ABOUT ALTA MIRA RECOVERY PROGRAMS
Located near the water in Sausalito, Calif., Alta Mira offers luxury residential and outpatient treatment for individuals struggling with substance abuse, with an emphasis on dual diagnosis. The center is also among 14 percent of substance abuse treatment facilities in the state that provide residential, non-hospital detox.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
At Alta Mira, clients either engage in 12-Step and or a 12-step alternative fellowship and an array of treatment modalities. Residential programs include medically-monitored detox, as needed and residential treatment is offered in durations of 30 and 90 days.
Both options feature daily group therapy and at least three sessions of individual therapy every week, individual spiritual counseling, educational classes, a four-day family program, holistic activities, and aftercare plans that include weekly group counseling and quarterly alumni events.
Residential programming may also incorporate trauma-informed psychodrama, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), equine experiential therapy, and intensive multi-day workshops on topics such as trauma, money, and grief/loss.
The eight-week intensive outpatient program (IOP) operates in the daytime or evening in Mill Valley. Treatment includes evidence-based methods such as mindfulness training, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), weekly individual therapy, and 12-step facilitation.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Alta Mira’s staff includes a licensed clinical psychologist, a physician specialized in addiction medicine, consulting physicians and psychiatrists, and PhD and masters-level counselors and therapists. The four individuals polled on the matter generally approved of the facility’s staff.
Staff Experience and Training: 3.75/5
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Alta Mira has a large deck with sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay and, as a former boutique hotel, provides upscale accommodations. During detox, clients sleep in private rooms and, when they transition to the main phase of treatment, may be in a double occupancy, private room, or private suite. Those in private accommodations may bring their pet.
Meals are prepared by a gourmet chef, and healthy snacks are available 24/7. Clients have access to a small on-site gym and full-service gym nearby, along with personal training sessions. Extracurricular activities include yoga, trips to the beach, and canoeing. The four individuals polled on the matter approved of the facility’s cleanliness.
Facility Cleanliness and Upkeep: 4/5
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The two alumni polled by Best-rehabs.com to date offered conflicting feedback about Alta Mira: one highly positive, one negative. Former client K.M.W. awarded the facility perfect five stars for the facility’s cleanliness, its ability to resolve conflict, holistic offerings, level of staff training and experience, respect for the clients, and the amount of staff support. K.M.W. wrote:: “Personalized program, sincere concern, no personal degradation, compassionate, experienced staff.”
C.D. felt differently, offering two out of five stars for numerous metrics, including its aftercare, holistic offerings, level of counseling, its staff support, and its visitor policy. C.D. wrote: “I felt isolated at Alta Mira. No one asked me how I was doing until I had been there a week.” They also felt the facility was expensive and reported billing issues.
At the time of this writing, secondary sites yielded mostly positive feedback: 4.5 out of five stars based on 20 reviews on Facebook, which the center can manage; 4.8 stars based on four reviews on Google; and three stars based on four reviews on Yelp. Reviewers (alumni, loved ones, others) frequently praised the “world class” treatment, its staff and the physical facility, such as Shireen on Facebook, who wrote: “Amazing dream, amazing views, amazing treatment protocol, views and options.” Negative comments concerned protocols, price, misrepresentations, and amenities.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
Two loved ones polled by Best-rehabs.com to date provided mixed feedback. Whereas one awarded the top five stars for treatment effectiveness, accommodations and amenities, and meals and nutrition, the other gave them two- and one-star ratings. Despite these low ratings, the loved one gave a four-star rating for its ability to treat co-occurring disorders and wrote: “Help was effective and people were nice and friendly.”
Both reviewers held favorable views of exercise and leisure options, as well as the ease of connectivity with clients by rating both metrics five stars and four stars. Negative comments pertained to high cost and desire for better holistic options.
WHAT STAFF SAY
To date, Best-rehabs.com polled one staff member, who submitted favorable opinions about the facility. This individual awarded perfect five- and high four-star ratings for all of the survey metrics, including administrative/discharge policies, affordability, cleanliness, co-occurring disorder treatment, family participation, and for the likelihood they’d recommend the facility. The staff member cited a strength of the center as “good tratment.”
FINANCING
Alta Mira’s residential program is private-pay and not in-network with insurance. Although the center does not publish rates, it notes there is a significant price break for those who enroll upfront in the 90-day program. Its IOP accepts PPO insurance from carriers such as Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and United Healthcare.
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