The Victoria Program has operated since 1984 in Marbella, Costa del Sol, as an intensive retreat for alcohol and cocaine addiction. The award does not create a reputation built over four decades; it certifies it to an international market seeking verified clinical references, particularly among executives, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, and figures from the arts world who cannot afford prolonged work interruptions or public exposure from admission to a conventional center. A selection process based on clinical results, not visibility
The GHP News Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Awards evaluate candidates based on four criteria: innovation, impact, performance, and contribution to patient outcomes. The panel of five professionals works independently; selection does not involve mandatory nomination fees, and the award cannot be bought with advertising investment.
The application period for the 2026 edition closed on February 23, 2026. The Victoria Program was selected within the Spain category, positioning it as the best therapeutic retreat for addictions in the country according to this globally reaching organization.
What the jury recognized: what conventional centers do not offer
The jury expressly highlighted three elements: the structural confidentiality of the model, methodological innovation, and demonstrated long-term effectiveness.
Regarding confidentiality: The Victoria Program does not generate institutional clinical records or files of any kind. The participant is not listed in any collective health registry. Anonymity is absolute, and the jury itself pointed this out as one of the factors differentiating this program from conventional private detoxification centers in Spain.
In terms of effectiveness, the program records a success rate of 67% in follow-ups conducted between 5 and 8 years after treatment. This figure, measured long-term, not at discharge, is what determines if a model works in the participant's real life.
Compatibility with professional activity was also part of the clinical argument. The 10-day duration of the retreat allows the absence to be justified as a vacation. The participant's work or personal environment does not need to know the real reason for the trip to Marbella.
The awarded model: 10 days of intensive retreat and one year of follow-up
The Victoria Program has an unusual structure in the sector: 10 days of intensive retreat in Marbella followed by a structured and mandatory one-year clinical follow-up. The total cost can range from €9,500 to €12,000 depending on the specific retreat dates, with hotel accommodation and the year of follow-up included.
A maximum of 8 participants are admitted per edition. This limitation is not an exclusivity marketing tactic; it allows for a therapist-patient ratio that no center with waiting lists can sustain.
Clinical psychologist and founder Bernardo Ruiz Victoria personally directs the program for over 12 hours daily, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM or later.
The retreat takes place in a hotel setting with spa facilities in Marbella, not in a clinical or hospital building. This choice is deliberate: the participant's everyday environment should resemble the environment in which they will have to sustain their recovery.
The methodology: chosen sobriety, not imposed abstinence
Here lies one of the most counterintuitive elements of the model and likely one that best explains the long-term success rate.
The Victoria Program does not prohibit access to alcohol during the retreat. Alcohol is available. The goal is not to create an artificial environment of forced abstinence but to train the participant to choose sobriety in a real environment where the substance exists. The difference between the two approaches is not semantic; it is the difference between not drinking because you can't and not drinking because you don't want to.
The methodology combines Functional Analysis of Behavior (ABC model), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychoeducation, relaxation with visualization, and clinical hypnosis. The program does not use chronic pharmacology or technological devices and addresses addiction as a psychological problem with a documented scientific solution.
The treatment primarily covers alcohol and cocaine addiction. Prior to arrival, one to two weeks of prior abstinence are required; the first day of the retreat includes a medical evaluation to assess the risk of withdrawal syndrome.
Structural confidentiality for high-exposure professionals
The typical participant profile is between 45 and 50 years old, with a range of 35 to 60, and works as a freelancer, doctor, lawyer, architect, entrepreneur, or artist. These are individuals with careers that do not allow for four or five-month interruptions, the standard time for admission to a conventional rehabilitation center.
For this profile, privacy is not an additional service; it is a clinical requirement. An executive or public figure needing treatment for cocaine addiction cannot risk their name appearing in an institutional record. The Victoria Program eliminates this risk from the model's design, and the jury of the Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Awards expressly recognized it as a differentiating factor.
Forty years of practice backing the award
Bernardo Ruiz Victoria founded the program in 1984. Since then, it has operated from Marbella as a private practice specializing in alcohol and cocaine addiction, with over 40 years of accumulated clinical experience.
The 2026 award recognizes a model that has not changed its central purpose: to offer effective, confidential treatment compatible with the real lives of people who have much to lose if they do not recover and much to protect while doing so.
The international recognition positions Marbella as a benchmark in private therapeutic retreats for addictions and places The Victoria Program as a model of structured, person-centered recovery that combines intensive retreat, deep therapeutic work, and comprehensive follow-up.
About The Victoria Program
The Victoria Program is an intensive therapeutic retreat for alcohol and cocaine addictions based in Marbella (Málaga), operating since 1984.
It was founded by clinical psychologist Bernardo Ruiz Victoria. The program lasts 10 days followed by a year of structured clinical follow-up, with a maximum of 8 participants per edition and absolute confidentiality.
The total cost, including accommodation and follow-up, ranges between €9,500 and €12,000, depending on the participation date in the Therapeutic Retreat.
Contact
To request information about the admission process or confirm availability, visit www.programavictoria.com. The initial consultation is discreet and without obligation, through the channels available on the website.
The GHP News Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Awards evaluate candidates based on four criteria: innovation, impact, performance, and contribution to patient outcomes. The panel of five professionals works independently; selection does not involve mandatory nomination fees, and the award cannot be bought with advertising investment.
The application period for the 2026 edition closed on February 23, 2026. The Victoria Program was selected within the Spain category, positioning it as the best therapeutic retreat for addictions in the country according to this globally reaching organization.
What the jury recognized: what conventional centers do not offer
The jury expressly highlighted three elements: the structural confidentiality of the model, methodological innovation, and demonstrated long-term effectiveness.
Regarding confidentiality: The Victoria Program does not generate institutional clinical records or files of any kind. The participant is not listed in any collective health registry. Anonymity is absolute, and the jury itself pointed this out as one of the factors differentiating this program from conventional private detoxification centers in Spain.
In terms of effectiveness, the program records a success rate of 67% in follow-ups conducted between 5 and 8 years after treatment. This figure, measured long-term, not at discharge, is what determines if a model works in the participant's real life.
Compatibility with professional activity was also part of the clinical argument. The 10-day duration of the retreat allows the absence to be justified as a vacation. The participant's work or personal environment does not need to know the real reason for the trip to Marbella.
The awarded model: 10 days of intensive retreat and one year of follow-up
The Victoria Program has an unusual structure in the sector: 10 days of intensive retreat in Marbella followed by a structured and mandatory one-year clinical follow-up. The total cost can range from €9,500 to €12,000 depending on the specific retreat dates, with hotel accommodation and the year of follow-up included.
A maximum of 8 participants are admitted per edition. This limitation is not an exclusivity marketing tactic; it allows for a therapist-patient ratio that no center with waiting lists can sustain.
Clinical psychologist and founder Bernardo Ruiz Victoria personally directs the program for over 12 hours daily, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM or later.
The retreat takes place in a hotel setting with spa facilities in Marbella, not in a clinical or hospital building. This choice is deliberate: the participant's everyday environment should resemble the environment in which they will have to sustain their recovery.
The methodology: chosen sobriety, not imposed abstinence
Here lies one of the most counterintuitive elements of the model and likely one that best explains the long-term success rate.
The Victoria Program does not prohibit access to alcohol during the retreat. Alcohol is available. The goal is not to create an artificial environment of forced abstinence but to train the participant to choose sobriety in a real environment where the substance exists. The difference between the two approaches is not semantic; it is the difference between not drinking because you can't and not drinking because you don't want to.
The methodology combines Functional Analysis of Behavior (ABC model), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychoeducation, relaxation with visualization, and clinical hypnosis. The program does not use chronic pharmacology or technological devices and addresses addiction as a psychological problem with a documented scientific solution.
The treatment primarily covers alcohol and cocaine addiction. Prior to arrival, one to two weeks of prior abstinence are required; the first day of the retreat includes a medical evaluation to assess the risk of withdrawal syndrome.
Structural confidentiality for high-exposure professionals
The typical participant profile is between 45 and 50 years old, with a range of 35 to 60, and works as a freelancer, doctor, lawyer, architect, entrepreneur, or artist. These are individuals with careers that do not allow for four or five-month interruptions, the standard time for admission to a conventional rehabilitation center.
For this profile, privacy is not an additional service; it is a clinical requirement. An executive or public figure needing treatment for cocaine addiction cannot risk their name appearing in an institutional record. The Victoria Program eliminates this risk from the model's design, and the jury of the Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Awards expressly recognized it as a differentiating factor.
Forty years of practice backing the award
Bernardo Ruiz Victoria founded the program in 1984. Since then, it has operated from Marbella as a private practice specializing in alcohol and cocaine addiction, with over 40 years of accumulated clinical experience.
The 2026 award recognizes a model that has not changed its central purpose: to offer effective, confidential treatment compatible with the real lives of people who have much to lose if they do not recover and much to protect while doing so.
The international recognition positions Marbella as a benchmark in private therapeutic retreats for addictions and places The Victoria Program as a model of structured, person-centered recovery that combines intensive retreat, deep therapeutic work, and comprehensive follow-up.
About The Victoria Program
The Victoria Program is an intensive therapeutic retreat for alcohol and cocaine addictions based in Marbella (Málaga), operating since 1984.
It was founded by clinical psychologist Bernardo Ruiz Victoria. The program lasts 10 days followed by a year of structured clinical follow-up, with a maximum of 8 participants per edition and absolute confidentiality.
The total cost, including accommodation and follow-up, ranges between €9,500 and €12,000, depending on the participation date in the Therapeutic Retreat.
Contact
To request information about the admission process or confirm availability, visit www.programavictoria.com. The initial consultation is discreet and without obligation, through the channels available on the website.
