26 May Which Rehab is Better for You – Large or Small?
One of things you must consider when going to a residential treatment center is whether you want to go to a large facility or a smaller one. Here in Thailand there are places with 60 beds or more, and then there’s us, Lanna Rehab.
“Small is beautiful” is a phrase that is often heard, and we at Lanna agree. Many of us in management and in the staff have run and worked in large institutions before. We understand the complications and variables of having large amounts of people in treatment at the same time. Although larger facilities will tell you it’s an advantage, we didn’t leave those places for no reason.
Clients in treatment, especially when they first come in, are in crisis. Some will “act out” creating problems for the treatment staff and others. When you have a large number of these situations going on at once, it means the staff is diverted from other clients. Make no mistake, larger places are larger because they’re trying to get costs down with efficiencies of size and maximize profits, not because it’s better for their clients. It’s not.
Clients need plenty of attention and support from staff and it’s important that they don’t get “lost in the crowd”. That’s why at Lanna Rehab we chose to only work with small numbers of clients, to afford them all the attention they need, to be able to have a better staff-to-client ratio, to build better relationships with our clients and the trust that is critical in this type of care. Even when we are at maximum capacity, we will only have 12 clients at any given time, we don’t squeeze in 60 or 70 clients.
Large institutions, often have regular issues of clients leaving the treatment center and relapsing while still in the program. Because clients in early recovery are vulnerable, and prone to act out and, high staffing ratios are important to keep the client engaged through the treatment process. At Lanna Rehab we have a ratio of 1 client to 3 therapists, which means that therapists have smaller caseloads, and are able to do more intensive work with their clients.
It also allows clients to feel safer, more secure. There I always someone they can turn to 24/7.
Our group sessions will never have more than 12 clients, so clients will always be participative and get meaningful interaction and acknowledgement, as opposed to large unmanageable groups where little process work can really be undertaken.
The layout of facility is also important, large facilities often have areas where supervision is impossible, and clients can essentially “disappear”. This breaks down the “community” of a centre and affords an opportunity for trouble.
At Lanna Rehab there are separate Male and Female accommodations, while all of the therapeutic areas are located centrally, so clients are always in the same areas, and staff are always present. Safety and security is paramount, unlike larger facilities where shuttling clients into different locations, or having to cross busy roads to get to therapy sessions, is common and not the best practice.
Facilities should also have suitable security, so that safety is not compromised. There should be a good, reliable CCTV system around the facility, as well as properly trained security staff that provides a sense of security for clients and their families.
Our management team have the longest experience in Thailand running facilities, both large and small and understand what works and doesn’t. We’ve seen it all. It’s why we created Lanna Rehab the way we did.
If you are considering treatment for yourself or a loved one, then contact us on +66 9 4095 4142 and speak to one our therapists today.
