Before you judge someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction, first listen to their story. Addiction is a symptom of underlying mental health problems, mostly rooted in childhood. And the best rehabs in Kenya must address trauma to solve these underlying health issues.
Childhood experiences shape who we become in adulthood, so most of the people you see struggling with mental health issues, including addiction, have emotional wounds instilled by their parents/caregivers in early childhood. Of course most parents or caregivers do not intend to cause trauma to their children. They do it unknowingly as they navigate their own mental health problems.
Think of parents undergoing a turbulent divorce due to irreconcilable differences. Both parents have deep love for their kids, but their differences do not allow them to stay married. In the turbulent stage of the divorce, these parents may impact trauma on their kids, especially if they aren’t trauma informed.
Additionally, some parents may have personality/attachment issues resulting from their unresolved traumas. These personality defects may affect how they raise their kids. Think of children of parents struggling with substance abuse or personality disorders such as narcissism, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorders, or histrionic personality disorders.
Parents with undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, among others are also likely to raise emotionally unhealthy kids. Also, life tragedies such as the death of parent or prolonged sickness may negatively the emotional development of a child.
With at least 70% of substance use disorders having childhood trauma as an underlying cause, the best rehabilitation centres in Kenya provide trauma-informed treatment programs.
Learn about what to expect in a rehab treatment program offered by the best rehabs in Kenya or read on to learn about how childhood trauma leads to addiction.
30 Instances that may lead to childhood trauma and addiction later in life – Learn from one of the best rehabs in Kenya.
Trauma can arise from both extreme experiences, such as physical or sexual abuse, and more subtle but damaging situations, like growing up in a toxic family environment.
Children respond to trauma in different ways due to a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. This helps explain why two children exposed to the same traumatic event may have very different emotional and behavioral outcomes.
Here are 30 instances that may lead to childhood trauma as identified by one of the best rehabs in Kenya.
- Physical/sexual abuse
- Neglect of physical or emotional needs
- Death or prolonged sickness of parent
- Parents going through a divorce
- Child getting separated from parents
- Emotionally unavailable parents
- Excessive and shame-based punishments
- Exposure to domestic violence
- Being publicly humiliated by parents
- Being raised in a toxic marriage
- Being homeless or facing severe poverty
- Conditional love – parents only showing their children love when they meet certain expectations
- Parents using children to get at each other during marital conflicts
- Parents belittling and shaming a child
- Parents using guilt, shame, or fear to control and manipulate children
- Parents not validating children for their uniqueness
- Parents comparing kids and showing favouritism
- Parents not validating the emotions of a child
- Parents placing excessively high or unrealistic expectations on a child
- Living with unpredictable and chaotic parents
- Witnessing peer suicide or death
- Exposure to adult content – Pornography or violence
- Parents being overprotective – Discourages exploration and kills esteem
- Family disruptions due to natural disasters and accidents
- The child experiencing a life-threatening or chronic illness
- Parents consistently breaking promises
- Being bullied at school or online
- Experiencing or witnessing hate crimes such as racism
- Painful or invasive medical procedures
- Exposing children to alcohol/drugs
Below is a true story of how early childhood exposure to substances can lead to addiction and mental health challenges later in life.
Find a steps by step guide to help you find the best rehabs in Kenya here.
Kevin’s Story told by one of the best rehabs in Kenya
We admitted Kevin (not his real name) in our rehab about a year ago due to alcoholism that led to binge drinking and risky behaviour. Before drowning into alcoholism, Kevin was a hard worker and a straight A student. He had graduated with first class honours in finance and accounting from University of Nairobi in 2017 and immediately secured his first job with one of the best accounting firms in the country.
To celebrate this great milestone, Kevin had planned a party with his friends in one of the local joints. The party was a blast, and as expected Mr Booze was present. In the ecstatic mood of the event, Kevin fell into the temptation of taking his first drink. Being from a staunch Christian family, he hadn’t tasted liquor before. What Kevin didn’t know was that first drink would open a door to the darkest path in his life.
The first sign of trouble began that same night; the friends describe witnessing a version of Kevin they had never seen before. As he continued getting drank, he turned from the soft-spoken and well-mannered man they knew to a loud and obnoxious drunk. At first, his friends laughed off his antics, thinking it was just a humorous phase of an otherwise fun night. But as the hours passed and the drinks kept flowing, the laughter faded, replaced by a growing concern. Kevin was totally out of control. The night passed and everyone went on with their lives, but for Kevin, a new dark chapter had started.
A chapter that would lead to alcoholism, 5 job losses, rehabilitation, and eventually death due to liver cirrhosis. It was as if that first drink unlocked a monster within him. The monster would eventually kill him after five years of struggle with alcoholism. The days that followed, Kevin wouldn’t help but crave for the drink. He started drinking himself silly every weekend and soon that drinking spilled into the weekdays. Sometimes he would miss reporting to his job because of the heavy drinking the previous nights. Other times, he would report to the job completely drunk.
His job absenteeism got worse as he continued sinking into the dark pit of alcoholism. Most of the times, he would disappear after receiving his end month pay and only show up after drinking the entire payslip. At first, his employer would give him salary advances, but as his drinking problem became apparent, they stopped.
Six months into his well-paying job, Kevin started using lies to extort money from his family and friends. His parents had started noticing his drinking problem, but denial made them rationalize it as a passing cloud. Their son had since childhood made them proud through his exemplary academic performance and good manners. Prior to his struggle with alcoholism, Kevin was a respected youth leader and a role model in their church. He often gave talks to the youth, a thing that made the parents very respected by the church members.
Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined a time would come when their pride would turn into shame. Like many families grappling with a child’s addiction, they resorted to covering for him, spinning stories at church and family gatherings, lying about his whereabouts with forced smiles and trembling voices.
As the days went by, Kevin continued sinking deeper into alcoholism. He lost his job after one year, and this further accelerated his drinking problem. The fall from grace to grass was taking a toll into his mental health, pushing him into endless cycles of shame and guilt.
Sometimes he would vow never to take alcohol, only to show up a few hours later completely drunk. The ensuing shame and guilt would push him into episodes of depression. Given his impeccable academic records, it was easy for him to secure jobs but he never made it through the probation period.
It took his parents 3 years and several hospital admissions due to liver issues to finally admit he needed rehab. He was discharged from hospital to our rehab after undergoing treatment for stage 3 liver disease. His mental health had also taken a huge toll to a point of attempting suicide severally. We had to put him under suicide watch after learning that he had attempted to take his own life at the hospital.
From history taking, it was evident that Kevin had rapidly fallen into alcoholism quite rapidly. For most people, it takes years to develop alcohol use disorder, but for him that first drink he took during the party pushed him straight into alcoholism.
During counselling, it became evident that Kevin’s drinking problem was deeply rooted in his early childhood experiences. Before becoming born-again Christians, Kevin’s parents regularly consumed alcohol, often drinking every weekend and occasionally bringing alcohol into the home. They gave birth to Kevin, their firstborn child, during this period.
Like many first-time parents, they struggled to manage the demands of raising a child. In the midst of these difficulties, they discovered that giving Kevin a small amount of alcohol helped him sleep through the night. They would go partying during the weekend and bring home a little alcohol for the baby.
To them, a teaspoon of alcohol seemed harmless. What they forgot was that they were dealing with an infant—fragile, developing, utterly defenceless. His tiny body, only months into life, couldn’t process substances the way theirs could.
They gave it to him for months, thinking it might soothe him. Then they stopped—because it didn’t seem to work. But by then, the damage was done. And years later, as Kevin stepped into adulthood, they would finally begin to understand. His infant brain had developed the permanent pathways of addiction.
His parents gave up drinking and became born-again Christians when he was just three years old. From that point on, they raised him with strict Christian values, including a strong moral stance against alcohol. He stayed true to their teachings, avoided bad company, and never touched a drop—until the night of the graduation party.
What was supposed to be a celebration of his hard work and bright future quickly turned into a nightmare. One drink, handed to him with a laugh and a promise that it was “just to loosen up,” became two. Then three. Then everything blurred.
That night, something dormant stirred within him—something that had always been there, quiet but patient. The addiction that developed during his childhood had awakened in full force. His parents were desperate of an explanation of what had rapidly pushed their son into alcoholism.
They thought it was witchcraft; a lot of people were jealous of their son because of his discipline and academic success. But they were soon to realise that they were being haunted by a grave mistake they made during their drinking days. Kevin’s addiction was deeply rooted in his childhood.
The innocent teaspoon of beer, Gin, Whiskey, whatever they gave him permanently wired his brain for addiction. All along he has been a ticking time bomb – and that innocent graduation party drink triggered the explosion.
Unfortunately, he had developed late stage liver disease, so he didn’t have much room for relapse. The doctors had warned of imminent liver failure if he continued drinking. I was Kevin’s psychotherapist during his three months stay at Primrose Wellness, one of the best rehabs in Kenya. We walked the journey together.
He yearned for change, he had insight, but a crippling fear of relapse. For him, relapse meant death. And he wasn’t ready for it. Kevin loved his parents dearly and never blamed them for their past mistake. He knew they loved him and understood that they never intended to harm him. The parents were in complete denial at first, but with time, they made peace with the awakened demons of the past.
They were hopeful Kevin would recover and reclaim his glory, but luck wasn’t on their side. For the 2 months he remained sober after attending one of the best rehabs in Kenya, he would call almost daily to update me of his progress. Sometimes he would sound very anxious and complain about strong cravings for alcohol. He fought so hard to overcome the addiction, and for the two months he remained sober, we started seeing a ray of hope.
But our hope was short lived. On a chilly Friday evening in July 2023, his mother called with the news that Kevin had disappeared. They found him in a drunken stupor the next day. Kevin had relapsed, and this time it was bad. He blocked any attempt for help and disappeared for a week when he learned his parents were planning to admit him in one of the best rehabs in Kenya involuntarily.
He was in a terrible state when he returned home. His liver was failing, and despite the doctors’ best efforts, Kevin’s body could no longer keep up the fight. One by one, his organs began to shut down. On the night of October 15th, 2023, Kevin passed away.
I attended his funeral and as I watched his coffin being lowered into the grave, I felt a deep, hollow ache in my chest. The kind of ache that words can’t quite describe. It wasn’t just grief—it was anger, helplessness, and heartbreak all tangled together. Kevin was more than a case file, more than another statistic in the grim records of addiction. He was a brilliant mind, a gentle soul, a son who loved his parents, and a young man who had dreams of changing the world.
As the coffin sank into the earth, I saw his parents holding each other, their faces etched with a pain that only those who have buried a child can know. There were no more stories to cover up, no more denials to cling to. Just the raw, brutal finality of loss.
I kept thinking of our last conversation. Kevin had called me on a quiet Wednesday evening. He said he was scared. The cravings were back, stronger than ever. He asked me, “Do you think there’s really a version of me that’s free from this?” I told him yes—I told him recovery is possible, that he had already come so far. But what I didn’t know then was that he was already slipping. The shadows had begun to close in.
Addiction is not a moral failure. It is not a lack of willpower. It is a disease—complex, cruel, and often misunderstood. Kevin’s story is a painful reminder of this truth. A single, early exposure, however unintended, planted seeds that bloomed into a tragedy years later.
I thought about how many Kevins are out there. How many young people, full of promise, unknowingly carry the weight of past traumas, chemical imbalances, or early life exposures they never chose. How many of them get judged, shunned, or left behind instead of helped and understood.
Kevin’s death was not just a loss to his family—it was a loss to all of us. A bright future dimmed far too soon. But in his memory, I choose to carry a lesson: that prevention, awareness, compassion, and early intervention can change the trajectory of someone’s life.
I watched the red earth fall gently on his coffin. I whispered a silent promise to him: I will tell your story, Kevin. Not to shame, but to teach. Not to mourn only, but to move hearts to action. Your life will not be forgotten. Your battle will help someone else win theirs.
And as the mourners walked away, I stayed behind a little longer. I stood at the foot of his grave and prayed—for him, for his parents, and for every soul still fighting the same unseen war.
Read Bill’s Story about his struggles with depression and addiction.
At least 70% of Alcohol/Drug use cases have Adverse Childhood Experiences as the Underlying Cause – The Best Rehabs in Kenya offer a Trauma-informed Treatment Approach
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) include neglect, household dysfunction, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other traumatic events that impacts a child development. The caregiver may cause childhood trauma either knowingly or unknowingly.
Childhood trauma often compromises our ability to deal with stress and can lead to serious mental health challenges in adulthood. Due to the compromised stress response system, most people with childhood trauma struggle with mental conditions such as depression and anxiety. Moreover, childhood trauma shapes our personality and how we build relationships with other people.
People with unresolved childhood traumas may abuse alcohol/drugs in an attempt to deal with the emotional pain resulting from trauma. This is known as self-medicating. Moreover, they may use substances to deal with the loneliness that results from their inability to form meaningful relationships with others.
Addressing these underlying issues through therapy, support systems, and community resources is crucial for effective prevention and treatment of substance abuse. Understanding and mitigating the impact of ACEs can break the cycle of addiction and promote healthier lives.
As one of the best rehabs in Kenya, we are heavily invested in providing education about childhood trauma and how it leads to substance abuse among other mental health conditions.
The therapists in the best rehabs in Kenya are trained to assess and treat childhood trauma through evidence-based approaches such as;
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – Only a few of the best rehabs in Kenya provide EMDR
Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Most trauma-informed therapists working as addiction counsellors apply this technique.
Somatic Experiencing – Only a few therapists working in the best rehabs in Kenya are trained to provide this therapy technique.
Narrative Therapy – Most of the best rehabs in Kenya have therapists trained to provide this therapy technique.
Sandtray Therapy – Only a few of the best rehabs in Kenya provide this therapy technique.
Art Therapy – The best rehabs in Kenya train their therapists to provide this type of therapy.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy – Requires a combination of psychotherapy and medical therapy, so only the best rehabs in Kenya provide this.
Final Word
Many physical and mental health challenges, including addiction, have childhood trauma as the root cause. Healing requires we address the emotional wounds of our past. The journey to healing is usually not easy since it requires that we face our painful past and process the repressed emotions.
Most clients ask us why it’s important to uncover the emotional wounds of the past. Childhood trauma affects how we relate with ourselves and the world. These early experiences often shape our core beliefs, self-worth, and emotional responses—frequently without our conscious awareness.
Unresolved trauma can manifest in subtle ways: persistent anxiety, difficulty forming healthy relationships, chronic self-doubt, or the need to overachieve or please others to feel safe or valued. It can also lead to repeating patterns that feel confusing or painful, such as attracting emotionally unavailable partners or struggling with boundaries. These patterns may push us to engage in self-destructive behaviours such as substance abuse.
By uncovering these emotional wounds, we begin to bring compassion and understanding to the parts of ourselves that have long been neglected or misunderstood. Healing isn’t about blaming the past—it’s about recognizing its influence and reclaiming our agency in the present.
When we process and integrate these experiences, we create space for healthier coping mechanisms, deeper self-connection, and more fulfilling relationships. Ultimately, healing childhood trauma allows us to live from a place of authenticity rather than survival. It’s the foundation for lasting emotional freedom and inner peace. It’s only when we make peace with our past that we can forge ahead and live meaningful lives.
Primrose Rehab and Wellness is one of the best rehabs in Kenya offering a trauma-informed treatment program.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I determine if a rehab offers trauma-informed care?
The best rehabs in Kenya offer regular trainings on trauma counselling to enable their staff to offer evidence-based trauma care. Always ask if the rehab employs qualified counsellors since some only work with peer counsellors.