A Return to Sanity at Imani - Specialised Care for Eating Disorders

Imani is an eating disorder treatment centre of the first order. I was admitted to Imani on the 18th of December 2017 after a long struggle with substance abuse, an eating disorder, and a generally chaotic, drama-filled life. I spent six months at Imani being given a crash course in recovery from addiction that has stood me in such good stead since I left there on the 18th of June 2018. I arrived at Imani broken, faithless, and hopeless, unsure of how I would ever manage to put my life back together or be a productive member of society. The treatment team at Imani were amazingly supportive and I began to learn the tools for coping with life that I somehow had never managed to assimilate in my 47 years. Imani runs a comprehensive, intelligently put-together programme for the recovery from addiction which includes eating disorders, substance, and other addictions. The programme runs from 8.30am til 4pm every weekday and is good training for returning to society and becoming a productive member of it! It encompasses the 12 Steps, group therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy, coupled with weekly sessions with resident addictions counsellors, community service, and 12 step meetings. The counsellors are unfailingly dedicated, compassionate, wholehearted people with a wealth of experience in dealing with addiction amongst them. I would say without a doubt that Imani's great strength lies in their deep understanding of addiction and in their commitment to and use of the 12 Step Programme as part of their recovery process. Sixteen months down the road after my discharge from Imani, I continue to use what I learnt there on a daily basis and am forever grateful for the opportunity to heal that I was offered there. I now am able to support myself with a job as a freelancer that I would not have had the maturity to deal with had it not been for the foundation that I was given at Imani. I manage my relationship with food differently than I ever have in my life before. I have repaired relationships with my family, my children, and my ex- husband and they count in me in ways we all thought would never be possible. I have become a productive member of my community and society at large.