ABOUT MUSE
Formerly known as A New Start, Muse is a private rehab agency that operates two recovery homes in Culver City, in west Los Angeles, as well as an outpatient office in Westwood Village. Across its facilities, Muse offers detox and residential treatment, outpatient care, and sober-living facilities for adult men and women who are struggling with substance use disorder or a dual diagnosis.
The center also offers medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction, using Suboxone and Subutex — making it one of the 21.9 percent of California-based facilities to offer Suboxone regimens.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Muse uses multidisciplinary, evidence-based care in a tiered program, so that clients gradually progress through a tapering series of treatments, until they’re ready to resume their everyday lives.
Treatment programs are individualized, using three core approaches: therapy and discovery; relapse prevention and education; and brain training, which uses neurofeedback and research-driven cognitive training to counteract the damage caused by substance use.
Clients entering less than 48 hours after using substances are automatically placed on detox status, which involves a medical evaluation following by medical monitoring and prescribed medications to ease the symptoms of withdrawal, as needed.
During residential treatment, clients can participate in a range of holistic activities, such as yoga, meditation, massage, and exercise, in addition to more traditional treatments, such as counseling and educational classes. In order to prepare them for life after treatment, residents are also given nutritional support and career counseling, which includes interviewing workshops and vocational education.
Muse’s primary outpatient offering is an intensive outpatient program (IOP) that uses therapy and neural rehabilitation alongside 12-step facilitation. Treatment is carried out in group sessions and includes therapeutic groups on topics such as anger management and life skills, as well as holistic and process-based sessions, including journaling, acu-meditation, art therapy, and body image sessions.
Muse’s sober living facilities offer safe, sober homes where clients are expected to continue to participate in 12-step programming, with added community-building and safety procedures such as house meetings, group outings, and a curfew.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Muse’s website notes that its multidisciplinary team includes a board-certified physician, a licensed clinical psychologist, and drug and alcohol trainees, some of whom are themselves in recovery. Both alumni polled by Best-rehabs.com to date on the staff’s level of training and experience gave it perfect five-star ratings. However, a former staffer gave the center just one star for both the experience levels and credentials of its staff.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Men and women live in separate, modern, sunny apartments, with shared bedrooms, slick decor, and common areas with couches and TVs. Both of the individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date on the center’s cleanliness gave it five-star ratings.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Of the eight alumni reviews submitted to Best-rehabs.com to date, five are positive and three are negative. Both of the alumni polled on a wide variety of the center’s treatment metrics gave it five-star ratings for its family participation, counseling options, and ability to treat co-occurring disorders.
In addition, satisfied alumni repeatedly praised the center’s staff and responsive, individualized therapy options: “The facility is clean and the staff cares and has recovery experience,” D.J. wrote in a typical comment. Alum L.D. added: “I can strongly say, without a doubt, that A New Start saved my life.”
Among the negative reviews, some alumni questioned the facility’s perceived financial-driven motives, well as isolated complaints about high staff turnover and unfair punishments. “Poor poor place. Care about money before. ur care and health,” one anonymous reviewer wrote.
Muse has mostly positive feedback on secondary sites, with average ratings of 4.4 out of five stars based on seven reviews on Google and 3.1 out of five stars based on eight reviews on Yelp.[1] [2] The positive reviewers on both sites repeatedly noted they had got sober at Muse after numerous failed attempts at other centers. “I have been to a few treatment centers. Unfortunately, that is what it took for me. But Muse is where it all fell into place. The staff here actually care,” Paige wrote on Yelp in a typical comment.
However, there were also repeated complaints about a lack of proper treatment programming and disorganization. “This place has decent staff, but lacks the stronger therapy. I really did not see a therapist, but someone who was in school for drug counseling?” Caitlyn wrote in a representative negative review.
WHAT FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY
The single family member polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave negative feedback, writing that Muse (formerly A New Start) didn’t keep them informed about their loved one’s care. “As a family member (wife) I was left completely out of the rehab process, outside of the initial call from his female therapist. Family involvement is not high on their list of issues to cover while in rehab,” N.S. wrote.
WHAT STAFF SAY
Of the three staff reviews submitted to Best-rehabs.com to date, one is positive and two are negative. “They practice what they deliver and do not let unnecessary defenses come up that prevent learning and growth,” H.T.N. wrote in the only positive review.
However, one former staffer echoed alumni complaints about money-hungry management, writing: “Heartless management Money before care Unsympathetic.” The staff member also gave the center one star for its honesty, willingness to put clients’ interests first, and overall quality of care. “Terrible place…I would never EVER send a client here. Stay away!” added the third staff member.
FINANCING
A New Start does not currently list its pricing online. However, according to the center’s website, most insurance plans are accepted. Both of the individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date on the center’s affordability gave it a four-star rating.
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