- Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health, addiction and working-age adult social care services
- Flourish is designed for adults who need intensive therapy for addiction but do not require medical detox or inpatient hospital care
- Priory plans to operate five Flourish services by mid-year
Priory has announced that Priory Life Works in Woking will become the latest site to deliver Flourish, its therapy-led residential addiction recovery programme, from this week (commencing Monday 2 February).
The expansion comes amid growing national concern about access to addiction treatment, with alcohol and drug-related deaths at record highs and people seeking support for gambling addiction up 130% in a year.
Priory Life Works will transition from its previous combined addiction and eating disorders provision to focus exclusively on residential addiction treatment, operating as Priory Life Works House and joining the growing Flourish programme.
Flourish represents a new model of residential addiction support – non-medical, therapy-led and designed to be more affordable – supporting people who need structured, intensive help without a medical detox and hospital admission.
Programmes start from £4,200 for two weeks, widening access to residential care for individuals who may previously have been priced out of treatment.
The programme builds on the success of Eden House in North London, with Priory planning to open another three Flourish services by mid-year, expanding access to therapy-led addiction recovery across the UK.
Flourish focuses on intensive psychological therapy, trauma-informed care and relapse prevention, delivered in calm, community-based settings. The programme also incorporates virtual reality exposure therapy, enabling clients to develop coping strategies for real-world high-risk situations in a safe, supported environment.
Many people with addiction issues don’t need hospital admission, but they do need intensive psychological support
“Flourish allows us to focus on the underlying drivers of addiction – such as trauma, behaviour patterns and emotional regulation – while helping people develop practical skills they can use once they return to everyday life.”
Life Works has a long-standing reputation as a therapy-led service, making it well placed to support individuals who require longer and more community-based recovery journeys as an alternative to hospital-based care.
“Flourish was developed to address a clear gap between community services and inpatient care,” said Steve Clarke, Managing Director of Priory Flourish.
“There are many people who need more than outpatient support but for whom hospital admission is either unnecessary or inappropriate. By designing Flourish to be therapy-led and more affordable, we are creating a model that supports earlier intervention and has real potential to work alongside local authority and commissioner-funded pathways.”
Flourish clients who require a medically assisted detox can access this a short distance away at Priory Hospital Woking, before beginning their therapy programme at nearby Life Works House in Woking, or Eden House in North London.