The Harmony Group is a registered non-profit organisation, the Harmony Foundation, whose sole aim is to bring the highest standards of treatment for addictions and other compulsive behaviours to South Africa at affordable, practical rates. Endorsed by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the foundation provides primary as well as secondary and tertiary care treatment, training to counsellors and medical professionals, and community outreach programmes.

The Harmony Group works hand-in-hand with the Hazelden Clinic in the USA, home of the world-famous Minnesota Model; the recognised best practice in addictions treatment worldwide, and follows their integrated model of treating addiction, including treatment and ongoing care, professional education services, addiction research and advocacy.

All of the Harmony Group centres employ evidence-based techniques that are supported by research, and have established validity and a proven track record in real-world settings. The multi-disciplinary teams consist of psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and carefully vetted lay counsellors.

The Harmony Group treatment programmes have a strong element of 12-step facilitation.

Background
The Harmony Foundation dates back to 2001, with the establishment of Serendipity Tertiary Care, which offers extended care to people recovering from alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling problems, eating disorders and other addictions. As Cape Town’s oldest Tertiary Care facility, it is a registered non-profit organisation and boasts success rates second to none.

This facility was followed by the establishment of Harmony House, situated in Walmer Estate in the heart of Cape Town. Harmony House is a treatment centre specialising in the extended care and treatment of addictive disorders including drug addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, gambling and sex addiction. Split into a male unit and female unit, as prescribed by the Minnesota model, it offers a residential programme designed to assist addicts in making behavioural changes, thereby enhancing their long-term prognosis for sustained recovery from addiction.

In 2008, Harmony Addictions Clinic was established in Hout Bay as the Harmony Group’s leading primary care treatment centre. With a highly specialised team and one of the strongest programmes in the country, the clinic has fast established its reputation as a centre of excellence, introducing best practices from around the world and leading the way in offering innovative treatment modalities to enhance treatment outcomes.

Transparency and Accountability
A recent audit of Harmony Addictions Clinic, done for the Laidlaw foundation, found the business to accountable, transparent and achieving its objectives. Mark Bitel, Senior Evaluation Consultant & Facilitator for the auditing company, Partners in Evaluation Scotland, commented: “I hope that you will continue to gather data in this way as I’m sure that if you continue generating the outcome progress records and keep an eye on follow-ups, you will remain fully transparent and accountable.”