At Sacred Space Retreats, individuals struggling with addiction are invited to participate in a residential substance abuse treatment program that emphasizes holistic therapies as a means of treating addiction. Situated in a rural, mountainous region of Middletown, Calif., Sacred Space Retreats incorporates the natural environment into individuals’ recovery process, encouraging patients to reassess diet and lifestyle choices as a means of overcoming addiction. Rather than prescribing traditional withdrawal medications such as Buprenorphine, Sacred Space provides patients with non-narcotic natural supplementation to offset withdrawal symptoms. Viewing the individual as a holistic whole, Sacred Space Retreats encourages patients to investigate the source of their addiction, using therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to assist patients in understanding and confronting the sources of their addictions.
ABOUT SACRED SPACE RETREATS
Sacred Space Retreats is located in the rolling hills of Cloverdale, Calif., about an hour and a half north of San Francisco. The lodge-style, luxury facility offers a full continuum of treatment for individuals struggling with substance use and co-occurring disorders, including a residential and intensive outpatient program (IOP). Detox services are available onsite, which only 14% of residential facilities in California provide.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Treatment at Sacred Space is a holistic process, addressing emotional and spiritual recovery along with the physical aspect of addiction. In the initial detox stage, clients can choose between working with a medical doctor or holistic detox specialist. Some treatment plans incorporate prescription medications, while others focus on removing prescribed substances, such as antidepressants, from the client’s system.
Clients pursuing residential treatment plans typically stay from one to three months. Each course of treatment draws from an array of evidence-based and experiential practices, which include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, motivational interviewing, solution-focused brief therapy, relapse prevention counseling, educational groups, and several services that address fitness and nutrition.
Following the initial detoxification phase, clients begin a “physical renewal” phase. During this period, clients may practice yoga or martial arts, begin taking natural supplements, participate in a liver or kidney cleanse, spend time in a sauna, and receive massages or acupuncture therapy. Clients also participate in 12-Step or alternative self-help fellowships.
According to the facility’s website, the intensive outpatient program is available to individuals who live locally and do not require the intensity of residential care to sustain recovery.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Sacred Space’s treatment team is led by the program’s director who holds a certification in clinical nutrition. He works with a psychiatrist who is board-certified in addiction medicine and contributing author to the book, Failure to Launch, which focused on dependent adult children.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Sacred Space Retreats accommodates a maximum of four clients at any one time. Residents stay in private, comfortably furnished bedrooms with flat screen TVs, private restrooms, WiFi, and direct access to outdoor seating areas. Photographs on the center’s official Facebook page feature a swimming pool, nearby walking trails, forested areas, and natural sauna hot springs. The facility’s official Facebook page notes that the original facilities were lost in a 2015 area wildfire, and services at the current location launched in September 2016.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The one alum, Linda, polled by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave a negative review and indicated that they would not recommend Sacred Space Retreats. While she awarded the facility four out of five stars for its general accommodations and meals, she gave just two stars for its holistic offerings and one star for the quality of counseling provided. The former client described the facility as having an “unhealthy environment,” but added: “However, finished my goals and I’m now off all medications.”
An extended Yelp review, self-referenced by the same individual, offered further details and represented the staff as unprofessional and argumentative. However, of the three total Yelp reviews, this was the only negative one.
Two positive Yelp reviews, both of whom gave the facility four out of five stars, highlighted the setting, the varied treatment practices, the quality of food, and the supportiveness of staff. One alum wrote that she had tried other rehab centers but needed “to receive both encouragement and insight, physical and mental nourishment and (most important to me) to simply be…”
The other reviewer commended the program’s vegan meals and highlighted a variety of activities, including “readings from spiritual oriented books,” outings to San Francisco, and “Kung Fu.” They described the program as “An excellent alternative to more traditional centers. Plus the best green drinks in town.”[1]
FINANCING
While no information regarding costs is provided on the facility’s website, the center states that it does accept some insurance coverage and provides staff assistance in verifying benefits.
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