Have you ever wondered just how expensive rehab can be? What could you spend on a treatment program if you had unlimited funds?
I want you to take your best guess, and I’ll give you the top five most expensive addiction rehab price tags in the world.
Believe it or not, the top two are from the same city. And it’s not in the US.
In the past, we’ve made videos of the rehab stories of celebrities like Elton John, Gerard Butler, Colin Farrell, and more. And you see these guys forking out crazy sums ranging from $30 to $50 thousand a month. But when you look at the top-of-the-line rehab clinics, prices like that are actually modest.
Some of the prices I’m going to tell you today are absolutely silly. And these clinics are not generally even in the US. They’re in Europe.
Let’s get right into it.
Top 5 Most Expensive Rehab Clinics in the World
5. Hellenic Practice Athens
Kicking things off at number five, the Hellenic Practice in Greece offers a wide range of programs, ranging from 15 to 90 days. The most expensive ones come at an astonishing price of 100 thousand euros a month.
If you can’t afford that kind of money, worry not. A basic package will set you back only five thousand euros a month. At that price, you get our private bedroom with a shower and bath.
For 55 thousand euros a month, you can stay in your own six-star exclusive villa with a swimming pool. Or, you can choose to stay in your own luxury yacht, doing rehab while sailing along the coast of Athens and the various Greek islands.
The treatment facility boasts a staff of over 30 specialists and claims a 65% success rate. The treatment is based on what they call the Educational Holistic model, and they are highly individualized to suit each guest’s particular needs.
Hellenic Practice also offers “extended care” stays for people who have completed the clinic’s primary programs or have stopped drinking through some other means and now want to consolidate their gains.
4. The Rise In Malibu
If you don’t like the idea of being in rehab with many other people, then the Rise in Malibu might be the place for you. The clinic takes a maximum of six clients at a time.
Costs begin at $90 thousand for a month and can go up to $120 thousand. The clinic offers a variety of programs, but two of the most important ones are 12-step and so-called SMART recovery: Self Management And Recovery Training. Treatment is both one-on-one and in groups.
I should mention that Malibu City is an addiction rehab industry hotspot, serving as home to some 35 licensed alcohol and drug rehab facilities.
And the one thing they all have in common is that they’re not cheap. At a minimum, you’re looking at around $50 thousand a month, though the Rise is one of the most expensive.
3. Mercui Recovery
Mercui is a proper chain in the luxury rehab center segment with clinics in Colorado, California, Mexico, and Spain.
They describe their offering as “private luxury accommodations in a natural wilderness environment with serene and peaceful settings.” On their site, the clinic boasts a 99.9% success rate. Mercui is very transparent about its pricing, and you can see all the programs on its site.
The four-week luxury recovery retreat is the most expensive package, at an even $300 thousand. Three weeks at the luxury drug rehab retreat will set you back $225 thousand.
If you’re strapped for cash, you can choose their nine-day intensive detox program, followed by two weeks of online support for a measly $150 thousand.
As you’d expect for this kind of money, there are endless activities to choose from, including horseback riding, pet therapy, gardening, hiking, tennis, golf, skiing, sailing and diving, and much more. You also get your own chef and access to specialists in ayurveda, neuropathy, and homeopathy.
2. Paracelsus, Zurich
At the number two spot, we find a Swiss clinic. Programs are flexible, though typically around a month long. If you decide Paracelsus is the place for you, you can expect to fork out around $300 thousand.
Describing themselves as the world’s most exclusive treatment center, the clinic boasts a staff-to-patient ratio of 15 to 1. And if you get treatment here, you can be sure of one thing: you will be the only guest. Because they only take one client at a time.
Founded in 2012, Paracelsus has already established itself as the go-to for the super-rich and famous.
Apart from your luxurious private residence, you get a 24-hour live-in therapist, 24-hour medical supervision if necessary, extensive medical health assessments, freshly cooked meals according to your personal meal plan, a dedicated limousine and driver, a butler and housekeeping services, as well as a concierge to take care of leisure activities.
Therapies include EMDR, CBT, behavioral therapy, and more. The clinic does not offer a 12-step program, as they don’t feel it’s particularly suited to the needs of their very exclusive clients.
1. Kusnacht Practice, Zurich
And finally, at the top of the list, the most expensive rehab in the world, bar none, is the Kusnacht practice in Zurich.
Typical clients include wealthy businessmen, oligarchs, Arab sheiks, world-class celebrities, and heads of state.
During their stay at the clinic, these guests will often book entire blocks of hotel suites in Zurich for their family and entourage. Other times, however, they come entirely on their own.
One of the most famous clients includes George Michael, who, over the years, struggled with an addiction to crack, cannabis, and prescription meds.
According to the Sun, the star spent an estimated one-and-a-half million pounds during his six-month stay in 2015.
The UK tabloid further reported that Kusnacht offers referring practitioners 10 to 15% of the patient’s bill. Meaning George Michael’s psychiatrist could have made a neat 150 thousand pounds.
As you’d expect, the Küsnacht suburb where the clinic is located is the wealthiest in Zurich.
It’s where the world’s rich and famous come to rest and enjoy their privacy. Küsnacht was also home to famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Already more than a century ago, Jung was treating wealthy clients for their drinking in his lakefront house.
Programs at the clinic start at just over one hundred thousand Swiss Francs a week. Monthly, this is the equivalent of 400 thousand euros.
Let me repeat that. Four hundred thousand euros for a month’s stay at this clinic.
With such a price tag, the clinic can afford to be picky, taking in between 20 to 30 clients a year. Aside from alcohol, they also treat drug, food, and sex addiction.
So what do you get for this money?
Aside from their own therapist and personal trainer, clients get extensive counseling and are seen by doctors and biochemists who assess their general health and nutritional status.
There’s also reflexology, acupuncture, yoga, massage, and numerous outdoor activities.
One journalist described it as “part spa, part analyst’s clinic, part boot camp, part support network. Küsnacht certainly takes its promise of […] holistic treatment seriously.”
When the addiction treatment is over, the therapist travels with the client back home to help them adjust to daily life. The therapist can stay up to one month.
After all this, the million-dollar question. Does it work?
Sadly, for George Michael, the answer was probably no. The UK megastar died in 2016, a few months following his stay at Küsnacht.
According to his cousin, around the time of his death, he was taking antidepressants, methadone, and alcohol.
Is it true that the more you pay, the better your chances of stopping? Or is the price tag not that important? Can you buy your way into sobriety?
I have my own thoughts on this, but I don’t want to share them just yet.
First, I’d love to hear your take on this in the comments.
