+41 76 304 15 58Medical and Healthcare
The first task of our medical team is to identify, assess and reduce any risks to life and to stabilise health.
The second, where necessary, is to facilitate safe withdrawal from substances of dependence and to assess the effects of current medications. Not everyone will require a detox.
Thirdly we assess every patient’s general physical and mental condition to ensure that they are in sufficient health to participate productively in treatment and recovery therapies.
Addiction takes a significant toll on physical and mental health, either directly or indirectly through its impact on self-care. There may also be co-existing health problems which may need to be addressed in their own right as well as to ensure they do not reduce the resources available to recovery.
Your general health will be medically monitored throughout your stay.
We approach each patient as the unique individual they are. Both addiction and recovery are differently experienced by each individual. This is why we will build a tailor made perfectly adapted programme to fit each patient’s needs.
We can collect our patients from home and accompany them to Clinic Les Alpes. This will be undertaken by members of our medical and/or therapeutic teams.
Below is an example of a possible therapeutic plan for a patient during the stay:
Interventions prompt change and often inspire hope that solutions can be found to issues which may seem intractable. An intervention from a trained professional in the home of the sufferer can be a very effective measure. At Clinic Les Alpes, our team is ready to mediate a first conversation towards recovery.
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Before admission to the Clinic, our medical team will liaise with the patient, the patient’s family and/or their own doctors / medical advisers to assess the nature of the issues to be addressed, their status, and the patient’s present condition.
On admission:
- Full one-on-one discussions to understand his/her medical condition and state of mental health
- Recent psychiatric history
- Family history
- Personal history / Life trajectory
- Addictions or addictive behaviour history
- Clinical observation
- Diagnosis and specific psychopharmalogical medication if necessary and agreed with the patient
- Medical follow-up through monitoring of biological parameters and constants
Upon arrival each patient will go through a complete medical health check with our experienced Doctors. This will help our medical and nursing teams to assess the patient’s needs and to create a personalised treatment plan. This includes among others:
Initial clinical assessment / Full blood analysis / ECG / Urine screening / Examination of renal function / Examination of heart function / Neuro examination / Nutrition / Genetic tests, in collaboration with a reputed Swiss laboratory.
As Clinic Les Alpes is a fully licensed medical facility, all clinical needs of our patients can be attended to in house, without requiring disruptive visits to a local hospital for detoxification and medical checks.
Detoxification (detox) is a necessary but insufficient part of the process known as withdrawal, the first stage of recovery. Withdrawal is both physical and psychological and these processes begin as soon as you make the choice to enter treatment.
Clinic Les Alpes has the expertise and resources to help you detoxify from substances of dependence, whether being consumed singly or in combination, as safely and as quickly as possible. The detox suites are specially designed to combine comfort, safety and the highest standards of medical care. Discreetly situated close to the nurse’s station for ease of access, they enjoy their own sitting room and exhilarating views towards Lake Geneva.
Patients suffering with cravings are helped with medication to make the process as painless and effective as possible.
The only question will be whether our medical team considers your level of intoxication or physical or mental complications pose a risk to you safely commencing detoxification at Clinic Les Alpes. In this unlikely case, a temporary referral may be made to a suitable hospital with which we have an agreement. Should this be required every measure possible will be taken to preserve confidentiality.
Engaging with recovery therapies doesn’t have to wait until detox is completed. In fact, we encourage you to participate in these therapies as soon as medically passed fit to do so. It can even help the detoxification process to be engaged in other therapeutic and leisure activities.
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Whether problems of mental health pre-date addiction or have arisen as a result of it, a psychiatrist is on hand to attend to the needs of those who need help. The psychiatrist works closely with the medical and therapeutic teams.
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A Clinical Psychologist will be available to help with assessing and treating any symptoms of psychological dysfunction such as cognitive impairment.
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Despite being a complex brain disease, there are plenty of physical factors that play a role in addiction.
Modern lifestyle pushes individuals to the limits, unbalancing the body, depleting the brain of essential neurotransmitters, and therefore possibly causing chemical deficits that may lead to depression, trouble sleeping and anxiety.
At Clinic Les Alpes we undertake tests in order to understand each individual’s requirements and deficiencies, which enables us to create a personalised programme of supplementation with vitamins, minerals, aminoacids and micronutrients.
Together with the medical team, our experienced dieticians will determine your micro nutritional profile.
Good nutrition and healthy food is easy to achieve, enjoyable and aids recovery and wellbeing.
Our goal is to help our patients learn new dietary habits and regain life balance. The skills and experience of our Executive Chef are exemplified in our balanced and nutritious menus. Each meal is a unique experience, created with fresh, local and seasonal products.
Each patient will have an individual treatment plan, developed with their medical team to suit their particular needs and circumstances.
At Clinic Les Alpes, our experienced, international and multilingual team of counsellors and psychologists will be following you throughout your entire stay.
Our responsibility is to help our patients reflect on their history and how addiction has led them to seek treatment.
Different approaches are used to foster introspection and change. For instance, cognitive behavioural therapy is a well-researched process for relapse prevention and resetting mindsets. Motivational interviewing assists the implementation of change by facilitating the formulation of solutions by the patient.
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The 12-Step programme and the widely available support of the 12-Step fellowships can provide long-term support beyond treatment. Clinic Les Alpes helps patients affiliate with these recovery resources and engage with the first three steps to help facilitate the process of change. Alternative approaches are offered where appropriate and preferred by the patient.
As each individual is unique, Clinic Les Alpes addresses the Mind, Body and Spirit aspects through alternative practices so that patients can find the approaches that will best match their needs.
Complementary therapies and integrative medicine also allow our patients to discover healthy activities they can incorporate in their aftercare programme.
Medical Hypnosis / Art therapy / Adventure therapy / Equine therapy / Meditation / Mindfulness / Stress management / Acupuncture / Reflexology / Physiotherapy / Yoga / Thai-Chi / Pilates / Reiki
Our medical and wellness spa comprises four treatment rooms, as well as male and female sauna, steam bath and relaxation suites, an indoor/outdoor infinity pool, an outdoor jacuzzi and a fitness space; a total of 1,000 square metres overlooking Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps.
Together with our Body Mind Source team, you will reawaken your senses and enter a journey of discovery, detoxification, relaxation and revitalisation. You will learn personalised strategies for creating balance, and optimise your energy, health and wellbeing.
Our therapists, all trained in the most reputed global institutes, will accompany you during your entire stay and help you purify your body and enhance your energy and wellbeing. All these body mediation techniques are closely supervised and assessed daily with the medical team to ensure the patient receives the best possible wellbeing experience.
One doesn’t have to be addicted to a substance or behaviour to suffer from addiction.
Families are often treated as of peripheral importance. Not at Clinic Les Alpes. Families need help and support in their own right as well as in relation to a loved one in treatment. This is why we have family therapists on our staff.
At Clinic Les Alpes we offer a specially designed six or ten day programme for family members, which can be residential if preferred.
Recovery is a journey that requires practice and time. From day one our therapists will work hand-in-hand with the patient to build a personalised, detailed aftercare plan. This plan includes:
- Defining relapse prevention strategies
- Establishing a network that will ensure support beyond the Clinic
- Identifying healthy activities in which the patient should enrol
- Scheduling weekly counselling sessions
- Scheduling quarterly consultations with our head psychiatrist
- Accompanying a patient on their journey home, if desired
- Booster Stays of one week or few days, if needed, to reinforce the key learnings of your recovery at Clinic Les Alpes.