Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers

Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers

ABOUT VISIONS ADOLESCENT TREATMENT CENTERS

Based in Malibu, Calif., Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers provides residential treatment for adolescents ages 13 to 18 who are struggling with substance abuse, mental health concerns, and co-occurring disorders. In addition to its residential facility, the organization runs an outpatient center in Los Angeles and an extended care residence in Santa Monica.

TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT

Upon admission, each client undergoes a series of evaluations, including a medical assessment, an educational assessment, and substance abuse testing. The findings from these assessments are used to develop an individualized treatment plan. Duration of treatment varies, but most clients stay at Visions for 45 to 90 days.

For teens who are dealing with withdrawal, Visions offers medical detoxification services. Once stabilized, clients participate in a customized mix of group therapy, family and multi-family therapy, psychoeducational programming, and individual counseling. Therapists employ a variety of therapeutic modalities, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), neurofeedback, and art and music therapy. The center also draws upon 12-step principles and facilitates both off-site meetings and on-site panel discussions and workshops.

While in treatment, clients may continue to further their education through the center’s academic program, which offers individualized lesson planning, ACT and SAT preparation, credit recovery, and college planning. Upon leaving Visions, clients receive a discharge plan that includes information on community resources and the center’s active alumni program.

STAFF CREDENTIALS

The facility’s treatment team includes physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, nurses, and a registered dietitian.

ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES

Visions operates two gender-specific residences. Mulholland, the center’s original facility, provides homelike accommodations, while Latigo offers a Mediterranean look and feel. Each house can accommodate up to 10 clients.

Based on photos published on the facility’s website, clients have access to swimming pools, a game room, outdoor picnic areas, and outdoor walking trails. With weekend family passes, residents can join their families on excursions. Food is prepared on-site, and clients’ dietary restrictions can be accommodated.

Visions offers a variety of social and recreational programs, including pottery workshops, rock climbing, horseback riding, and surfing lessons.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY

To date, Best-rehabs.com has received one review from a former client. Zach gave the program’s treatment effectiveness two stars, indicating that the center’s weaknesses outweighed its strengths. “I would also like to clearly state in this review that Vision’s is a business. It’s main priority is making money. Helping kids get and stay clean and sober is secondary,” he told Best-rehabs.com. While he appreciated the program’s 12-step elements, he found the center’s counseling to be lacking and its family activities counterproductive.

In contrast, alumni reviews submitted to third-party sites were mostly positive. On Facebook, where the facility can vet reviews, Visions received an average rating of 4.8 out of five stars, based on feedback from 48 users.[1] Multiple individuals credited the center with saving or improving their lives. “Visions played a major role in helping me change my life for the better. I’ve met the most wonderful people through this program and am very grateful to be a year sober today,” Dani wrote in a representative review.

While most Yelp reviewers identified themselves as parents, the few alumni who submitted reviews shared positive experiences.[2] They specifically highlighted the center’s staff, which they characterized as “exceptional,” “caring,” and “thorough.” Reviewer D.L was also highly positive in their five-star review: “Their top of the line treatment plans along with the best doctors and psychiatrist that I have ever come across helped me overcome my struggles.”

WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY

The two loved ones surveyed by Best-rehabs.com shared opposing reviews of their experiences with Visions. One anonymous reviewer characterized the facility’s treatment as satisfactory, giving the center four- or five-star ratings in every evaluated category, including its treatment effectiveness, counseling options, family participation, and accommodations.

A second anonymous reviewer warned other parents to avoid Visions, indicating that the facility was overpriced and ineffective. “If you want to have one expensive stay followed by an immediate need for another stay, then Visions is the place for you,” they wrote.

On Yelp, most reviewers submitted five-star reviews and offered glowing recommendations. Like alumni, loved ones praised the facility’s staff. “The team there offered guidance and structure and a real understanding that helped my son grow up and overcome and understand what he was facing,” Bill wrote in a representative review. A handful of Google users shared similar praise. Debbie noted that her daughter “gained a lot of insight from your program regarding her addiction and her OCD,” and L.C. indicated that they were still using the tools they received from the program three years later.[3]

FINANCING

There is currently no information provided on the facility’s website regarding its costs. According to the center’s profile on Psychology Today, Visions accepts insurance and uses a sliding scale fee.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/pg/VisionsTreatmentCenters/reviews/?ref=page_internal

[2] http://www.yelp.com/biz/visions-adolescent-treatment-center-malibu

[3] https://goo.gl/eMsc3m

Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers Reviews

I can not say enough good things about Visions. My son was there this last spring and the transformation he underwent while there was remarkable. I had looked at other places to place him but it was clear from the onset that Visions isn’t out there to make a buck nor prey those who are desperate for help - as many are. The staff there is incredible. (My son would want me to say that the food is bar none as well.) Amanda, owner/cofounder and one of my son’s counselors while there is amazing. My son left Visions in May and he still calls her whenever he needs support (girlfriend break ups to insecurities or concerns - she is still his go to.) Despite all Amanda has going on, she never fails to pick up the phone when he calls; and she’ll stay on the phone with for two+ hours at a time. She is not getting paid for this, half the time I don’t even know about it, unless my son mentions it to me. She has continued to help him in moments of distress and it is incredibly comforting for him to know she’s always there for him. If this is how the owner operates, you can imagine how such dedication and commitment trickles down to her staff with Amanda as the example. I can’t think of another place where the clients/staff form such connections - and continue them long after they’re gone. She spent hours helping us with a placement that wasn’t even going to be with Visions when he was struggling this fall and decided to go to sober living. His therapist Brian was amazing and always available to us. THe insight he provided and family work he did with us was invaluable. The weekly parent support meetings were incredibly helpful and well run. We felt so connected to everyone - even though we are in CT and it was in the midst of the pandemic. All the other parents of kids who were there with my son were extremely happy with the level of true care, support and resources. They are the real deal.
My teenage daughter was suffering from depression and anxiety and went through the Visions in patient and out patient programs. We found the team at visions to be very caring and responsive throughout the process. They had multiple individual and group sessions throughout the weeks offering support to all the patients and family. There was additionally weekly support sessions and family therapy fir the parents. It was confirming to know that our daughter was in a safe structured environment to receive the help she needed. She learned valuable coping skills, peppered in with group activities, art, physical fitness and independent school while there. I would highly recommend the visions program and am grateful for the team there that supported my daughter and all of us throughout her treatment.
If your child is at a dangerous point and you are looking for a facility that will care enough to make sure he or she is given the tools to navigate safely going forward, I URGE YOU TO LOOK ELSEWHERE. If you want to have one expensive stay followed by an immediate need for another stay, then Visions is the place for you. I understand that this is a for-profit enterprise for some, but this one is for-profit and nothing else.
care was good