AN EMOTIVE three-part series featuring the life, workings and people at Coolmine Therapeutic Community began on TV3 tonight.
The Rehab is a character-led, multi-layered journey into what is one of Ireland’s most successful rehabilitation centres.
Founded in the early ’70s, Coolmine TC began life as Ireland's first voluntary drug-free treatment service for addicts.
It later faced challenges and struggled for survival when addiction treatment began to be dominated by harm reduction strategies in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
However, it has now evolved into a modern treatment centre that uses evidence-based clinical practices to help clients recover from addiction problems.
Filmed over a period of a year, The Rehab is given unprecedented access to Coolmine’s staff and residents and cameras follow several clients from the beginning to the end of their treatment journey.
Throughout the series, viewers spend time with Tobias, Columb, Sandra, Mark, Carolyn and Sharon as they fight their way out of addiction and look to create a new life for themselves and their families.
The series follows them as they learn to live without drugs and come to terms with the past and find out what has brought them to Coolmine and what impact their addiction has had on their families.
They’ve come from varying backgrounds and have very different life experiences, but, one thing unites them: their desire to get clean and stay clean.
Throughout the series viewers see the residents at the Coolmine centres, at group sessions and going about their daily tasks.
They are interviewed after they finish residential treatment and reveal how things have worked out.
Sadly, not everyone makes it through treatment and life takes a difficult turn for some of the clients.
The series culminates in the Coolmine graduation when those who’ve successfully completed the programme come together to celebrate and look forward to a future free of addiction.
The series begins at 9pm on Monday, October 18 and the first episode is available on the TV3 Player after broadcast.
