The 11th International Conference on Urban Health, Manchester, United Kingdom, March 4-7th 2014
Conference Venue
The 11th International Conference on Urban Health, Manchester, United Kingdom, March 4-7th 2014
Conference Venue
This index explains ten Los Angeles area programs in everyday language, defining terms such as detox, PHP and IOP as they come up, including which ones add holistic elements such as art, yoga, acupuncture or outdoor activities to detox and inpatient care, beginning with Bright Paths Recovery, a small home where staff outnumber clients.
A small group. "Small capacity" simply means a program treats only a few people at a time. Some people prefer a quieter setting with fewer residents, so it is worth asking how many people would share the house.
A high staff ratio. This compares staff with clients. A higher number of staff per client means more people are on hand during the day and night.
Holistic extras with real clinical care underneath. "Holistic" usually means activities that support the whole person, such as art therapy, yoga, acupuncture, exercise or time outdoors. They are additions to medical detox and evidence-based therapy, not replacements for them.
Detox in the same place. A program that manages withdrawal where you will live avoids a move during the first difficult days.
Support after you leave. Ask what continues once the inpatient stay ends: outpatient groups, sober living, alumni calls or aftercare. In this index, the answers range from weekly alumni check-ins to aftercare for life.
Private insurance, such as a PPO plan through work, opens most of the programs here, and PPO plans often pay toward programs outside their network as well. Bright Paths accepts most PPO plans and out-of-network benefits, Luxe and Wish work with private insurance, Breathe Life reports in-network status with most major insurers, and Hazelden says most insurance is accepted.
Public coverage, mainly Medi-Cal in California, points to the nonprofits, which are set up to accept it. Tarzana covers residential detox under Drug Medi-Cal and My Health LA, CRI-Help accepts Medi-Cal with a sliding fee, and Beit T'Shuvah partners with Drug Medi-Cal. Casa Serena accepts both private and public insurance, per StartYourRecovery.
Bright Paths and Luxe do not accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you are unsure what your plan covers, ask for a free benefits check, which several programs here offer before admission.
Bright Paths Recovery keeps its group small on purpose: one Northridge house with 12 beds and about three staff for every two clients, according to the company. Around the clinical core, the program adds holistic elements that fit daily life in a home, including art therapy, weekend outings, a gym with boxing equipment, a basketball court and meals cooked by a private chef.
The clinical core is medical, led by Medical Director Dr. Adnan Khoury, MD, MS, and Clinical Director Dr. Shushan Tigranyan, PsyD. Detox happens in an on-site medical office around the clock, and inpatient treatment follows in the same house for 28 to 40 days, with CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing and care for conditions such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. An anger management track, couples rehab, a pet-friendly stay and a veterans track add options, and admission is often same day. Residents keep their phones and laptops, and graduates stay connected through a private alumni app and weekly check-ins.
Pros
Cons
For Beit T'Shuvah, "holistic" has a spiritual meaning. Residents of its West Los Angeles community spend months combining Jewish teaching and prayer with 12-step meetings and sessions with a therapist, and many also work in the organization's own bakery, thrift store or studios while they recover.
There is no medical detox on site, so anyone still drinking or using will need to finish withdrawal care elsewhere first. Phones are put away for at least 60 days, and a career center helps residents prepare to return to work.
Pros
Cons
Wish Recovery runs every stage on one Northridge estate, its press release says: withdrawal care, a residential stay, partial hospitalization, which fills most of the day, and an intensive outpatient program, which takes fewer hours each week. On the holistic side, listings describe a room for acupuncture, therapy with horses and sessions held outdoors.
A separate track serves lawyers, doctors, company founders and senior leaders, and the company says a family affected by addiction founded it. Detox.com is the source for its Joint Commission accreditation.
Pros
Cons
Tarzana Treatment Centers is less about extras and more about range, which suits people with several health needs at once. The nonprofit, founded in 1972 and spread across Los Angeles County, offers withdrawal care, residential programs, three outpatient intensities, a psychiatric hospital and clinics for medicine, dentistry and HIV care.
For people on Medi-Cal, public funding through Drug Medi-Cal and the county's My Health LA program pays for residential detox, and teenagers and mothers with children have their own residential tracks.
Pros
Cons
Luxe Recovery keeps each of its houses, one in Los Feliz and one in the Hollywood Hills, to six residents, according to StartYourRecovery. Its wellness side, as directories describe it, includes neurofeedback, which uses brain activity readings during sessions, plus a pool, a hot tub, a gym and a music room.
Nursing staff handle withdrawal inside the house, and the residential stay that follows commonly lasts 30 to 90 days. Pets may be allowed under the company's policies.
Pros
Cons
Casa Serena, a Santa Barbara nonprofit founded in 1959, admits only women and keeps every stage at one address: withdrawal care, a residential phase, outpatient programs, transitional housing at Millie's House and aftercare that never ends.
Eating disorders and other mental health conditions are treated in the same program, and the therapy list on Psychology Today includes EMDR, a method often used to work through trauma.
Pros
Cons
CRI-Help shows that holistic elements need not be expensive. At its North Hollywood center, directories describe residential days that include yoga and acupuncture alongside a 12-step meeting and time with a case manager, after withdrawal care that uses medication for heavier symptoms.
The nonprofit accepts Medi-Cal, installment plans and fees based on income, and staff serve Spanish speakers as well as English speakers.
Pros
Cons
La Fuente in Hollywood was built around LGBTQ+ adults, and Rehab.com lists room for 15. Art therapy sits on its therapy list next to CBT, motivational interviewing and the Matrix Model.
Its sequence, typically with residential stays of 30 to 90 days, runs from physician-directed withdrawal care through a residential phase and step-down programs to sober housing, and CARF has accredited it since 2014.
Pros
Cons
Breathe Life Healing Centers, in Laurel Canyon, puts trauma at the center of treatment, with tracks for LGBTQ+ adults, people affected by chemsex and airline flight attendants.
Its six levels run from withdrawal care to transitional housing, and relatives can attend a three-day workshop. Medication for addiction is available, and alumni meet online every week. The site does not say where detox takes place.
Pros
Cons
The Betty Ford Center, roughly two hours east of Los Angeles in Rancho Mirage, offers medically staffed detox, inpatient treatment, outpatient sessions and online care.
Families can join workshops, children have a curriculum of their own, and a sober home sits on the grounds. Sessions are also offered in Spanish and for Native American families.
Pros
Cons
Program |
Size |
Detox |
Holistic elements described |
Bright Paths Recovery |
12 beds |
Same home |
Art therapy, weekend outings, gym, chef |
Beit T'Shuvah |
Not published |
Not offered |
Spiritual practice, vocational work |
Wish Recovery |
Not published |
On site |
Acupuncture, equine and outdoor therapy |
Tarzana Treatment Centers |
Multi-site |
Inpatient |
Not described |
Luxe Recovery |
Six per house |
Same home |
Neurofeedback, pool, music room |
Casa Serena |
Not published |
On site |
Not described |
CRI-Help |
Not published |
On site |
Yoga, acupuncture |
La Fuente Hollywood |
15 beds |
Medically managed |
Art therapy |
Breathe Life |
Not published |
Listed |
Not described |
Hazelden Betty Ford |
Not published |
By medical staff |
Not described |
Holistic touches add variety to the day, but they sit on top of medical and clinical care rather than replacing it. Bright Paths Recovery offers both in a small, well-staffed home, with detox and inpatient care together and art therapy and weekend outings alongside. Wish and Luxe add wellness amenities for private-pay clients, while CRI-Help brings yoga and acupuncture within reach on Medi-Cal. Beit T'Shuvah offers a spiritual and vocational version of whole-person care, and La Fuente includes art therapy in an affirming setting. Whatever the extras, confirm first where detox happens and what support continues after discharge.
