Practical Recovery

This is a follow-​up for a review written back in 2012.
If someone is going into a residential program, two things have happened.
1) You’ve screwed up pretty big, and you can’t sweat talk yourself out this time.
This part sounds bad, and its suppose to.
2) You’re starting to look back, look inside, and look forward.
This part also sounds unpleasant, and frankly, I’d rather start it tomorrow…
For me, if these did not happen, at the rate my luck was evaporating, I would not have survived much longer…
Its been four years for me, and while its not been easy or a picnic, it was very helpful, and I still use the tools and experiences today to prevent me from going back to a very sad a dangerous point of my life.
I’m really thankful to all those met and shared a very unique time… Some have moved on, some have passed, and life goes on… I’m glad to be a part of the life goes on group.
I would like to say Thank You to Tom, and the all the wonderful people that have been a part of my road out of the muck! Its four years later, and I Thank you for all your compassion.

I am am addiction counselor that does most of his work at low fee because I have a passion for helping people achieve long term sobriety. that being said, I never recommend a facility to clients unless I have done a thorough investigation of it and its staff as there are many companies that are more interested in money than helping people achieve long term sobriety and I can assure you this is not one of them.
the program is client focused with a truly caring ans committed staff. most facilities suffer from a lack of professionalism but this is not one of them. I cannot recommend this program more highly!

This place rejected me. Apparently I’m too sick for them. Also went here for detox because that was all I could afford. They let me leave without any of my medications, like suboxone, did 0% follow up, and I was 5150 the day I left because I was so depressed. Yeah this place doesn’t use AA, they have big beds and nice rooms but don’t be fooled. They don’t care.
All they did was refer me to an eating disorder clinic. Thanks practical recovery. I’m addicted to meth but what I really need to be concerned about is my weight management. If you’re in need of actual treatment find some place else.

I am a clincian and have referred clients to the Restoration Inn — a trauma-​informed recovery center for women only that is operated by Practical Recovery. I have been truly impressed with the level of professionalism and care here. The program itself is integrative, offering clients various kinds of therapies and alternative healing modalities. I have witnessed lasting change in my clients after a stay here and have great confidence in the staff and clincians based on the changes I have seen.

Absolutely horrendous experience, in rehab you shouldn’t be confined to your bedroom to isolate and hate yourself, counselors should always be available to talk, I mean the list goes on. But, at practical the ONLY and I mean ONLY thing they care about is money and your social status. It’s repulsive. Priyha, the clinical director is extremely judgmental, and only fakes it cause she’s getting paid near a half million to work there. The staff, they told me themselves will come in to work and smoke a bowl or drink BEFORE working in a REHAB! Are you kidding me?! I had two days left after what I felt was going to finally be success, when they finally took me in to see a special doctor that I had been asking to see since day 1, I found out I have a life threatening chronic medical condition, would you like to know what Practical Recovery did about it? They discharged me still knowing very well that I would relapse. If you want to spend this kind of money go to Malibu or something. I went to a very nice place in Malibu and was treated far better, and needs were accommodated. If you want a short sober break to build your tolerance back up, come here if you want actual help, stay far away from La Jolla! Notice their photos? Are they of their beautiful suburbia home, that you pay double their mortgage to live in a confined room so Priyha gets her salary paid and can slave drive you and her crew.

My stepson went there after attending various AA programs around the country for the previous two years. We were very concerned that he would never recover or worse. Even after the prior 3 month program, we had zero confidence that he could make it safely through a 24 hour period unsupervised. What a turn around he has made. He went into the treatment program for 45 days, then moved on to the sober living for the next 7 months. And now he has just moved into his own apartment. I cannot express the joy that we feel as parents now compared to two years ago, where he survival was in no way assured. 5 or more previous treatment programs over a two year peiord had made zero progress leaving him no better than he was when he start. He did understand the «disease» as well as the staff, but really not able to implement. But Practical Recovery was the real deal, the ticket to happiness, success, and fullfillment, and definitely to the wellbeing of his parents. I think that the non-​12 step approach helped and the customized program. This was more than a life saver, it was a life fullfilling program!!!

I went to Reunion in December of 2011 and stayed for 21 days. I had been to a 12 step, state funded treatment center prior to going and I have worked in mental health and addiction services for 10 years. When I entered, I simply did not have the tools to get a handle on my meth addiction, or maybe I had them and needed to be assisted in putting them into practice. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the quality of care I was given and the quality in the way I was treated. From the first person I talked to on the phone (Elissa, amazing) to the RAs to the President of the program, Dr. Horvath treated me as a competent and decent human being. I was shocked that you actually have one on one sessions with Dr. Horvath. He even eats lunch with you a couple of times a week. I had never seen the President of another treatment center be so actively involved. I was not treated as a defective or amoral person that needed to be fixed.
The model of the program is based on research based principles and that have actually shown to be effective rather than just doing what has been done for years because it is tradition (12 step). I joked with them that they used the «everything but the kitchen sink» model but I am sure if throwing the kitchen sink had been shown to be effective, they would do that too. To name of a few of the valuable services offered was individual sessions, physical and nutritional fitness, EMDR, hypnotherapy, yoga, group sessions, and relapse prevention. The information I acquired while staying at Reunion was invaluable and I will never forget.
It was clear to me that the people who work at this place do so because they care and truly want to make a difference. I was there over Christmas and New Year’s and the staff took us to two musicals. There was one RA there named Chelsea that i particularly enjoyed. It was difficult to be in a bad mood around her. She is a prime example of how the staff at Reunion cares for their job and cares for the well being of the participants who are staying at the facility.
I truly owe my life the this place and the people who work there and stayed there with me. A little over 9 months later i am still successfully sober. I have a job I love which I am valued and I am in graduate school (the staff helped me in writing my letter of intent for graduate school). This is quite the jump from where I was right before I entered Reunion. A week before I entered Reunion I was rescued from the street and put in the hospital due to meth psychosis. Look at me now!
Is this place expensive? Unfortunately, yes. Was it worth every red penny? Absolutely.

Deflecting my statement. You keep saying you have all the best reviews of the staff and the program. Why aren’t they posted here then? Why hasn’t a single one of these positive reviews been posted here? Sounds fishy to me. You can’t just write down a quote and say its a review, you could have easily just made it up (not saying that you did) but it seems very fishy.
Also, I have been around the staff more than you have and definitely interacted with them more than you so don’t tell me all this stuff that isn’t true. I would like to reiterate and specify. The staff RAs (female) are VERY unprofessional. They eat all the food/​snacks, flirt with the residents, sit around and don’t do anything else, and when you guys aren’t here lounge on the couch watching TV while eating popcorn and sodas. Not to mention one of the male RAs watches porn in the office overnight. How do I know? I peeked into the office while he was out doing laundry or outside (no idea) and I saw porn on the computer and towels on the floor. I was disgusted in using those towels because I don’t know what he did with them. I let another RA know in the morning, not sure what happened after.

What a scam. I am truly disappointed with the care given at Practical Recovery. Very expensive and not worth the cost. All these «personalized sessions» are a crock and could be something you get at any psychotherapist without having to pay 15,000 a month for.
The staff is a bunch of new college graduates with no real hands on experience in addiction. More like a bunch of Psych majors looking for a human trial and error experiment., not to mention the founder who is as wishy washy as they get. No thanks, I will not be your guinea pig.
Nothing genuine about the place.