Concerns have been raised over care at Six Seasons Recovery, a health and addiction retreat in Western Australia’s South West run by former New Sensation Homes director Danny Coyne.
Former clients say they paid tens of thousands of dollars for stays at the Yallingup Siding retreat but did not receive the care they expected. Some said they believed their lives had been put at risk.
Coyne’s building company entered liquidation in 2022 owing about $6 million, leaving more than 50 clients with unfinished homes. He later declared bankruptcy and was not called to account by authorities.
Six Seasons Recovery was subsequently promoted as a private wellness and mental health rehabilitation facility offering treatment for drug, food, sex and social media addictions, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, childhood trauma, depression and anxiety.
Former client paid $70,000 for four-week stay
Lauren, who paid $70,000 for a four-week programme, said she had been at her most vulnerable when she agreed to attend.
“It’s hard enough having to come to terms with the fact that your body is addicted to something, then tell your family,” she said. “So I put my trust in him and I expected him to know what he was doing.”
The retreat is advertised as a luxury facility near Margaret River, but is based on a bush block at Yallingup Siding, about 30 minutes to the north. Residents were sometimes left without supervision overnight, according to Lauren.
She said six residents were staying at the property and that they had been told they could contact staff around the clock.
“I was told that we could contact people 24 hours… we couldn’t even contact Danny,” she said.
Coyne later said overnight care was provided for the first two nights of a guest’s stay, with further supervision available at the guest’s expense. He said guests requiring more than two nights’ overnight care were recommended to a hospital before attending Six Seasons Recovery because they were likely to need additional support.
“During the intake process, Six Seasons Recovery is very careful to represent ourselves as a health retreat and explain to prospective guests that we are not a hospital,” Coyne said. “A guest can then make a pre-determined judgment on their needs.”
Claims over medication advice
In November 2024, Coyne received a spent conviction for passing himself off as a psychologist. He now describes himself as the programme director at Six Seasons Recovery.
Although he has no clinical qualifications, Lauren alleged that he gave her medical advice, including instructions about the dosage of her medication.
When asked whether Coyne had directed her medication changes, Lauren replied: “Correct.” She alleged that her medication had been reduced by between 25 and 30 per cent, rather than the five per cent reductions she said were expected.
Coyne said he could not comment on individual guest experiences because of the confidential nature of treatment programmes. He rejected the allegations as false and factually incorrect.
He said all staff had relevant qualifications with their governing bodies, and stressed that Six Seasons Recovery was a private mental health care retreat rather than a government facility, hospital or licensed medical centre.
“We take a whole-person, centered holistic approach to treatment,” he said.
