The Tabor Group is a provider of residential addiction treatment services in Ireland. It aims to offer hope, healing, and recovery to clients suffering from addictions through integrated and caring services. In addition to three residential facilities, the organisation provides a continuing care programme to clients who have completed treatment in order to assist with their recovery. It also offers counselling to families whose loved ones are struggling with an addiction. In 2020, the Tabor Group published its annual report.1 This article highlights services provided by the Tabor Group to individuals with a substance use addiction in 2019.

Tabor Lodge: residential addiction treatment centre

Tabor Lodge is a residential addiction treatment centre for the treatment of people addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and food. It is situated 15 miles south of Cork city. Tabor Lodge is guided by the Minnesota Model of addiction treatment in delivering its treatment programme. This model is characterised by the understanding that addiction is primarily a substance use disorder. The primary focus of the treatment programme is to educate clients on the dynamics of this disorder as they manifest in the life of the individual. Another important focus of the treatment programme is to assist clients develop the skills necessary to manage their disorder while going forward in their lives.

A total of 185 clients (74% male) were admitted to Tabor Lodge for residential treatment of addiction in 2019, of whom 178 completed treatment. A breakdown of the specific drug of choice for admissions in 2019 is shown in Table 1. The report noted a 19% increase in clients reporting cocaine as their drug of choice compared with 2018.

Source: Tabor Group (2020)

Source: Tabor Group (2020)

Source: Tabor Group (2020)

Tabor Fellowship: men’s residence extended treatment centre

The extended treatment programme for men is based on the Hazelden Minnesota Model and promotes ‘total abstinence’. The aim is to build on and consolidate the work of recovery already begun in primary treatment – even if that treatment was not in the recent past and the client is struggling to maintain sobriety.

In 2019, some 68 clients were admitted to Tabor Fellowship for extended treatment; a total of 43 individuals completed the programme. A breakdown of the specific drug of choice for admissions to Tabor Fellowship in 2019 is shown in Table 2. The report observed that 94% of clients reported cocaine as their specific choice of drug.

Tabor Renewal: women’s residence extended treatment centre

Tabor Renewal works with women who have already completed a primary 28-day treatment programme. It is a 12-week residential extended treatment programme, where clients learn to find routine, balance, and structure. Tabor Renewal is the only Minnesota Model extended treatment centre for women based in Ireland and was opened in 1999.

In 2019, some 42 clients were admitted to Tabor Renewal, of which 31 completed the programme. Sixty-two per cent of these clients were aged between 18 and 34 years. A breakdown of the specific drug of choice for admissions to Tabor Renewal in 2019 is shown in Table 3. That year, 93% of clients admitted presented with a history of alcohol abuse.

1   Tabor Group (2020) Tabor Group annual report 2019. Cork: Tabor Group.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/33529/