Press Coverage of The Sanctuary

Since its inception in early 2004, The Sanctuary has received considerable national and international media acclaim, including a feature article in the 2005 Business Review Weekly (BRW) Rich List issue (Australia), being named as one of the ten “Most Luxurious Places To Dry Out” in Forbes Magazine (US) and being named one of the six “Chicest Places To Go Cold Turkey” in the Sunday Times (UK).

Samples of recent media articles regarding The Sanctuary:

THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY
"Celebrity Rehab" written by David Leser, February 2008

(click here for scanned PDF of the whole article, file size 3MB)

....In the past four years, The Sanctuary has worked with European industrialists, English aristocracy, American record producers, taipans or chief executives from Hong Kong, lawyers, bankers and chief executives from around Australia and New Zelaand, and, yes, for the gossip-hungry among us, movie stars and top models, too.

....Every day, another headline, another famous person's fall from grace. Where do they go? To whom do they turn? And how do they face up to a lifetime of private pain while trapped behind a public facade? ..In a little surfing village on the most easterly point of Australia there is a sanctuary that awaits them. As [practitioner] says "We are not meeting the private jet they flew in on. We are not meeting the beautiful face in the magazine. We are not meeting what they do or who they look like. We are meeting who they are.". Some people, rich or poor, would give their earthly possessions just for that.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE
"Ab Fab Rehab" by Susan Maushart, June 9-10 2007

(click here for scanned PDF of the whole article, file size 2.8mb)

At The Sanctuary, Byron Bay - arguably one of Australia's best drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities and, with fees of up to $28,000 a week, certainly the costliest - there is no 'there' at all: no driveway, no gates, no 'facility' of any kind, unless you count the admin office, housed in a modest, conspicuously signage-free unit on the outskirts of town.

The Sanctuary is so exclusive that it doesn't reside in ordinary space and time. Instead, it is conjured into existence, de novo, for each and every admission. There are no private rooms here. There are private residences, one to a customer, leased as needed from among 40 beachfront properties. The one I visit, alas all too briefly, is gorgeous. From its walled tropical gardens and tranquil reflecting pools to the long, sloping lawns to the dunes, it oozes the kind of Bali-wood glamour Byron is famous for.

There are never more than four clients in residence at any one time. And they never, ever, ever bump into each other down by the tennis courts.

The Sanctuary makes every other rehab look like ready-to-wear. For sheer therapeutic decadence, no other rehab in the world may match The Sanctuary. Yet its treatment philosophy - holistic, multi-disciplinary, Eastern-influenced - is increasingly regarded as best practice, even by the mainstream. It's an approach that sees addiction as a disorder of the spirit as much of the body or the mind.

BRW RICH 200
"Rehab For The Rich” by Emily Ross May 19 2005

There is no sign saying "Welcome to The Sanctuary". Ask Byron locals about The Sanctuary and they may have heard about it, but have no idea where it is. The Sanctuary's 40-year-old founder, Michael Goldberg, likes it that way. His operation is shrouded in secrecy. Its 50 employees and contractors work in the rented luxury homes in the area that are used by the clients. Each client has their own palatial house that becomes a private retreat during their stay. From the outside, the client can seem like any other up-market holiday maker. Up to four clients are on individual Sanctuary programmes at any one time. They seldom meet. The only group situations are 12-step meetings (along the lines of the programmes run by Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous), if they choose to attend them, or when spouses or other family members come to the house towards the end of some programmes.
A typical day for a Sanctuary client may involve a dozen practitioners of various Eastern and Western disciplines, including cognitive behavioural therapy, clinical psychology, general practice medicine, acupuncture, yoga, physiotherapy, shiatsu massage …. Personal chefs, drivers and other maintenance staff are also on hand.

A psychologist at The Sanctuary, Catherine Stokoe, says: "Money can save people a lot of time. Most of our clients are high-functioning, socially. They don't need to spend six months living with people in communal houses doing cooking and shopping and working out food budgets." Stokoe is quick to add that wealth cannot buy recovery. The recent trend of using Naltrexone, a rapid detoxification drug, is a case in point. "Thinking you can buy recovery totally discounts the emotional aspects of addiction."

The Sanctuary's head psychologist, Jane Williams, says: "Money does come into the picture, often." Wealth and success, it seems, can be incredibly destructive. The rich also face what Williams calls "reverse discrimination". Rich alcoholics and junkies do not elicit much sympathy, no matter how tragic their personal circumstances. The Sanctuary's clients include wealthy tycoons such as the company director almost dead from drink, or the entrepreneur whose preferred fuel is cocaine. Their partners are leaving them and they really don't know why. ("Haven't I been a good provider?") Other clients include the children, spouses and other relatives of the super rich, who were brought up by nannies, who grew up knowing that the business always takes priority over relationships. Williams says: "They put up with the horrible family because of the money. Money is not just money in those relationships. It is power, control, authority and it gets tied up with anxiety and guilt."

Sanctuary clients are exposed to the "real world" during their stays …

THE SUN-HERALD
“Kicking The Habit In Style” by Danielle Teutsch January 9 2005

..Because The Sanctuary has no address, apart from a small administrative office in Byron Bay, anonymity is guaranteed. The homes are leased through local agents and change frequently.

One of the aims is to help them find a natural replacement for drugs – be it yoga or meditation, skydiving or singing. He (Michael Goldberg) does not believe in “heavy”-handed drug substitutes such as methadone. “The problem with rehab is that if people are depleting themselves of the drug, and they don’t fix themselves up internally, they are not going to have the motivation to continue. So it’s a matter of time before they fall back in their old ways”, he says. “We try to find people’s passion”. If clients express an interest in music, the staff can order in a piano. If they want to lie in a forest and watch the full moon rise, there is a night staff member who can take them. If they have back problems, The Sanctuary can call in a Feldenkrais practitioner and shiatsu specialist. If they have stomach cramps from going cold turkey, there is a naturopath and Chinese herbalist to ease their discomfort.

St Vincent’s Hospital’s head of alcohol and drug services Dr Alex Wodak says The Sanctuary fulfils a demand for a service for high-flyers with addiction problems, who want to be treated anonymously. “If you happen to be a Supreme Court judge or a senator with a problem, there haven’t been many options in Australia”, Wodak says. He recently referred a wealthy female patient with an alcohol addiction to The Sanctuary. He expects he will be sending more in the future. “There is no shortage of people in the upper income bracket with drug and alcohol problems”, he says..

TIME MAGAZINE – ASIA PACIFIC
“Check In – Room For Recovery” by Graham Simmons November 29 2004

..located in the stunningly beautiful surrounds of Australia’s Byron Bay, its clients are entrepreneurs, top professionals and other affluent individuals for whom the subject of addiction may be painfully taboo. Instead of opting for a neighbourhood 12 step program, they would rather ensconce themselves in the opulent seclusion of the Sanctuary’s beachfront villas, which come with all the accoutrements of a luxury resort.

The Sanctuary provides each client with a tailor-made one-on-one program, drawing on a range of therapies, including acupuncture, counselling and shiatsu..

THE GOLD COAST BULLETIN
“Sanctuary Celebrates” by Tanya Kirkbride November 1 2004
..The centre has been dubbed the world’s first exclusive therapeutic rehabilitation facility and has treated clients from age 14 to 65. People from far and wide, including America, Europe, London, Asia and New Zealand, already have travelled to the centre for treatment.

“New Era In Addiction Recovery” by Catherine Taylor July 21 2004
..Michael Goldberg – founder of The Sanctuary Byron Bay – has taken recovery into a new era. The Sanctuary Byron Bay has created a new international benchmark in drug and alcohol rehabilitation placing Australia at the forefront of psychotherapeutic treatments..

The problems treated have also been far ranging, including addictions to illegal drugs, prescription medication, alcohol, gambling and psychological trauma..

For all media enquiries including media releases, interviews and photographs, please contact Caroline Desmond on (02) 6687 5674 or carolinedesmond@optusnet.com.au.