Thailand-based 180 Sanctuary is making waves, becomes Asia’s leading integrative trauma-informed, behavioural rehab, and wellness retreat centre

“What stands us apart is our less dependency on medication as we don’t utilise too much of it in our treatment programs unlike most rehabs in Asia, where pharmaceutical medication is a big part of their treatment programs.”

180 Sanctuary is a top-rated rehab centre providing the highest quality of care and treatment to ensure long-term positive change through its exclusive and innovative programs. These programs offer the best of both worlds through an association of state-of-the-art Western psychotherapy and coaching methodology combined with holistic wellness practices of the Ancient East. The rehab centre receives clients from around the world.

The Silicon Review reached out to Tony Tan, founder and CEO of 180 Sanctuary, and here’s what he had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. How would you describe your professional journey so far? Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped you grow through the years.

I started my professional journey rather late at the age of 33 when I discovered my passion to help people after receiving therapy to overcome my challenges in life. My early adulthood was challenging due to my involvement with drug addiction and depression and that caused me to lose direction and purpose back then. I was given a second chance through the help of my therapist and church friends who guided me back to the path at the age of 28. A year after, I returned to school to study psychology. I left Singapore in 2011 for Thailand to work in the rehab industry and has since never looked back. This journey has allowed me to manage three rehab centres since I moved to the country. Currently, I own and manage 180 Sanctuary.

As of today, I am a clinical psychologist, a clinical supervisor at a university, and a certified trainer in NLP and psychology which allows me to give back to society in my small ways to make the world a better place. 180 Sanctuary is the channel I am using to make these promises a reality.

Q. As the CEO of the company, what are your major roles and responsibilities?

My role is to establish 180 Sanctuary as a leading rehabilitation and retreat centre for the treatment of behavioural health issues and trauma in Asia. It was a challenge as most of the market leaders in the rehab industry are based in the USA or Europe. So trying to establish 180 Sanctuary as a beacon in Asia has its fair amount of challenges. I also oversee the clinical aspects of treatment and supervise the concerned team to ensure that our clients receive ethical and effective evidence-based treatment.

Q. What can you tell us about 180 Sanctuary? What are its focus areas?

Anya (my business partner) and I founded 180 Sanctuary. We believe that people should be able to access quality and effective treatment in Asia without the need to travel extensively to Europe and the USA. Simply put, this is a place where people regain their lives and confidence and can be hopeful for their future.

180 Sanctuary sits on a 6-hectare strip of land overseeing a mountain and we have our organic farm that provides 80% of our vegetable supply. The notable part is that we only cater to 20 clients maximum at any time to maintain the quality and the serenity of our facility. Most of our clients are business executives who appreciate a high level of privacy and quality hospitality services.

We have a restaurant that serves freshly cooked meals that are designed by our nutritionists. Most rehabs serve buffet meals, but we do not serve that here at 180 Sanctuary as we believe that having the right nutrition diet is one of the keys to life transformation experiences.

Moreover, we have a pet-friendly clinic where family members are allowed to accompany their loved ones when the individual undergoes treatment. We are aware that being in treatment can be kind of daunting for some and having one of their family members or their pets with them during treatment can make a big difference.

Another feature is our Wilderness therapy as we are right at the doorstep of nature; we have access to hot springs, waterfalls, and hiking trails within 10 minutes from our facility. We even have our spa, which allows clients to access full spa treatment onsite and the quality is of hotel standard.

Last but not least, we provide five individual counselling sessions weekly for all our clients on top of our group therapy, holistic program, and fitness program. No other clinic can match us in terms of our holistic services, which are one of the cornerstones of the treatment experiences our clients receive during their treatment.

Q. Can you introduce us to your programs? What are their key features?

180 Sanctuary is recognised for its ability to treat any form of mental health disorder, behavioural issues, and trauma. The trauma program is our flagship service and we are the only one in Asia fully dedicated to the treatment of trauma and PTSD and any other related disorders. There are six treatment programs that we offer at 180 Sanctuary: 180 Mental Wellness, 180 Behavioural Health (Addiction Awareness), 180 Trauma Resilience, 180 Executive Burnout, and 1-Degree-of-Change aftercare (online program).

What stands us apart is our less dependency on medication as we don’t utilise too much of it in our treatment programs unlike most rehabs in Asia, where pharmaceutical medication is a big part of their treatment programs. We focus a lot on the holistic aspect like mindfulness, trauma grounding approach, neuroscience approach, and psychoeducation to help our clients achieve a state of equilibrium in their treatment. We have a sensory deprivation tank in our clinic that allows clients to undergo Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST), which drastically reduces distress during their treatment.

We are also the only clinic in Asia to provide Neurofeedback and Biofeedback treatment in our treatment programs, which is a ground-breaking non-invasive treatment model for mental health and trauma treatment.

Q. How do you see 180 Sanctuary changing in five years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

I would see 180 Sanctuary pioneering and shaping the treatment of mental health disorders, especially in the field of trauma and PTSD treatment in Asia, setting the bars high for effective, ethical, and quality treatment standards. Not only that but we will also be involved in educating other professionals and the public in awareness of trauma and mental wellness understanding.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up?

I would like to let the public know that there is a treatment for mental health disorders, addiction, and trauma/PTSD that can match the quality and effectiveness of the USA and Europe in Asia. 180 Sanctuary is one of those that set out to achieve this mission and help people become a better version of themselves.

180 Sanctuary is like a family to many of our clients who have found a new meaning, purpose, and beginning in their lives.

Tony Tan | CEO

Tony Tan has 13 years of direct clinical experience in mental and behavioral healthcare with a specialised focus on trauma and PTSD within a rehab setting, including a strong clinical awareness of working with people who struggle with dual diagnosis, addiction, trauma, personality disorder, and major mental health illness. He is also an ABNLP-certified NLP Trainer and a certified clinical supervisor for university students who are taking their master’s degree in Psychology.

Tony graduated from Australia with a Master’s in Psychology. Not limiting himself to the area of psychology, he also holds the following credentials/areas of expertise.

• Certified Clinical Psychologist
• Certified Clinical Supervisor
• EMDR Certified Master level Trauma Specialist, specialising in Structural Dissociation
• ABNLP Certified NLP Trainer
• ABNLP Certified Master Coach
• ABNLP Certified Timeline Practitioner
• Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
• Certified Sound Healing Teacher
• Certified Mindfulness Trainer
• Certified Smoking Cessation Therapist
• Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
• Certified Brainspotting Practitioner

“We focus a lot on the holistic aspect like mindfulness, trauma grounding approach, neuroscience approach, and psychoeducation to help our clients achieve a state of equilibrium in their treatment.”