UAE's first privately-run residential rehab centre throws lifeline to people living with addiction

Remote Ras Al Khaimah clinic to help tackle alcoholism and gambling issues

A rehabilitation clinic has opened in a remote area of Ras Al Khaimah to help people with alcohol and gambling problems to tackle their addictions.

Sakina is believed to be the first privately-run residential centre of its kind in the UAE.

Its operators, psychologist Dr Annette Schonder and businesswoman and recovering addict Rebecca Rivera, said the centre's 30-day stays are for those who need intensive support.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention has supported Sakina by granting permission to open the centre, which has capacity for nine people. It is near Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, about 90 minutes from Dubai.

“There is a need for professional psychiatric and psychological care, this is what we offer,” said Dr Schonder, also a clinical counsellor at the Clinic for Health and Medical Care in Dubai.

This morning I was up at 5.30am with my coffee watching the sun come up over the mountain, and my perspective has completely changed on life

Lisa,
British mother-of-three who was drinking more than 60 units of alcohol per day

The centre resembles a farm, with animals roaming.

“The communal living, farm animals, the holistic treatment with the psychological care rather than the straight down the line inpatient psychiatric care, is something different,” said Dr Schonder.

“It's quiet and a wonderful place for recovery from addiction disorders.”

Mental health campaigners say addiction is not honestly and widely discussed enough, whether in the Middle East or beyond.

In the UAE, the authorities have in recent years sought to highlight the problem of drug use. There are tough penalties for the supply and dealing of drugs, though at the user level there has been an effort to address addiction with treatment rather than punishment. Rehabilitation centres are state-run in co-ordination with the courts.

As such, Sakina is largely focused on alcohol and gambling addiction.

Building a duck pond, outdoor kitchens and areas for socialising, a pool, gym as well as therapy rooms and cabins has so far cost around Dh1.7 million ($460,000). Sakina charges Dh45,000 for single residency or Dh32,000 for a shared room including food, counselling and therapy sessions.

Mental and physical scars

Australian Rebecca Rivera, who has lived in the UAE for 17 years, built Sakina from the ground up in the hope others follow her path to sobriety.

Her work as a chef, long hours in the busy kitchens of Sydney’s hospitality industry, pushed her towards a gambling addiction, and later drugs.

After leaving Australia for the Emirates to escape a crippling habit, her mother’s death led her back to the cycle of addiction, with alcohol the crutch upon which she relied.

“Three-and-a-half years ago, I was a terrible alcoholic but woke up one day and decided I just wanted to live, to stop the addiction,” she said.

“I was always a functioning alcoholic, which is scary because you still go to work with people, but manipulate situations so they think you're normal.

“That day I decided there was nowhere else for me to go.”

Her addiction became so intense, Ms Rivera entered a state of alcoholic myopathy, muscular degeneration that makes it difficult to walk.

Behind the curtain of addiction Ms Rivera was running a successful business, operating food trucks in the busy beaches of Dubai.

Ms Rivera made the decision to begin her recovery by admitting her addiction, then seeking help.

After visits to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, she began taking her first tentative steps towards sobriety and wanted to help others.

Camels at the Sakina Rehabilitation Centre in Al Khatt, Ras Al Khaimah. Andrew Scott / The National

“Every morning I woke up and said, I will not drink today – but I relapsed every day for a year,” she said.

“Another year, and I would have been in a wheelchair.

“I began this journey almost four years ago, and I was told it would not be possible, because of the challenges around finding support for addiction.

“Something like this can attract a certain amount of stigma, so privacy is a big aspect of what we are doing.

“People who may be in crisis need to know there is a place where they're safe, respected, and there is hope.

“The authorities have been very supportive in getting the facility into a position to help people.”

Lisa's story

One guest on the farm has been receiving support for a intake of about 60 units of alcohol a day, or more than two bottles of strong liquor. Lisa, who is British and aged 47, said her stay at Sakina was around a third of the price of a rehab clinic in Scotland she had visited.

“Alcoholism is a progressive disease, and after my third child was born 12 years ago it got steadily worse and I eventually went into rehab in Scotland,” she said.

“Everything was taken from me, all my possessions including my phone. It was an environment I thrived in.

“I was in this castle on top of a hill with a daily routine, making friends and everything was fine – then I was spat back out to the airport and back into society, of course I relapsed within hours of leaving.”

Lisa was admitted to hospital with severe kidney problems, brought on by the vast volume of drink she was consuming.

She visited AA and continued attending the meetings for almost two years, but struggled to beat her addiction.

On returning to Dubai, she contacted the recently opened Sakina centre after seeing a social media post.

“Once I take that first drink, I can be gone for days – and I’m 47 so without changing my behaviour I would be dead,” she said.

Dr Annette Schonder at Sakina Rehabilitation Centre said farm animals help with the psychological aspect of recovery. Andrew Scott / The National

“This place is sober living. I haven't watched TV in a month and I have not missed it one bit.

“I hate being in the house alone, and need a purpose so the animals have really helped with that. Before I came here, I couldn't care less if I was dead.

“This morning I was up at 5.30am with my coffee watching the sun come up over the mountain, and my perspective has completely changed on life.”

Dr Schonder, the centre's psychologist, said Sakina offers a different approach to recovery, with counsellors continuing to offer support after someone has left the centre.

A World Health Organisation report this year said alcohol was responsible for 2.6 million deaths a year, with 600,000 deaths resulting from drug abuse, the majority of them men.