ABOUT AXIS COMMUNITY HEALTH
Founded in 1972 and now operating several locations in Pleasanton and one in nearby Livermore, in California’s Bay Area, Axis Community Health provides medical care, mental health counseling, and addiction counseling. The organization prioritizes providing affordable and accessible treatment.
Axis’s addiction counseling services consist of intervention services, placing it among the 80.3 percent of facilities in the state to include this approach, and outpatient programs for adults as well as teens. Axis is one of the only 317 (22.2 percent) California treatment facilities to provide specifically-tailored programming for adolescents, and teens are often referred by their schools, probation officers, parents, or the police, but they may also refer themselves. The facility accepts court-ordered clients, and is in the 9.3 percent that offers DUI programming.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The most intensive level of care available at Axis are its intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), available for both adults and teens. Though each client follows an individualized program — the length of which will vary according to their individual needs — the building blocks of treatment are education and group counseling, focusing on topics such as the process of addiction, the causes of substance abuse, medical aspects of addiction, and social and peer pressure. IOPs meet for three hours, three nights a week.
The general outpatient program for adults is a 16-week course, followed by aftercare. During the primary phase of treatment, clients meet three times a week, for 90 minutes each time. Each session includes group counseling, in groups of eight to 10, on the same topics covered in IOP treatment; individual counseling is also available as required, and clients are encouraged to participate in 12-step programs. Following the 16-week program, clients attend aftercare and relapse prevention sessions in group and individual settings, once or twice a week, for up to a year.
The center also offers general outpatient care for teens, which again is provided in small-group settings. Axis emphasizes that its teen programs are responsive to the particular challenges faced by teens. As of 2016, 4.03 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 in California needed but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility for illicit drug use. Teens’ parents are strongly encouraged to attend counseling sessions, and Axis also offers parenting classes for the parents and guardians of teens participating in the treatment program.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The programs are staffed by certified drug and alcohol counselors, and 98.3 percent of California substance abuse treatment centers have higher education requirements for staff. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center four out of five stars for its staff’s level of training and experience.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Best-rehabs.com has not yet received any reviews directly from alumni of this facility at the time of this writing. Secondary review sites yielded no reviews of the addiction treatment facility in particular, and mixed feedback about the medical health facility. On Yelp, a 1.5-star average rating based on eight reviews repeatedly revealed dissatisfaction with long wait times and other administrative problems. The commentary on Yelp’s “not recommended” review section shows similar complaints, and one user noted, “Unhelpful staff and a pain to make an appointment,” in a representative comment.
Despite a higher, 3.2-star average rating based on nine reviews on Google, written feedback is still entirely negative. Giving three out of five stars, H.I. commented, “but in 20 years ibeen patient here ALWAYS has a very bad customer service.”
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would strongly recommend this facility, and gave the center four or five stars in all 15 of the evaluated treatment metrics, with five-star ratings going to the center’s treatment effectiveness, the facility’s cleanliness, exercise & leisure activities, admissions & discharge procedures, and family participation. This loved one also provided five out of five stars when surveyed on whether or not the treatment was worth the cost. When asked about facility weaknesses, this anonymous reviewer simply wrote, “none.”
WHAT STAFF SAY
Staff reviews uncovered by Best-rehabs.com to date were mixed: at the time of this writing, the organization had a 2.9-star average rating based on 18 reviews on Indeed, but a higher, 3.4-star average rating based on 12 reviews on Glassdoor. The reviewers repeatedly praised the company’s mission and the warmth and dedication of their coworkers, but cited a very stressful environment with high staff turnover, due to poor management.
“Pros:Caring and dedicated worker warriors that dedicate their lives to helping others. Cons: … Simply put, the upper management team is awful, disengaged, uncaring, ruthless, and driven by the mighty dollar,” one anonymous reviewer wrote in a representative review on Glassdoor. “The staff at Axis are also dedicated to the mission, are focused on giving back, and the large majority of staff are kind, collaborative and interested in putting the patient’s needs first,” an Indeed reviewer echoed regarding the positive aspects of this facility.
FINANCING
Axis Community Health accepts Medicare, Medi-Cal, and many public insurance plans. Axis’s website also notes that the organization helps its clients to access treatment regardless of their income and insurance status. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center four out of five stars for its affordability.