CLARE Foundation

CLARE Foundation Santa Monica California

CLARE Foundation is dedicated to saving lives through recovery. Our organization offers a comprehensive range of care with 11 residential, outpatient, and prevention programs in Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, and West Los Angeles. With a focus on gender-specific treatment, our compassionate and caring staff, along with our comprehensive treatment plans and 12-step programs, provide clients with the practical tools they need to rebuild their lives, restore their self-esteem, and achieve long-term sobriety and self-sufficiency.

ABOUT CLARE FOUNDATION

Located in sunny Santa Monica, Calif., CARF-accredited CLARE Foundation offers detox, gender-specific residential treatment, outpatient services, and sober-living homes for men and women ages 18 and over who are struggling with substance abuse and/or co-occurring disorders.

TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT

At CLARE, our staff works closely with each client to create an individualized treatment plan that utilizes more than 10 evidence-based practices, in addition to the 12-Steps. In our residential program, clients participate in daily group therapy and weekly case management meetings, as well as individual therapy and psychiatric services for those with co-occurring disorders. Our program also includes career readiness training and employment assistance. The duration of residential treatment typically ranges from 30 to 90 days.

Our outpatient offerings include a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and an intensive outpatient program (IOP). The PHP meets five days a week for up to six hours a day, while the IOP meets for three hours a day, up to five days a week. Both programs consist of group counseling, individual therapy, family meetings, and random drug screening.

CLARE Foundation also provides four gender-specific sober-living homes that offer safe living environments for men, women, and women with children. Residents participate in community support meetings, alumni activities, and random drug testing.

STAFF CREDENTIALS

Treatment at CLARE is led by two doctoral-level psychologists and our facility also includes psychiatrists, addictionologists, nurses, and behavioral health therapists.

ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES

Promotional videos posted on CLARE Foundation’s website showcase dorm-style sleeping arrangements, group meeting spaces, and a cafeteria-style dining room. Our women’s facility is a two-story building arranged around a courtyard, while our men’s center was opened in 2014. In total, we have 80 beds in our residential facilities.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY

According to the reviews submitted by our alumni, seven out of twelve were positive. These alumni praised the comprehensive program and the support they received from staff. However, five alumni had negative experiences, citing rude staff and a lack of individual attention from counselors. Some alumni also felt that our marketing materials and advertised program offerings were not accurate.

On Google Reviews, our facility received a four-star rating based on nine reviews. Four reviewers praised CLARE for their personal results, while two reviewers felt that their time with the facility was ineffective.

WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY

The sole review received by Best-rehabs.com from a loved one at the time of this writing was negative, giving one-star ratings for treatment effectiveness, meals, and accommodations. This individual claimed that CLARE Foundation only cared about money.

Opinions on Yelp are mostly negative, with a three-star rating from thirteen reviewers. Many friends and family members reported feeling misled by our facility and expressed dissatisfaction with the level of care provided to their loved ones. However, one friend of a former CLARE client praised our program and the skills it taught.

WHAT STAFF SAY

A former employee and client, Michael, left a neutral review on Best-rehabs.com. He mentioned a transition to a new executive director and stated that CLARE could provide a positive experience for clients. However, he also noted that some staff members needed improvement in their conduct.

FINANCING

CLARE Foundation accepts most insurance plans, including Aetna, Cigna, BlueCross BlueShield, and United Healthcare. For those without insurance, we offer payment plans. Additionally, many of our clients pay for treatment through General Relief, a Los Angeles County-funded program of the Department of Public Social Services.

CLARE Foundation Reviews

  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • Too rigid due to the unstable clientele; was more like a prison than treatment. Extremely structured environment. Not enough counselors per clientele.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • I've been in and out of rehabs the past two years and never decided to stick it through. By the time I ended up at Clare I'd decided that I really wanted sobriety and that I was going to complete a program no matter what it took. I had absolutely no support in California. I'd come to the state as a client at a different rehab, which shut down. I was told that Clare was helping clients from that rehab so I reached out and got in, much to my relief. I was done. I came in to build my life up with absolutely no outside support, and Clare knew that. The one and only thing Clare gave me was a roof over my head for 90 days. A lot of the staff were very helpful, yet at the end stepped back and away, leaving me once again with absolutely no support. It took me a month of begging to get my very first one on one with a certified drug and alcohol counselor. It took me three weeks to get a one on one with a therapist in which I had informed said therapist that I have a very strong need to work on trauma. Clare Foundation website stated they provide trauma informed services - they do not. My trauma had already been "opened" from my rehab experience prior to coming to Clare and nobody would even go near the subject. Every time I would bring it up, the "professionals" would change the subject. One of the reasons I was excited to go to Clare was because I was ready to begin tackling my trauma, my primary cause of relapse, once and for all. There is no type of physical activity. The handbook stated that we would have access to a gym and we did not for my entire stay there. We were within walking distance to the beach and we went maybe twice my whole 90 days. It was a nightmare trying to be able to contact my SPONSOR. I had to use personal phone calls to call her, meaning I had no contact with any of my family until I phased up. I was baffled by how insanely hard I had to fight to maintain a working relationship with my sponsor because the staff didn't seem to understand the importance of actually working the steps with a sponsor, rather than just attending meetings. Another reason I was looking forward to going to Clare was that the website made it seem like they would help transition you out, which they definitely did not. They send you to Chrysalis to help prepare you for the workforce and find a job and in that process I found an amazing job. However, as I mentioned before, I really had no outside support and Clare knew that. I mentioned several times that I would need help finding somewhere to go and I received absolutely none. I took it upon myself and actually ended up staying in a motel the night I left after graduating. One last thing... I was on a GR bed and the cut off date to get your benefits back for the rest of the month is the 15th. My exit date was the 14th, but I stayed until the 16th because that's when I got paid. They showed no type of mercy or leniency on my letter and also failed to tell me before I chose to stay until the 16th that all my benefits would go to Clare if I stayed past the 15th. Again, they knew my situation - I made sure to be vocal about it. I had absolutely no outside support. I really could've used the rest of those benefits. Even with my awesome job, I crashed and burned within two weeks of graduating and was put into a position to give everything I worked for up and leave the state and start over, yet again. Throughout my stay at Clare I was trying to help people get in the door and now I honestly say go to Clare as a last resort. For a nonprofit organization, I sure saw a lot of politics and money being prioritized. I heard it hasn't always been like this but this was my experience. I graduated in December of 2016.
    Happily, CLARE has a new Executive Director. Trust me this is good news given the lack of integrity of the Puffer Fish who finally swam away. He all but wrecked the place. Problem is he left his closest shark pals behind. Their pictures are handily displayed above. There's the diminutive yet sinister guy always in the running as CLARE's least liked employee. And, there's another woman who, with this other guy, make for a matched set, operating in seeming effort to prove that lying is a management tool. Each has had involvement in CLARE's botched policies. But know this, if you're thinking of working at CLARE you will enjoy the intrinsic rewards of working with clients in need. You will also find many capable and amiable coworkers. And, if you're considering enrolling in CLARE that too could be a positive. Lets face it, recovery can be complicated and without intending to we may be looking to make our first or our latest or our hopefully last rehab blameworthy or praiseworthy depending on how it's going for us at this moment in our lives. Maybe you should just go for it. As said, CLARE's shortfall continues to translate to the excesses of the two staff members who have advanced their personal agendas via deceit and intimidation. So it's really a "Tale of Two CLARE's." One is the laudable CLARE of times past which the new Executive Director is looking to honor, and the other is the expedient CLARE still being manhandled by a couple wrong wishers left circling too near the top. Michael, Former employee (and former client)
  • Treatment Effectiveness
  • Accommodations & Amenities
  • Meals & Nutrition
    • I'm a guest who paid entry fee for friend in Clare foundation. ...Clare don't care .... it's all about the money with Dr. . How can you ban a sport group .....
    This place was unfortunately a bad experience for me. I was admitted in March of 2016. Right off the bat my welcome was not welcoming from the woman at the front desk. The Staff treat you like a prisoner. I was 24 years old, very sweet and adhered to all the rules. It was my first rehab. The staff there were not the sharpest tools in the shed, and blew me Off anytime I had a question I request. I did not get one on one with my councelor or therepist Until almost 2 weeks of my stay. Very understaffed. They had me work in the kitchen alot More than any other client for 2 weeks due to the assistant manager being in charge Of the schedule and constantly switching the schedule up. She must have had something against me since she asked my counselor whatsup with all my guy friends. That was strange To me since I was only in contact with my brother and boyfriend. I was not the only one being Targeted by her. She treated us like peasants, like she was better (even though she was a former addict herself) I had requested to speak to her and she blew it off. One of the front desk girls was a young power tripping lazy staff member. She made up her own rules Just to make something inconvenient for the clients. I did not get the one on one help I needed, or the Respect I deserved. The assistant manager and the manager played favorites. This place simply Treated me as an easy paycheck. The only staff that I respected were three female staff members. They are the only reason I got to go to the store, or make a call. during my 20 dayStay (due to an insurance issue) i did not get in trouble, and was sweet to everyone. I was Treated with disrespect or not noticed at all. They even made me cry one day of frustration and mistreatment. I would not recommend this place to anyone. terrible experience.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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  • Meals & Nutrition
    • This facility is in Santa Monica, CA. It was awesome to walk down to the beach and chill on stressful days.
    If you are honest show pictures of the men's' facility instead of the sanitized photos that prove a picture can be worth a thousand false words too. They lied to me. They do serve homeless and incarcerated addicts but finance it on the back of people without much more.
    • Treatment Effectiveness
    There are many things wrong with this facility. I will start with the first one...it is not cheap. Even with insurance. There are cheaper places. I attended outpatient. You should know that first the most part, you will be attended to by interns who are LEARNING ON YOU. Their treatment is not revolutionary or different from any other rehab. On top of everything else, the lower level you go in terms of personnel, the ruder they become. I would NEVER live there in a million years. They don't like to explain where your money is going to either. I have asked for an accounting of the money I paid to them over and over again. I have received nothing, When I left in August I realized the program was not going to work and I expected a refund. It took until NOVEMBER to get a refund. I finally had to call my insurer and complain to her higher ups to get her to refund my money. This place is a mess. There are better places. Or just go to A.A. That's basically what they are going to tell you to do.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • I read the other reviews and was shocked because it sounds like a different place to where I was recently. I found Yelp more realistic. I found Clare to have a myopic focus on house rules and cleaning, to the point Clare has more double scrubs than Twin Towers! Sure, in the beginning structure and the habit of following rules is important, but when it becomes the sole focus of a treatment facility, as oppose to "tools of recovery," then it becomes a center or facility because treatment and recovery are just a vehicle to drive home the point of rules such as perfectly aligned shoes under the bed. It's a program of punishment enforced by bitter PAs... enabled by the administrators of the WTP. Not a pretty picture of 20 years sober. While one PA runs around on her power trip, and another speaks to clients inappropriately. Many clients filed grievance after grievance and yet she still is allowed among the WTP population. On the other hand, the best counselor they had, who I witnessed stop countless women walk out the doors, unlike the bitter PA's who help them pack, was terminated. Yeah they have success stories, but not since they switched the program from six to three months and if it continues the way it is, I fear Clare may one day shut its doors to help addicts. As it is - the doors flung wide open - actual recovery and treatment for the disease of addiction barely exists.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • I thought this facility was great
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • Going to treatment at Clare was the best decision I ever made in my life. Clare exceeded all of my expectations, and helped instill my strong recovery. If I had to do it all over again, I would, and I also highly recommend this place to everyone that needs help.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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    • I don't feel i would have taken my sobriety seriously if my mother had paid for me. CLARE allowed me to pay for my OWN treatment with government assistance. CLARE provided me with all the tools and support necessary to have a life after treatment. The staff was great and supportive and I have a relationship with them to this day...I know many that relapse and say they're going HOME to CLARE...if I were to ever relapse, I would most definitely go back HOME to Clare.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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  • Meals & Nutrition
    • Least expensive place (I had looked into) but best care...I got structure and sobriety back into my life.
  • Treatment Effectiveness
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  • Meals & Nutrition
    • The only reason I rate (their treatment effectiveness) a 4 is that they don't have a psych or detox facility, they just watch you and if you need to go to a hospital they will get you there...Clare gave me enough tools to use to not (relapse)....they give you a lot of knowledge and I learned from it. (I am now) clean and sober but if I ever again need a facility, Clare would be the first place I would call.