This is Alex from Worlds Best Rehab Magazine. I'm here today with Matthew Idle, the exceptional lead therapist from Villa Paradiso rehab in in Spain.
Villa Paradiso has been making a lot of headlines recently for the transformative work that they've been doing for many years.
Matthew leads, a very dedicated, professional, and successful team, who are all focused on delivering long term recovery for clients. But I think it's important to state that Villa Paradiso don't just place a bandaid over someone's immediate treatment needs. They have saved countless lives and there loved ones around today, who may sadly have been lost to addiction, if it wasn't for the for the good work that you and your team do. So, Matthew, it's a real pleasure to have you on the show. And welcome.
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 0:59
Thank you. It's a real pleasure to be here speaking with you.
Great. So I know that you're in recovery yourself. And it would be really lovely to hear a little bit more about you and your story, if you'd be happy to share.
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 1:09
Yes, of course. I've been in recovery for over 14 and a half years now. When I was younger I suffered from anxiety, low self esteem, and a window of opportunity came along with the crowd I was mixing with and someone gave me a substance and it took that away temporarily. And for the next period of time, maybe 10 to 12 years, I just numbed my feelings completely. And I didn't even realize. I just thought that I felt Okay, I didn't feel good, or I didn't feel amazing, but I did feel okay. And the consequences built up more. And, you know, I didn't just lose my family, I lost a lot of trust and lost a lot of dignity. And, you know, I had an opportunity to get some help. And I got some help in a in a place. And I started to look at what the issue really was. And I sort of saw myself, that the way that people were dealing with addiction was quite wrong, because the substance misuse or the depression or something like that, it's just a solution to an underlying problem. And they seem to focus a lot on the addiction and the drugs and alcohol when it damages doing and, you know, we know that we know what it's doing to us. But we're not really we don't really care. And I sort of set up a new approach where it was take the drink and the drugs and the anxiety and that work on that and then start working on the underlying problem because the drink and the drugs and the other disorders, etc, our solution to an underlying problem. And until you fix the underlying problem, people are always going to relapse and go back to solution. So I think that's why we've been successful, because we don't just focus on the immediate drugs or alcohol from the day they come in, we're focusing on everything can give him a new solution and whatever, feeling the drink or drugs gave them we give them in their normal life. So they won't need to go back to that solution.
Thank you for sharing. I know, there are lots of listeners to this show, maybe in a state of active addiction themselves, or they could even be a loved one of someone who's in the grip or the midst of that addictive cycle. But, I think some people might think to themselves, whether it's them or or, again, the family member, they might think to themselves, well, you know, okay, things are bad, but I he or she is is not an addict, right? Because it's got this stigma attached to it that that I think all too often prevents people getting the help that they need, and I just wondered what your thoughts were around that.
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 3:45
And that's one of the problems with, you know, a lot of treatment services, you know, the people are trying to qualify people as addicts or qualified people as our colleagues. But, you know, like I said before, you know, it's a solution to a problem. And, you know, there's, there's a high percentage and I have this little buzzword that there's the 1% of people that are very successful, have a large amount of money, you have, you know, the light, quite manageable, yet they're not the run of the mill, what people would expect would need some some form of treatment. And when we get them people in here, which we get a lot of that sort of people and I call them the one percenters, they have to be dealt with differently. You can't deal with you know, you have to deal with people individually, you know, you can't deal with someone that's very successful, the same as you would deal with someone that's lost everything. So our approach is very individual to the person, their way of learning, you know, their way of understanding lots of one to one support, lots of looking at what they want to achieve. You know, if you've got someone who's very successful and achieved everything, we have to start giving them something else to achieve and finding them a purpose and a meaning and I think that's why the whole recovery sort of in the treatment sort of thing is wrong, because is treating the person not the illness.
I think what that comes back to was that I used the word very deliberately in the introduction, when I said that its transformative work that you do, obviously, there is no one solution fits all at all. It's really interesting that you spoke about dealing with a diverse client group, people from from all different walks of life. At what stage would you advise an individual or family to start seeking out treatment? And, for example, to make it really relevant to Villa Paradiso Treatment in Spain what are the steps that someone would take to to enter treatment with with you?
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 5:55
Well, firstly, we like to speak to the client themselves, or if a family member rings up and says, you know, one of their family members is struggling with some sort of issue, I always like to speak to the family members and try and give the family members support on to help the person make the right decision. But for me, it's about speaking to the person and understanding him because they will know a lot of what's going on and speak to them. And always, I want to speak to them on the phone, I want them to speak to me to feel comfortable with me, I want them to speak to our psychiatry, you know, I'm giving them all of this before they make a decision to come into us. Because I know that our team is good. And I know that anybody that are any testimonial that's on our website, if there's a testimony you like, then I can get that client to ring you personally, you know, I've got nothing to hide. And if you decide that we're not right for you, then as long as people get well, that's a big thing of us. And I find that lots of people like that approach, because I want to help them to achieve their goals in in life. And I want to help them to feel comfortable and be in a place that they feel that they can they can achieve that and with a family member. I would not say to him, all right, yeah, you need to get him in that. I'd say to him, you know, sit down with him, you know, speak to him, ask him what you can do to help him you know, what, what does he want to achieve, instead of these interventions where the whole family goes around there and puts him in a room and says we're going to leave you that's the worst thing you can do to it to anybody with problems is because the solution to their problem is they've lost connection, that reality with with their family members. And if you go and take that connection away, then it's very difficult for them to find a way out. So I have to do the opposite. And say to the family members, you know, go and sit, we read reviews, drinking luck, go and sit with him if he's taking something and tell him that you love him, and you want to be there for him, and you want to help him to find a new life and you want to support him of what he needs to do. And it seems to have really good results because the person doesn't feel pressured or that everyone just wants him out of the way they understand that people just want them to be the best they've ever been.
The other thing I wanted to discuss with you was the build up to coming into treatment. Okay, so the few days and even those few hours on the build up to starting treatment, there's a massive fear of the unknown. Now, if it's someone's first treatment episode, what is the treatment cycle actually look like? Or feel like what should someone expect?
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 8:33
Well, we're a very calming and tranquil environment, we're not clinical at all, we have a psychiatrist office, you know, it's not clinical at all. It's more like, a sort of family environment. So they would come in, we would introduce him to the rest of the clients, we would sell them in, you know, we would speak through him, you know, we would show him around, we would like make him feel calm. But a lot of this stuff, like I said before, is as soon as somebody speaks to me on the phone and agrees to come in, even if it's a week's time, even that week prior to him coming up, I will start talking to him once a night, maybe giving them a little bit of work to do, then they can ask me questions, my phone's on 24 hours, they'll ask them questions about what they can bring what they can't bring, can they do this, just to make everything for them as comfortable as possible for when they get here, so they can focus on the treatment, then we would do an assessment, then I would do an assessment, then the psychiatrists would do an assessment, then we would sit down together with the client with an idea of what way we're going to go. And the client would be involved in that as well. Instead of just giving him a booklet exam, right? Go away and do that. We would sit with him and say do you think this is this is something that you could do or is there a different way we could do it? So it's very individual to each client, but also they're a massive part of what program will write for them because it's them that's got to understand it and it's them. That's got to get that bars and I see people come in there and they start doing their work. And they're excited. And like today, I come in in the afternoon and I work late and I walk in at 11 o'clock, and they're all at the table outside doing their work. They're not hanging out with anyone watching over, because they're enjoying it. So it's, it's a really enjoyable journey for me, as its ups and downs, but they can see hope from day one.
I think you're right, and when you use that word journey, because it is, you know, from taking that step right the way through, not just not just in terms of leaving treatment. But, you know, beyond I guess, and I think one of the most rewarding aspects, as you said, in your role is that transformation that you must get to witness from someone entering treatment, until that same person leaves, you know, a Boyd, someone that different with a renewed kind of vigor and enthusiasm for life. But also, I think you've also got one of the best aftercare programs in the world, I think, you know, because of that care, and because of that engagement that you that you have with clients, and because you're there to kind of support them, not just not just through that initial treatment, but I believe, ongoing as well.
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 11:03
Yeah, I mean, we have our own, because we have clients from all over the world, we have our own online meeting on a Friday, which is here led by one of the clients and you know, they're from clients from all over the world, America, Malta, Holland, Belgium, and on a Friday, they have a support group where they'll have a topic, and they'll all discuss it. And then when they're in the clinic, we have it on the Friday in the clinic, so they can get involved. And then some of the clients that are in there that twos and three years clean in recovery will hook up with a new person that's leaving and an affidavit of support with them. And then on a Tuesday, they have a men's group where which is peer led by one of the ex clients, which I oversee. And on a Saturday, they have a women's group, which is over seen, they have their own whatsapp group, and they all have my private number, you know, my phone doesn't go off, you know, I have people that within three years ago might be going through a tricky situation. And they just ring me for a little bit of support, and then I can work on for it. So it's like, what they describe it the clients describe it to and I think it's quite unique. They put their Villa parody. So family, that's what they call it. So they become part of the family. And, you know, when you see transformations, you know, you can't buy them things. I've had people come in here, you know, I had recently, two years ago, a young girl come in here, and she sent me a picture that weekend that she's just having a baby clean and getting married and having a baby. And she was like if it wasn't for her recovery, so it's things like that, that you can't put, you know, for me, it's not it's not a job for me to wear life. And the clients know that they know that that, you know, for me, it's not ticking the box, you know, it's about really putting in the effort. And if I have to stay two hours late because somebody's struggling, and I'll stay two hours late if I have to stay overnight, because I'm worried about somebody, I stay overnight, you know, because these people, we provide a service that's like you say that's transforming someone's life, and it has to be done, you know, not in what restriction has to be done, how it has to be done?
I think, to summarize, we mentioned and we spoke about how daunting and worrying, you know, the entering treatment is in the first stage, but then once that treatment starts to come to an end, and no, someone's going back to their I say their normal life, but you know, going back to have a life beyond their wildest dreams, right, something that maybe never imagined, you know, those weeks or months prior in terms of that readjustment, because that's a difficult time for lots of people as well. Once you come out of that treatment bubble, what do you guys do to prepare someone for that?
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 13:43
The last week, when they're here, we start doing recovery planning with them. And we do recovery planning with them and their significant others as well. So we do some work with the family, though, we do a recovery plan that is, is the clients base also sent to the family members. So you know, if we suggest that they go to support groups, the family members will know what they use them groups are so the family members instead of watching over and they can sort of look at the timetable and figure out well on a Tuesday, he should be at his computer doing this group. And you know, and I try and give the family members, some different ways of communicating with them. And because they used to communicate with them in a certain way. And if they're worried about something that the family members can ring me and not say anything to the client, so I can address it a bit better because it's hard for them. So, you know, the family members are quite involved in the therapy, I do request some information for offer. We're about three weeks into the treatment. So it's the whole package, you know, and then if the wife struggling because their husbands come home and he's not drinking and in relationships, then we'll the aftercare might be not just for the client, there might be for the client and his wife learning to learning to welcome a new man backing their life doesn't really understand. So depending on who it is, we'll depending what sort of aftercare, someone might need a more structured aftercare, some of them might need some family support or some support around in children are, how to manage their children and how to manage. So we do recovery planning the week before they leave. And then they commit to us to attending the meetings and attending the support groups. And if they don't attend the support groups, then I will give them a call and say, you know, they have to drop me a message. So I can't attend to that. Maybe I'm working or something I said, that's a call. But if they don't send me a message, I will ring them and check everything's okay. action before. When they get out. They're not in recovery here. They're in discovery, when they leave, it's recovery, then we have to really support. That's why we do the 12 months after the care is part of the service.
Wonderful. That sounds amazing. And thank you for taking the time today to discuss those things. I found it really useful, really informative. Here at world's best rehab, we thoroughly recommend Villa Paradiso Rehab in Spain and Villa Paradiso Tunisia and that's based on based on the good work that you do. We really admire what you guys have been doing. And I look forward to speaking with you again, in the future.
Matthew Idle, Lead Therapist Villa Paradiso Spain 16:25
