea and scones laid out on trays for visitors reinforce the impression– which lasts until precisely the moment Noelle Ryan starts showing me around.
Source: Jennifer O'Connell, The Irish Times, 05/06/18
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