Recently I had the privilege of traveling up to Los Angeles, Santa Monica, to catch up with many colleagues and visit several behavioral health facilities. I was impressed with the depth and variety of great behavioral health care options that I was able to visit with.
I started off visiting Start Up Wellness which is definitely like traveling into space, with the most cutting edge bio-hack machines, combined with Eastern medicine and Western Clinical Skills. A great experience and great for that special person who can benefit from this combination. Hats off to Patricia Meyers, Jeff Vann and Gregg Champion. I want to try all of their offerings.
Next up was Resolutions, where Dr. Reza Nabavi and his team have expanded their outpatient services to include the most comfy residences in Santa Monica for folks to stay while learning new life skills. I felt very special being able to sit down along with Laura Smith from Seasons In Malibu and talk with Reza and his house manager for over an hour and see first hand the care, thoughtfulness and clinical concern given to their clients.
Chris Kirby and the Team at The Last House Sober Living for Men continue to provide amazing services for young men who are struggling to emerge from the chrysalis and engage in long-term sobriety. Receiving clinical support from Thrive Treatment as well, young men can now afford to have a place to live and thrive while getting a job, practicing necessary life skills, and learning new clinical ways to be. The Last House in many ways, though different, is 12-step based and is well-equipped to challenge and provide a caring environment for young men who have faced much adversity, as well as experiencing many different behavioral settings.
What impressed me were the conversations I had with 3 clients, one who has been at The Last House for 7 months. This was this first treatment experience, coming from Cottonwood and military school. He was serving as a mentor. Another young man recounted his affection for his motherland, how resilient they were growing up homeless, and at the ripe old age of 3 being bathed in a bucket. At The Last House he is finding his way at 20. Lastly a freckled-face 24 year old who once again is trying hard at recovery. I appreciated their transparency and  vulnerability. Along the way we visited their outpatient offices, where I met with a talented social worker from UCLA who is expert working with young people with mental health with a particular focus on OCD.
I had a chance to sit down with Dr. Sheila Shaliti, CEO Seasons, Eve Ruff from Clere Consulting, and Michael Malone, new CEO of The Malone Collective, a new concierge group practice specializing in integrative care.
Thanks to Chris Kirby and The Last House and Mark Rose Interventionist, I was able to attend a networking event in Santa Monica hosted by them along with Recover Integrity and The Point Malibu. At this event I was able to mix and mingle with many fine colleagues, too many to mention.
And along the way I did get an hour of R and R in as well visiting Soul Cycle.
Returning to San Diego, KC Gooding of Jaywalker popped by along with Samatha Paige from Surrender Sober Living. All in all, like the energizer bunny, inspired by the many good folks in our field.
