Serenity Malibu

Care at Serenity Malibu

Individualized addiction treatment in Malibu

Serenity Malibu provides residential treatment for substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns in Malibu, California. Its official contact address is 6021 Galahad Drive. The provider places the residence in the lower Kanan Dume Canyon area near the coast and emphasizes individual therapy, medical assessment, family work, and preparation for life after treatment. This profile covers that service and its published outpatient options, rather than treating every therapy or executive package as a separate center.

The program is designed around a personalized treatment plan instead of a single prescribed recovery model. Serenity describes a non-twelve-step approach and names SMART Recovery and Refuge Recovery among community support options. It also combines conventional psychotherapy with complementary activities. Those distinctions help explain the daily experience, but a broad range of methods does not establish that every intervention is suitable for every person. The relevant question is how the assigned team will address the individual’s main substance use and mental health needs.

Assessment and co-occurring conditions

The admissions process starts with a counselor who discusses treatment, payment, insurance, transport, and preparation for arrival. A counselor and client advocate help orient the person to the residence. Shortly after arrival, a medical assessment supervised by a physician determines whether detoxification or an initial period of rest and stabilization is needed. The treatment overview says plans are reviewed and adjusted as care progresses, taking substance use, medical history, and emotional health into account.

The dual diagnosis program addresses addiction alongside psychiatric concerns, with examples including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. The page describes assessment, psychotherapy, medication management, and coordinated clinical input. This should not be expanded into an unrestricted primary psychiatric or acute hospital service. A person with severe symptoms, complex medication needs, or a recent hospital admission should establish whether the residential team can safely provide the required care and what would trigger a different placement.

Detox and medical boundaries

Serenity’s detox page describes on-site, medically supervised withdrawal management, with an initial examination, individualized medication decisions, monitoring, and a transition into further treatment. The provider states that medical and psychiatric support is available throughout the day and night. That does not independently establish a physician’s continuous physical presence, an intensive-care unit, or hospital-level admission. The assessment should identify the actual staff available overnight and the process for transferring someone whose needs exceed residential capacity.

The website discusses different approaches to withdrawal, including medication-supported care, but the appropriate approach depends on the substance, medical history, current condition, and risks. Its broad descriptions should not be read as instructions to stop alcohol or medication abruptly. For someone comparing detox options, the useful information is the clinician’s proposed monitoring and medication plan, expected transition into psychotherapy, and management of any existing health condition. A comfortable bedroom and a medical professional on the team do not answer those questions by themselves.

Psychotherapy and trauma-related methods

One-to-one psychotherapy is a central part of the published treatment program. The provider emphasizes individual assessment, treatment planning, and understanding patterns that sustain substance use. It does not publish a universal number of weekly psychotherapy sessions in the main pages reviewed here. References to extensive personal attention should therefore not be converted into an invented daily appointment count. The actual plan should identify the main therapist, session length and frequency, and the role of specialist or group appointments.

Serenity names EMDR, brainspotting, somatic approaches, hypnotherapy, and trauma assessment alongside other psychological methods. These are different interventions, with different purposes and clinical requirements. Their inclusion on a menu does not mean every client receives them or that their evidence is identical. The care team should explain what it recommends for the person’s assessed difficulties, how stabilization affects readiness, and how progress is monitored. Complementary practices should be distinguishable from psychotherapy, medical treatment, and ordinary recreational activities.

Concrete treatment projects and relapse prevention

The program identifies four structured projects: a body map, a genogram, a timeline, and an exit plan. These provide a more specific picture of the work than a general promise of holistic treatment. A genogram can help organize family relationships, while a timeline can connect important experiences and changes over time. The provider also describes a presentation in which the client discusses readiness to leave treatment with staff and peers. These activities are part of its stated approach, not independent measures that guarantee a particular outcome.

Relapse-prevention training is described as a weekly component. It focuses on identifying high-risk situations and patterns, examining responses, and developing practical alternatives. The work connects to the exit plan: what happens when the person returns to familiar relationships, responsibilities, and access to substances? A useful plan includes more than an intention to remain sober. It identifies situations that need support, strategies that were actually practiced during treatment, and the people or services involved when those strategies become difficult to use.

The published clinical team

The staff page lists Matthew Schumacher, PhD, and Tiffany Towers, PsyD, as primary therapists. Damon Raskin, MD, is identified as an internist and detox specialist. Tamara Bailey, PhD, is listed as a group facilitator, emotional coach, and brainspotting specialist, with her biography describing a psychological-associate role. These are provider-published descriptions; this profile does not independently verify every credential or assume that every named clinician will be assigned to each resident.

Kate Maddox, MA, LMFT, is listed as a psychotherapist who incorporates CBT, DBT, narrative therapy, and family systems. Her biography specifically describes weekly groups involving DBT, narrative work, and journaling. That detail helps distinguish the provider’s emphasis on doctoral-level primary therapy from the broader qualifications and roles within its program. Spiritual counseling, nursing, admissions, client advocacy, and residential support appear separately. A therapist’s degree, a nurse’s role, and an admissions counselor’s involvement should not be treated as interchangeable forms of care.

Family assessment and involvement

Serenity’s program philosophy emphasizes the family context of recovery. Published services include family assessment, education, systemic family work, process groups, and planning around support after discharge. This is intended to examine patterns and improve communication rather than assign responsibility for addiction to relatives. The clinical team should establish who participates, the client’s consent, whether sessions take place remotely or in person, and how family involvement fits the treatment goals.

For someone returning to a shared household, family work can connect directly with practical questions about routines, boundaries, medication, financial stress, and continuing appointments. Those are planning considerations rather than promises that Serenity provides a specific family service for every situation. The public pages do not set one fixed family-session schedule across all stays. Relatives should clarify their role early enough to participate meaningfully, particularly if they live outside California and need to arrange travel or remote attendance.

The executive and professional program

The executive program offers flexibility for professionals managing essential responsibilities during treatment. Published arrangements include phone and laptop access, a private office, help with communication equipment, and the possibility of off-site visits for urgent business, legal, or medical matters. The program also describes individual therapy, small groups, assessment, and peer interaction with other professionals. Work access should be coordinated with care; the website does not promise that unrestricted working hours are compatible with every clinical situation.

Serenity says it can assist with professional licensing and employment-related administration. Such assistance should be understood as coordination and documentation rather than a guarantee about a regulator, employer, or legal outcome. The same applies to confidentiality: the person should review the actual consent and information-sharing arrangements relevant to the case. If a professional monitoring agreement or external clinician is involved, the expected reporting and required treatment elements should be resolved before admission rather than inferred from a general privacy statement.

Rooms, meals, and the daily setting

The official tour shows the Malibu setting, while the treatment overview describes private accommodation and chef-prepared meals. The executive page also refers to private suites. Exact room category, bathroom privacy, accessibility, and any difference in price should be confirmed in the offer. The available primary material does not establish a fixed resident capacity or promise that every room has the same view. Existing photographs illustrate the property rather than reserve a particular room.

Food is prepared around nutritional needs and preferences, with snacks and drinks available. The activity menu includes hiking, tennis, surfing, kayaking, yoga, art and music, acupuncture, and massage. Some are recreation or wellness services and others may form part of a therapeutic plan. Participation should depend on health, interest, and clinical suitability. Someone with limited mobility or a medical restriction should establish what alternative activities and access arrangements are available, rather than assume a coastal location makes every listed activity practical.

Current estimated cost

Checked October 20, 2026, Recovery.com lists an estimated cash-pay range of US$59,500 to US$84,500 for thirty days. This is a third-party estimate, not Serenity’s published tariff or a guaranteed quote for a chosen room. The official admissions page directs people to an individual discussion of cost and payment. The website also says most PPO insurance plans are accepted, but a specific plan’s benefits, authorization, and personal payment remain matters for verification.

A current proposal should identify the residential package, accommodation, medical and psychiatric services, testing, medications, outside consultations, transportation, and any executive or room upgrade. Extensions and later outpatient care need their own terms. The provider advertises a service agreement and uses strong language about recovery, but this profile does not interpret that as guaranteed sobriety. If any financial or return-to-treatment guarantee matters to the decision, the written conditions and exclusions should be obtained and understood before payment.

Outpatient treatment and continuing care

The outpatient page describes day programs, intensive outpatient options, and aftercare. Day programming is listed as five to seven days weekly, with clients returning home afterward. The IOP discussion mentions flexible evening or weekend arrangements but does not provide a consistent fixed timetable. Eligibility emphasizes not requiring detox, having adequate support at home, and being able to attend reliably. A precise schedule, treating location, clinician assignment, and cost should be agreed separately from the residential stay.

Aftercare planning examines the living environment, support network, work or other purposeful activity, and continued treatment. The residential program describes quarterly alumni events and weekly alumni conference calls, alongside opportunities to remain involved with the community. Its FAQ also refers to case-manager check-ins and virtual events. These are published forms of support, not a fixed package of ongoing psychotherapy or psychiatric care. Before leaving, the person should know which contacts are included and which clinical appointments require an outside provider or additional payment.