ABOUT THE CANYON – MALIBU
Situated on 120 acres in a secluded canyon in beautiful Malibu, The Canyon offers luxury residential treatment for adults struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. Medical detox is available on-site, but outpatient programming is offered at The Canyon at Santa Monica, in nearby West Los Angeles.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The Canyon holds that addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The staff look for co-occurring problems such as a history of trauma or abuse, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Integrated treatment for these disorders is offered.
Treatment is individualized and uses the 12-Steps along with other modalities including Seeking Safety and individual, group, and family therapy. Clients also receive relapse prevention and recovery coaching, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Group topics include trauma, setting healthy boundaries, coping with grief and loss, and codependency.
Additionally, there are both gender-specific and co-ed groups. Families are strongly encouraged to participate in the family program, and The Canyon also offers family weekend events and educational healing programs.
Holistic options are also available and include meditation, yoga, and massage therapy. In addition, The Canyon offers equine therapy, expressive arts therapies, wellness and nutrition groups, and adventure therapy.
Each former resident is assigned an alumni coordinator who helps manage aftercare and connects them to an alumni program. Extended care options are also available, allowing for a smoother transition back into society.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The Canyon’s website notes that the primary-therapist-to-client ratio is 1:4. The Canyon’s website also notes that every client is matched with an internist, a psychiatrist, and a primary therapist.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
According to the facility’s website, 16 beds are available and meals are prepared by trained chefs. Photographs published on the facility’s website show stylish shared bedrooms, an outdoor pool, a fitness room, comfortable common areas, and extensive grounds including a freestanding meditation room.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Best-rehabs.com has received feedback from a single former client to date, who gave five out of five stars in most categories rated, including treatment effectiveness and the staff’s level of training and experience. Only three stars were awarded for affordability, and the reviewer wrote: “…very.high cost. caters 5 movie stars and rock stars. if you have the funds, one of the best,” but also noted that the “approach to help with issues one on one and group settings was a strength.”
Review coverage elsewhere online of this facility is also mixed. On Facebook (where facilities can manage their reviews), the center has 24 ratings to date that average 4.5 out of five stars, many of which are five-star reviews with no commentary.[1] Rory, though, wrote: “Love it,very spiritual nice ora.” A one-star reviewer, Whitney, was very displeased with her experience and wrote: “My therapist was inexperienced and under-qualified. Services advertised are NOT the services offered.”
Additionally, there are 11 ratings averaging 3.27 out of five stars on Yelp where most reviewers gave five-star ratings.[2] Julie, for instance, wrote: “The Canyon is absolutely the BEST!!!!! They have the most caring therapists, staff and well run groups.”
But several reviewers reported very negative, and very similar, experiences, claiming that they felt the staff was under qualified and that the facility was more interested in making money than in healing its clients. Michael wrote on Yelp: “When I was there three years ago, not all of the three therapists were even licensed. They claim to be ‘duel diagnosis’ which is basically not true in any way. The only concern they had with me was to try and bully me into paying for another 30 days.”
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
At the time of this writing, Best-rehabs.com has received feedback for The Canyon from two affiliated loved ones, both of whom gave mostly positive ratings. M.E.U. gave four- and five-star ratings across the board, writing: “Very supportive of patient and family. Gave tools to work on healthy life styles with an emphasis on continued aftercare.” The other reviewer, who chose to remain anonymous, gave a slightly more mixed review. Just three stars were awarded for treatment effectiveness, holistic inclusion, and counseling options while affordability was given just two stars. They wrote: “extensive one on one counseling; informative family weekend/visits; high quality/healthy meals but price is incredibly high.”
FINANCING
At the time of this writing, there is no information on the facility’s website regarding its costs and coverage options.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/pg/thecanyon/reviews/?ref=page_internal
[2] https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-canyon-malibu-2