Clean Slate Clinic’s ‘Accidental’ Founder and ‘Reluctant’ CEO
Like many of our clients, CEO of Clean Slate Clinic, Pia Clinton Tarestad's journey to recovery began with an uncertain Google search.
"I remember sitting there, typing 'Am I an alcoholic?' into the search bar. It was the only term I knew, the only language I had to describe what I was experiencing."*
Pia’s personal story is imbued with inspiration, and when it comes to this truth-telling, Pia herself is uninhibited. But although the barriers are down when speaking of her journey, she’s also the first to point out her privilege in the circumstance.
“When I recognised that I had a problem with alcohol, I was probably sitting in the most privileged position that you can be. Very good job, very high health literacy - I had been working in healthcare for 20 years plus. Even still, I didn't know where to turn for help.
“I was incredibly ashamed. I had an image in my own mind of what an ‘alcoholic’ was, and that's a term, that's the only term that I knew.
“There is a shame, a fear of being labelled. And it stops people from reaching out.”
Today, having worked through this part of her life journey, Pia is now a titan of activism and advocacy for people with substance dependence.
Speaking to her, you get a sense of this determined and driven self. The one with the Masters in Healthcare and with an impressive professional profile working in the public and private sectors as the Head of Specialised Commissioning in the NHS, and as a Partner in healthcare strategy at Deloitte. You sense that she is a woman with a strong work ethic who genuinely wants to get the job done well.
Of course there is also the Pia who recalls having her first sip of alcohol and a cigarette at maybe 11 or 12 in her hometown in Guernsey - an isolated but beautiful island in the British Isles that few people have heard of. The Pia who, in order to get ‘beer money,’ went out and got her first job as a secretary on a vascular ward in London. And the Pia who found alcohol became an entitled perk in the corporate world, where a ‘networking’ culture would serve as a euphemism for drinking.
These different sides of Pia are not at odds though - they are simply facets of being a human. Like all of us, she contains multitudes: determined yet vulnerable, driven yet honest. She has been through the paces of life experience and has had her world shaken up like a snow globe, but ultimately - has set her compass back on course and found a true path without dependence on alcohol.
When Pia started Clean Slate (or as she labels her role - an ‘accidental’ founder and ‘reluctant’ CEO), it was driven by both her personal interest, with her unresolved issues with alcohol and her professional passion for healthcare equity. As it turned out, Pia was patient zero when testing the program, and successfully completed the 12 month trial including the medicated detox and aftercare - which gave her the confidence to really want to push the service.
“We did friends and family testing where the idea was we were going to take 10 friends and family through the process just so they could experience the telehealth consultation with the nurse.
“And I was the one of those that actually met the criteria to go through the service, which wasn't a huge surprise to me, but it was a bit of a shock to Chris, I would say.
“I did my detox, went through the aftercare part of the program, and came out the other side. So I knew what we had was something kind of special.”
Today, Pia is viscerally determined to make a difference to the lives of others. There is a genuine desire to leave the world better than she found it. She’s now one of over 1000 clients who have gone through the Clean Slate service which is a testament to the sustained growth of the organisation. This year, Clean Slate was one of 18 mission-driven ventures to receive funding from the Harvard Innovation Labs Social Impact Fellowship Fund. On top of this, several insurance partners now offer the service free to their members, and plans are in place to scale to the UK this year.
But what drives Pia isn't the numbers or accolades - it's the understanding that everyone deserves access to compassionate, effective care.
“We set up as a social enterprise which has a social justice heart and that’s really important to me.
“We’ve done an amazing job in reducing stigma. We’ve done an amazing job at reducing geographical barriers to access, and financial barriers to access. And we are supporting some women’s shelters to support women fleeing domestic violence
“We’ve also done incredible work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community partners to make our service more accessible in terms of making it culturally safe. But actually to have the funding to provide the service for free to those communities - we’re not there yet.
“We have small pockets across the country, but I have a burning ambition and fire in my belly to get more funding.”
This fire in her belly is certainly evident, and it radiates through the Clean Slate internal operations team of doctors and nurses, where all staff members share not only a deep sense of purpose in helping others, but also nurture a strong workplace culture and sense of community.
After a recent team professional development weekend in Melbourne, Pia teared up and said; “To see 40 people in the room who only had great things to say about the organisation was a really humbling and really proud moment.
“We’ve been really focussed on the impact on communities, but to see the impact on the team - and that everybody feels motivated and connected to the purpose - I’m just so proud that we’ve managed to create that.”
From Pia’s first tentative Google search seeking to understand her own alcohol dependence, to becoming CEO of Clean Slate Clinic, her journey demonstrates the power of change. Not only has she rewritten her own story, but she's built a platform that empowers others to reclaim their lives through accessible, dignified recovery care. And as Pia says; “I’m committed to both equity and quality. And am determined to make underserved communities receive access to our service. We can do more and we will”.
*For the record, a better Google search might be ‘Do I have alcohol dependence?’ or ‘Do I have alcohol use disorder?’ - And yes, ‘alcohol use disorder’ is recognised as a chronic disease in global diagnostic manuals that is treatable and should not come with an ounce of shame. For judgement-free support - maybe just google Clean Slate Clinic!
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