The Canyon may very much promote their $2.5 million, 4,000 sq. ft. secluded property’s exquisite view of the surrounding picturesque Santa Monica mountains but it’s actually better known among industry insiders for being more of a high-end psych ward than a treatment center.
Part of Foundations Recovery Network—a rehab conglomerate that includes Black Bear Lodge, La Paloma and Michael’s House—The Canyon at Peace Park is a 12-bed co-ed residential center offering short-term (less than 30 days) and long-term treatment for addiction recovery. Well, at least they started out that way. But as more and more “Malibu Model” recovery retreats have popped up, The Canyon shifted their focus to clients who struggle with mental illness first and addiction second. Having earned the reputation for specializing in dual-diagnosis—or integrated treatment, as they call it—other treatment centers began sending them all of their hard cases, specifically patients who were distracting other clients from their recovery because of issues with mental illness. So unless you are totally cool with getting sober in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Part Two: Malibu, you might want to consider an alternative get-clean-away.
In addition to residential treatment, The Canyon offers outpatient, partial hospitalization/day treatment and has their own halfway house—a place for sober alums to transition smoothly back into their lives. The Canyon also offers intervention services, sober escorts and travel support. Although Foundations Recovery Network has a range of rehabs that might better suit your budget (on the off chance that rehab is something you have budgeted for), The Canyon is one of their more costly, tallying in at about $58,000 for 30 days of residential treatment (this includes detox, if necessary). They accept some private insurance and cold hard cash.
What do you get for nearly $60K? Possibly a new lease on life acquired through the healing powers of organic food, yoga, mediation, hiking, equine therapy, adventure therapy and a ropes course (along with access to a fitness room, sweat lodge, meditation dome, saltwater pool and spa). From the looks of it, you would think it’s either the greatest place to get sober or the ideal spot to shoot an episode of Blind Date (or both). But don’t forget that The Canyon specializes in addicts with mental and emotional issues like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, secondary eating issues, psychological trauma and personality disorders. In other words, it would take a lot of Kundalini chanting to drown out the cries of a schizophrenic going through opioid withdrawals in restraints (#justsaying).
On the more technical side, The Canyon’s staff of 15 specialists is trained in various therapies like Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. They offer a wide variety of in-house support groups such as trauma resolution, healthy boundaries, codependency, managing mood, grief/loss and anger management and provide education on relapse prevention and continuing care planning for long-term success with sobriety. Family therapy is offered and encouraged as part of the treatment plan.
Much like many of the Malibu rehabs, The Canyon is no stranger to celebrity clientele but the difference between them and many others is that they’ve reportedly blabbed to the press about these clients—a rehab no-no to end all rehab no-no’s. They do, however, offer fluency in four languages: Spanish, Hindi, Russian and American Sign Language! I can’t help but wonder what the connection is between these specific languages; do they represent cultures most commonly seeking addiction treatment? Are these the four most common languages spoken by the mentally ill? Or do these just happen to be four languages that the chick at the front desk speaks?
Whatever the reason—be it a need for nature, a need for chaos, or a need to speak Hindi—The Canyon at Peace Park could certainly help addicts whose primary struggle is with mental illness and emotional disorders, as long as they are willing to and able to pay for it.
The Canyon at Peace Park
2890 South Kanan Dume Road
Malibu, CA 90265
Cost: $58,000 (30 days, including detox), The Canyon at Peace Park can be reached by phone at (877) 714-1318 or by e-mail at admissions@frnmail.com. Find The Canyon at Peace Park on Facebook and Youtube
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