"Treatment is NOT TAILORED"

Having worked at multiple psychiatric centers, I can say that this place is exceptionally overpriced, understaffed and wholly unqualified to provide the necessary care for those requiring inpatient treatment. The red flags:

FINANCIAL: The $45K cost for the four week package will only get you bare-bones treatment (housing, 2-3 groups per day, and meals). The holistic services that Vista boasts about on its website are a la carte $ extra. The clients are lucky if they even see their individual therapist twice a week.

INDIVIDUAL CARE: While selling itself as a highly individualized treatment facility, every woman is enlisted in their 4-week program. Why 4 weeks? There are no empirical studies to support 4 weeks, nor do most psychiatric treatment centers dare to predict upfront how long a person may require an intensive level of care. Four weeks just makes for easy marketing while misleading clients and their families. And as counselors, you need only create a few discussion topics and handouts, which you can then cycle through every four weeks. Treatment is NOT TAILORED and everyone goes to the same groups. Anger is not an issue for you? Too bad- you are still supposed to go to the anger management group.

The large majority of clients report feeling disappointed to have not achieved their goals at the end of this four week period. Malibu Vista pressures staff to get these clients' families to commit to an additional two weeks for another $20+K. Since the client has already been through the 4-wk group rotation, they essentially repeat groups for 2 more weeks and become understandably more frustrated.

PROFESSIONALISM: One of the two primary counselors and nurses were known for breaking boundaries, teasing clients, skipping appointments and coming off as flaky and unrelatable. Had Malibu Vista run a simple google search on these individuals, they would have immediately noted the lack of judgment, discernment or professionalism exhibited. Especially heinous was when these individuals would publicly post on social media about being "sexy" at the workplace or feeling exhausted by the "chaotic" work environment. Airing their views and selfies in a medium easily accessible by their clients, the therapist and nurse were not experienced by clients as safe or trustworthy. I have heard from colleagues that both staff were fired, along with several other employees. But after allowing these individuals to rule the roost for more than the first year of the center's existence, it makes you question the judgment of those overseeing the program.

CLINICAL COMPETENCY: One of the most glaring weaknesses in this pop-up "luxury treatment center" is its lack of a cohesive treatment team. They outsource many staff from the community so communication between team members is mostly limited to chart notes and emails versus in-person rounds/meetings. The employees who have the most contact with your loved ones at Malibu Vista are psych techs, many whom are in their early to mid 20's and have one year of sobriety after going through the mother program themselves at Promises. While we can celebrate their recovery, they do not have the clinical skills to accurately assess and respond to sever mental health issues and yet they are often called upon to run the groups when the staff are frequently unavailable. Having only minimal training to be psych techs, they often elevate the power differential between them and clients. These residential staff can often be dismissive and/or sarcastic towards clients. Some of the exchanges I overheard were shocking instances of verbal abuse.

Overall this place will take away your money and your trust in the mental health field. There are so many excellent alternatives for residential care. I have seen too many people and their families get hurt from Malibu Vista so I had to write this.