Circle Of Life Recovery And Reinvention Centre

Welcome to Circle Of Life Recovery And Reinvention Centre

Addiction is complex disease that needs a multi-faceted treatment approach. One single treatment tool will not help overcome addiction.  At Circle of Life we take a holistic approach – one that addresses the emotional, physical and mental factors when treating addiction. We also take a long-term view, teaming a personalised treatment approach with the support needed to achieve long-term recovery. 

Located in Northcliff, Johannesburg, Circle of Life has been offering secondary, tertiary and halfway house services to the community for the past 14 years. We offer a blend of proven traditional therapies and alternate therapies, with a focus on community re-integration. We feature the 12-step recovery program, alongside individual, group and family therapy and volunteer programs.

We understand that for some individuals, having no access to work is not possible. To meet the needs of these individuals working long-term to break free from addiction, we allow clients to access work-related technology such as cell phones and computers to remain connected to work

SECONDARY CARE
The purpose of secondary care, is to provide the necessary structures for long-term sobriety and create a safe space for clients to build and practice the tools they need to live life in recovery.
Clients usually come to us after they have completed a 28-day primary treatment for a substance dependence disorder. There is an initial two-week period in which residents have to remain at the facility and are slowly reintroduced to external activities.
All residents are expected to actively participate in the house activities and chores are shared.

Programme elements include:
– Family sessions
– Individual counseling sessions
– Process Groups
– Step-work and homework
– Learning the group structures
– Compulsory 12-Step Attendance of 5 meetings a week
– Weekly drug testing
– Re-integration skills such as volunteering, education or jobs
– Time-management work
– Skills development, particularly relapse-prevention skills
– The program starts at 7.30am and finishes at 9pm

TERTIARY CARE
Tertiary care continues the recovery journey. It puts the structures in place to maintain a long-term, independent recovery lifestyle and enables the person to practice new skills, routines and positive habits in a safe environment. A client will be ready for tertiary care when they have worked hard and been clean and sober for some time and are almost, but not completely, ready for independent living. Tertiary care is particularly useful for someone who has done extended primary and secondary care in another province and now needs to return to life in Johannesburg. They are leaving support systems they have built, behind, and need a safe space to cope with triggers and build a new recovery support system.

Tertiary care has many advantages:
– It provides the structure of a daily schedule, which grounds the client, while learning to navigate free time and be independent in a sustainable way.
– It offers support and guidance in learning to make healthy life choices.
– Living in a close-knit recovery community provides peer support.
– It is a place to practice learned coping skills and learn to find healthy ways to cope with triggers, cravings and stress.
– Gives valuable extra time to build up safe networks in the community, begin job searches and find life direction.
– It provides a space for family to become involved in meetings run by a therapist.
– Weekly drug and urine testing offers accountability.

OUTPATIENT PROGRAMME
This is a 12 week programme that is recommended for clients who have time constraints and are unable to
facilitate a full-time or part-time programme within their busy work or study schedule.

The outpatient programme is held on the Circle of Life premises on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm to 7pm. These include group sessions, workshops and individual counselling.

HALFWAY HOUSE
Our halfway house is a transitional stand-alone living facility.

While it is ideal for clients who have gone through a medical detox and completed initial treatment, some clients come to us to begin their journey of recovery. 

The aim of the Halfway House is to provide a safe and controlled environment, while helping clients to take more personal responsibility for themselves, secure a job, feel strong in their sobriety and reintegrate into society.  The length of stay varies, but in general, most stays are between three to twelve months. 

We require clients to pass regular drug screening and breathalyser tests.

INTERVENTION SPECIALIST
Circle of life Addiction intervention services aims to help the family of an addict convinces their loved one of the damage their addictive behavior is causing and that professional help is necessary to assist the addict. Most addicted people cling to the belief that they will be able to overcome addiction on their own when they decide the time is right.


Interventions may stand the best chance of being successful when conducted under the guidance of an outside professional. An interventionist’s assistance may mean the difference between life and death. But first, you’ll need to know the signs and symptoms of substance addiction so that you can determine whether an intervention is necessary or not.


The professional team at Circle of Life can help the still-suffering addict.

FAMILY CARE
Just as addicted individuals suffer, families suffer from the emotional pain, disruption, stress and guilt that addiction causes.

 Loved ones are often left feeling isolated, anxious and hopeless and they can develop unhealthy coping strategies which cause the family unit to become dysfunctional. Children are particularly affected by addiction and it may have a negative effect on their school behaviour and marks. They are also at risk for addiction to alcohol and drugs themselves.


Only treating the individual addict limits the effectiveness of treatment – families need to work together to fight the addiction. At Circle of Life we believe that active participation by the family is necessary for long-term recovery and we look to nurture the entire family, so the family dynamic becomes healthy for all involved.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
We schedule individual therapy sessions at least once a week for 45 minutes. We suggest a minimum length of stay of three months – which research indicates is the minimum time needed to achieve lasting results. During this time clients undergo at least 16 individual therapy sessions.


Our therapists employ a number of different approaches to addiction treatment, which include; Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Rational Behaviour Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Schema-Focused Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.

GROUP THERAPY
Along with other therapies, group therapy is an indispensable element of therapy. Those in addiction treatment benefit from identification, affiliation, confrontation support and gratification provided in the context of group
therapy.

Group therapy provides benefits that individual therapy may not, such as the ability to:
Allow members to observe how others in recovery have delt with and overcome problems and encourage them to move forward when they see what others have achieved.
Build a support system and empower members by providing a way to give and receive support in a safe environment.
Provide a sense of connection with others facing the same difficulties.
Provide motivation from others to keep to recovery goals.
Enable members to see how the recovery process works from others who are living it.
Teach social conversation skills and help members develop important listening and understanding skills.
Teach coping skills to manage the stresses of life without turning to substance abuse.
Build healthy relationships and friendships that can be used outside of therapy for support and encouragement.
Help members to become aware of their own feelings and needs.
Provide space to practice life skills such as assertiveness and being authentic.
Build self-worth and optimism through knowing they have the support of a group.
Allow many people to benefit from therapy at one time.
Use therapeutic tools, such a confronting poor decisions, to change behaviours.

COGNITIVE THERAPY
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an effective and widely-used therapy for addiction treatment. CBT teaches recovering addicts how to change their patterns of thinking, and in this way change the way they behave. 

CBT helps to equip those in recovery with coping strategies and can also treat co-occurring disorders such as anxiety.

LIFE COACHING
Recovery centres teach recovering addicts the skills they need for lifelong sobriety, but if they are not prepared for daily challenges, they may relapse.

 This is where a life coach comes in – they help clients to make better life decisions, develop practical tools and implement new decision-making skills. They also offer ongoing guidance and support to help the person rebuild their life. 

The coach and client will work together to set objectives for what they want to achieve and then come up with a practical recovery plan.

ART THERAPY
Art therapy uses art to help clients express thoughts and feelings that they may not be able to express in words. It is a very effective form of therapy that enables a client uses his or her creativity and imagination to better convey his or her experiences and resolve issues that they may not feel comfortable talking about.

 Research shows that it is able to teach clients self-soothing techniques, improve their self-esteem and promote self- awareness

INPATIENT SECONDARY CARE
This is a dedicated fulltime programme where clients live-in and follow a structured daily schedule which focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to the individual recovery process. 

Clients will undergo intensive group therapy, interactive workshops, didactic lectures, emotive training, individual counselling, step work guidance and lectures, in-house and public 12 step meetings, life stories groups, career guidance and vocational training, weekly yoga, life skills training and relapse prevention strategy.

The minimum recommended admission period is 3 to 6 months.

DAY-PATIENT SECONDARY CARE
This is a part-time day programme where clients do not live on the premises but instead join the program from Monday to Friday 10h00 to 16h00. 

The client will have full access to the inpatient programme and participate in intensive group therapy, didactic lectures, group discussions, individual sessions, structured step work groups, in-house 12 step meetings, life stories, the world of work workshops and the recovery life skills programme. 

The minimum recommended admission period is 3 to 6 months. The day-patient programme is not covered by medical aids.

WORLD OF WORK
This once-weekly session covers matters related to careers and vocations.  Our residents are exposed to organisation dynamics, career and developmental psychology, business cases and skill transfer like job search, 

CV preparation and interview skills, presentation and facilitation skills amongst others.  The often neglected yet crucial item of careers and work on reintegration is a key differentiator at Circle of Life.  

Each resident completes a series of career development assessments and discussions with our visiting Industrial Psychologist.

INTERROGATING YOUR INTELLIGENCE
A 12 week programme where all clients better understand their natural and preferred intelligences, and how these can be restored, built on and further developed is workshopped by Dr. Garrath Rosslee.  

This practical process helps individuals leverage their talents in a variety of settings and contexts and covers an in depth assessment of the gamut of recognized intelligences and where our clients gifts can optimize these.

Meet Our Team

BRIAN TUCKER
THERAPEUTIC DIRECTOR / PROGRAM DIRECTOR / ADDICTION COUNSELLOR / ADDICTION SPECIALIST

ABDULLAH
OPERATIONS LEADER / ADDICTION COUNSELOR

MR DILIZA
MANAGER / RECOVERY COACH

ANGIE
PROFESSIONAL RECOVERY COACH / YOGA TEACHER

GARRATH ROSSLEE
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGIST / OUTPATIENT PROGRAM DIRECTOR  / OWNER

CAROLINE
ACCOUNTANT

NKOMO ONIAH
HOUSE MOTHER

It  is the mission of Circle of Life Recovery and Reinvention Centre to provide lifelong recovery for clients in a safe, supportive, empathetic and structured environment where individuals can truly recover. We believe in a long-term approach in which, not just the symptoms, but the underlying causes need to be treated to get the best recovery outcome. We walk alongside clients and their families on their journey and provide them with positive and healthy coping skills and the mental, physical and spiritual tools to stop addiction and attain lasting recovery.

Contact Us

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