What will Malibu be like?
Joining our community at Malibu Wellness Ranch is designed to be an experience that creates a therapeutic home away from home for you during your treatment. In our effort to place yourself or your loved one at ease as you contemplate taking the next step toward recovery, we have outlined a typical treatment experience at Malibu for improved understanding and comfort of what your experience will be like.
Client Arrival
- Upon admission to Malibu, each client meets with our Director of Care Management to go over the admission paperwork and sign appropriate releases and consents. These documents are what give us permission to treat you and to communicate (or not communicate) with anyone you’d like to be a part of your care.
- We want you to know that we DO search all persons and property during the admission process. This search is performed with dignity and respect and is for the sole purpose of ensuring that the Malibu campus remains safe and substance-free at all times for the well being of all our clients.
- Once we get through those requirements, a client is officially a part of the Malibu client community. New clients are introduced to their assigned counselor to conduct intake and biopsychosocial assessments to identify treatment and case management needs and begin building trust and rapport between client and clinician. More than anything, these assessments allow us to get to know you and how we can best help you from the moment you arrive.
- Your counselor will review general guidelines and expectations for treatment as well as introduce you to your assigned “buddy.” All clients have a buddy to show them around the facility and introduce them to other clients and help them acclimate to their new surroundings.
Within the first 24 hours of being at Malibu, new clients are seen by our Medical Staff to address and review any medical, mental health, and medication needs. - Within the first 72 hours, clients will be with their counselor for a follow up appointment to their initial assessments. During this session, counselors will begin to create treatment plans with you to address the issues presenting that contribute to your substance use disorder and/or other co-occurring issues. This is your treatment plan and our team believes strongly in you being a part of its development as only your commitment to it will allow it to work.
- Treatment plans and the progress made in accomplishing goals define the course of treatment; level of care transitions; frequency of treatment assignments and activities; and target dates for treatment progress landmarks. These treatment plans you will go over with your counselor will include various treatment modalities and therapeutic interventions; specialized treatment assignments targeting identified problems/issues; and documented progress to be reviewed with our Clinical Care Team to ensure goals are being met or how to better help if they are not.
A Day in the Life at Malibu
Structure and accountability are a huge part of the recovery process, and we begin to work on these from the moment you arrive. Each client is expected to start their day ensuring that their living space and bed are cleaned and made. Everyone is requested to attend client morning meetings at which we establish our “personal plan for the day”; a group for setting treatment/recovery related goals specific to a client’s individualized treatment plan(s).
After we set our intentions for the day, Clients attend psycho-educational lectures, workshops, and process groups throughout the day that are clinically driven. Our clinicians all utilize evidence-based therapeutic approaches and interventions, inclusive of but not limited to:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Motivational Enhancement Therapy
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
- Adventure Therapy
- Equine Programming
- Group Therapy
- Individual Counseling Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Medication Assisted Treatment
Recreational Activities
In addition to our Adventure and Experiential based therapeutic programs, Malibu offers a multitude of recreational offering to our clients. Our team believes that learning how to connect socially and have joy in recovery, absent the use of substances, is one of the most important skills our clients need to learn…and We Love To Have FUN!
Recreational activities available to our clients include:
- Horseback Riding, Hiking
- Swimming (Indoor Pool), Fishing, Paddleboarding
- Snowmobiles, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Riding
- Cornhole, Miniature Golf
- Volleyball, Whiffle Ball, Basketball
- Fitness Center, Meditation
- Movie Nights
- Bonfires
Nights at Malibu
At the end of each day, Malibu hosts a recovery fellowship meeting that allows our clients to get comfortable in the fellowship process they will be participating in once they leave our campus. After which, our clients separate into small groups to have a nightly process group. During this “Nightly Review” clients are able to talk about their experience in the recovery meeting along with any feelings, thoughts, or issues that may have come up. Additionally, each client reviews the progress they have or have not made on that day with their “Personal Plan.” This process allows each client to be accountable to their individual progress with their peers, but most importantly, to themselves.
Departing from Malibu
Discharge criteria is defined for each client during their treatment planning sessions with their counselor. Discharge dates are set for each client on an individual basis determined by their progress in meeting that criteria. Once all the goals have been met and accomplished, our clients are ready for the next phase of their recovery journey. Each client will meet with their counselor for discharge planning to establish a Discharge Plan. This plan will include the following
- Referral to an appropriate level of care or provider for ongoing treatment / clinical support
- Referral to specialized provider to further address trauma, medical, or psychiatric needs (as needed)
- Assist client in securing a living environment that is conducive to recovery
- Provide client with recovery meeting list for the area they will be living in
- Lastly our “Coin Out Ceremony” is conducted for our discharging client(s). Each client Is given the opportunity to share their story during their last recovery meeting and is presented with a specialized coin by a community member of their choosing to signify their completion of treatment.
