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Drug Rehab Facilities

I ONCE HEARD ADDICTION DESCRIBED AS `SETTING YOUR HAIR on fire and putting it out with a hammer,'" Martin Sheen said at a fund-raiser last year for Phoenix House Substance Abuse Treatment Centers. He should know. Sheen, a recovering alcoholic, struggled to get his son Charlie off drugs and has witnessed the chemical-induced travails of who knows how many colleagues. * With its vast pool of suffering artists, lost souls, voracious appetites, and hyperdriven personalities, Los Angeles is swimming in alcohol and drug treatment candidates, and there's a thriving rehab industry to prove it. Of California's 737 licensed residential alcohol and drug treatment facilities, 159 are in Los Angeles County. People from all over the country come just to dry out on our shores.

With the passage in 2001 of Proposition 36, which allows first-and second-time nonviolent drug offenders to receive substance-abuse treatment instead of jail time, the number of facilities will only grow.

The industry wasn't born here (it began with Minnesota's Hazelden Center), but we've certainly perfected it. There are local residential rehab centers that have gourmet chefs, personal trainers, even chaperons to watch over celebrities as they finish their movie or album. There are facilities with ocean views, wood-burning fireplaces, and designer linens. Some programs let patients play with horses; others create a boot-camp atmosphere--no phone calls, plenty of toilet scrubbing. Some only the rich and famous can afford; others focus almost exclusively on the down-and-out.

In the Hollywood of old, well before the Betty Ford Center, facilities devoted to treating chemical dependency didn't exist. Celebrity addiction was downplayed; the press ignored the problem, and doctors often misdiagnosed it. Rosemary Clooney was committed to a psychiatric unit with "drug-induced psychosis," Marilyn Monroe with "nervous exhaustion," and Spencer Tracy--well, nobody even talked about him. He was simply shuttled out the back door of Romanoff's whenever he passed out in his mashed potatoes.

Today, when celebrities attempt to blame their breakdowns on "exhaustion" or "dehydration," they just entice reporters, who want to know not only their drug of choice but who dropped them off on the front steps of Promises Malibu, how they looked without make-up, and what they shared in therapy. So many stars have been compelled to go public with their chemical problems that having a habit to kick has become acceptable, even de rigueur. The Golden Globes this year had more rehab grads presenting and receiving awards than a Betty Ford alumni dinner. Picking up his award, Charlie Sheen compared the experience to "a sober acid trip."

THE EARLIEST RESIDENTIAL rehabilitation programs dealt mostly with alcoholism, according to Rosa Escutia, public information officer for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP). Then came the cocaine bingeing of the '80s, which, she says, boosted demand for more diversified treatment. The ADP began licensing residential facilities in 1985, holding them to specific standards and biannual surprise inspections.

Residential programs typically require a stint of at least 30 days. You pack your bags, check in, get a roommate, and then--time served--reenter society detoxed, group-therapied, and armed with a plan to stay clean. A few offer "rapid detox," a controversial procedure that's supposed to take the pain and suffering out of withdrawal: Patients are put under a general anesthetic and administered medication that breaks the bonds of chemical dependency within 24 hours. However, they still have to spend at least some recovery time in the residential program that provides the service. Tougher cases might also need to set up camp in a center's sober-living housing, using it as a home base at night while easing back into society during the day.

Does residential rehab work? Tracking studies from centers such as Betty Ford and Promises Malibu suggest that about 60 to 65 percent of patients remain drug- and alcohol-free for at least one year. "Concentrated treatment programs are the best thing you can do," says Joseph A. Pursch, M.D., a psychiatrist who lectures on occasion at Spencer Recovery Center.

Pursch has treated Betty Ford, Billy Carter, Buzz Aldrin, and many professional athletes. Though most residential programs are based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, Pursch encourages his famous clients to go public. "Anonymity is bad. Everybody should be as known with their addiction as they are with their diabetes," he says. "You need to tell significant people in your life. And if you're a president or a president's wife, you need to tell the whole world, because a month from now you're going to be somewhere where they fill your champagne glass."

For those whose glass is a little too full a little too often, here's a sampling of L.A.'s most prominent licensed live-in facilities for kicking the habit. A complete list of California centers can be found at www.adp.cahwnet.gov.

BETTY FORD CENTER

THE HOUSE THAT BETTY FORD AND LEONARD FIRESTONE built opened its doors in 1982. The former first lady has since become the name in rehab, whether she wants to be or not. "Somewhere in the middle of the process they asked me if they could call the new facility the Betty Ford Center," she recalls in her autobiography Betty: A Glad Awakening. "I said I was honored, but I didn't think so. `What are you trying to do ... paint me into a corner? I'll never be able to drink again!'"

The center's spokesperson says that celebrities make up less than 1 percent of its patients, but what a 1 percent it is. Elizabeth Taylor holds the dubious distinction of being the first high-profile client through the doors when she came in for treatment in 1983 (beating out Peter Lawford and Johnny Cash by a week). Taylor lived in the "Swamp" (a section that houses four people per room rather than the usual two) and did the requisite sweeping, scrubbing, and laundry that are part of the center's regimen. Patients at "Camp Betty" breakfast at 7:20, attend lectures and group therapy throughout the day, take a 30-minute meditation walk around the well-manicured grounds--the pond is a soothing touch--and record their feelings in a daily journal (good practice for the autobiography they'll write later). Medallions are handed out upon graduation. The nonprofit center, decorated in what is best described as clinical chic, accommodates up to 100 people--half men, half women (no mingling). It sits next to the Eisenhower Medical Center, and its staff includes physicians, psychologists, spiritual counselors, and therapists.

A 30-day visit costs about $14,000. The occasional wait to get in shouldn't last more than a few days. Outpatient and family services are available, as is an off-site residential program. 39000 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage, 800-854-9211 or www.bettyfordcenter.org.

Famous alumni: Drew Barrymore, Johnny Cash, Kelsey Grammer, Peter Lawford, Mary Tyler Moore, Stevie Nicks, Daryl Strawberry, Elizabeth Taylor.

CLARE FOUNDATION

CLARE WAS FOUNDED IN 1970, WHEN A NEIGHBORHOOD group rented storefront property on Pico Boulevard to provide recovery services for indigent beach-dwelling alcoholics. Today CLARE (short for Commitment, Learning, Acceptance, Recovery, and Education) has 11 programs in Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, and Los Angeles and holds a swank fundraiser every year: Wallis Annenberg, Gillian Anderson, and Jamie Lee Curtis showed their support at the 2001 event. The Adult Recovery Home, a nicely landscaped Spanish-style apartment complex in Santa Monica, houses 58 men and women (in separate buildings). Days consist of group sessions (on such topics as AA and anger management), individual therapy, and three to four hours of chores (your choice: in the kitchen or the foundation's thrift shop).

One of CLARE's oldest programs, begun in 1972, conducted L.A. County's first class for people charged with driving under the influence. The course is for court-referred first- and second-time offenders. Family-oriented services are offered at the Venice Family Center and the Culver Vista location, which also provides no-frills sober-living facilities.

CLARE is nonprofit and funded in part by the county. The residential rehab program, run by a staff of recovering addicts, costs $500 a month, but, says executive director Nicholas Vrataric, "you're going to get help regardless of your ability to pay." 1871 9th St., Santa Monica, 310-354-6200 or www.clarefoundation.org.

Famous alumni: None that we know of.

CRI-HELP

A SCULPTURE CONSISTING OF TWO HUGE HANDS HOLDING a boulder inscribed with WE CARE greets you when you cross the threshold of the George T. Pfleger Center for Cri-Help in North Hollywood. By the looks of the place you'd think you were walking into a touchy-feely apartment complex rather than a 120-bed residential drug and alcohol treatment center. The center has a meditation room, a full basketball/volleyball court, and a Nautilus-equipped gym on-site, as well as a gigantic aquarium to ponder. Cri-Help was established in 1971 and has a second facility, Socorro, in East L.A.

A sojourn at the Pfleger includes the requisite counseling, AA and NA meetings, HIV/AIDS education, remedial ed, even assistance finding employment. Cri-Help is partly funded by the county. A 30-day stay costs about $4,200, though no one is turned away for inability to pay (60 percent of Cri-Help's clients are poor and/or homeless). The staff consists primarily of recovering addicts. Cri-Help wins points for most creative and successful fund-raising idea: weekend bingo. Pots are $250 per game, and there are 40 rounds a night, packing in people from the neighborhood (call 818-504-0505 for a schedule).

George T. Pfleger Center: 11027 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, 818-985-8323. Socorro: 2010 Lincoln Park Ave., 323-222-1440. Or call 800-413-7660 (in-state) or visit www.cri-help.org.

Famous alumni: Robert Downey Jr., Corey Feldman, Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), Rob Pilatus (Milli Vanilli).

IMPACT DRUG AND ALCOHOL TREATMENT CENTER

IF YOU'VE FAILED PROMISES MALIBU (SEE BELOW) ONE TIME too many, you are often referred for treatment to IMPACT. The no-nonsense center, which receives numerous admissions from L.A.'s and Pasadena's drug courts, was founded in 1970 by three recovering addicts and goes by the philosophy that tougher rehabilitation is the most effective way to quit. "A higher expectation is placed on the client than in an average program," says executive director Jim Stillwell, who came to IMPACT as a patient in 1973. "Ninety-nine percent of our staff are IMPACT graduates, so there is not much you can get by them." If you try hard enough, you may even get kicked out, and then it's back to jail.

At the 135-bed Pasadena facility--a collection of homey bungalows--patients (four or more per cottage) begin their therapy-filled day at 7 a.m. Weekends entail a few hours of chores (groundskeeping and, yes, toilet scrubbing, but you do get to sleep in until 8). "I picked up a paintbrush when I came here, and I haven't put one down since. Everybody participates," says Stillwell.

IMPACT, which is nonprofit, charges $4,000 to $6,000 for a 30-day stay. It proudly waves its accreditation and its contract with the California Department of Corrections and has a new venture in Maul. 1680 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, 888-400-4222 or www.impacthouse.com.

Famous alumni: James Caan, Robert Downey Jr., Heidi Fleiss.

PHOENIX HOUSE

THE PECKHAM, ENGLAND, BRANCH OF PHOENIX HOUSE recently grabbed international headlines when Prince Charles made Prince Harry take a "Scared Straight" tour after the teen was caught boozing and smoking pot. Billed as the largest nonprofit organization in the United States for treating and preventing substance abuse, it provides more than 80 programs in eight states. Since 1979 Phoenix House has maintained two adult residential treatment programs in California--one in Santa Ana, the other on the Venice strand in a quaint redbrick building that's just feet away from guys rolling fatties on the beach and a block or two from Davy Jones Liquor Locker.

The foundation was barraged with negative publicity last year following West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin's relapse heard round the world: Two months after accepting the Phoenix Rising Award (for positive portrayals in his work of drug and alcohol treatment), Sorkin was arrested at the Burbank Airport for possession of crack, marijuana, and mushrooms.

You're in for a long haul at Phoenix House: Orientation is 30 days; primary treatment is 9 to 12 months (possibly followed by time in the sober-living housing) and includes sessions on stress management and employment training. Phoenix House won't name prices but tailors its payment plans to the individual. Los Angeles Center: 503 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, 310-392-3070. Orange County Center: 1207 E. Fruit St., Santa Ana, 714-953-9373. Or call 800. DRUGHELP or visit www.phoenixhouse.org.

Famous alumni: None that we know of.

PROMISES MALIBU

IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY, THEY HAVE THE TIME. PROMISES Malibu is a hacienda-style estate overlooking the Pacific in the Santa Monica Mountains. For $33,000 a month, clients kick the habit on shabby-chic furniture, take nature walks, and eat gourmet meals in rooms with fireplaces and balconies. "We found that there were a lot of people who wanted to go to treatment but wanted to go to a fancy place, and they wouldn't come into a place that didn't look like it was a Four Seasons or a Peninsula," says founder and director Richard Rogg. Rogg created Promises Malibu in 1997 to cater to high-end clients, nine years after opening Promises Westside in West L.A., a facility comprising two Spanish-style homes and charging a more modest $19,000 a month.

Because of its amenities and its exclusivity, the Malibu location has a lot of rich and famous clients. How do they affect the dynamics of group therapy? "I've found that the A-list kind of celebrities that have been here are really the easiest ones to deal with," says Rogg. "It's the soap opera people, the people on television series, who think they are `beyond'--they use fake names and the whole nine yards."

Patients generally start the day at 7 a.m., attend group meditation, eat breakfast, hit the gym, and participate in one morning and two afternoon group therapy sessions plus individual therapy. Weekly "equine-assisted therapy" (working with horses to learn about trust) is optional. Household duties are divvied up. "I used to wash dishes badly because I knew [Paula] Poundstone would take over for me," joked Danny Bonaduce to the comedian and fellow graduate on his morning drive-time radio show.

In addition to its intensive program, Promises has tony sober-living facilities (mission furniture, private dining rooms, more views). There are four counselors to 15 patients max--the staff consists of nurses, psychologists, and a psychiatrist--and the waiting list is usually small. 20725 Rockcroft Rd., Malibu, 866-390-2340 or www.promisesmalibu.com.

Famous alumni: Ben Affleck, Tim Allen, Danny Bonaduce, Andy Dick, Robert Downey Jr., Edward Furlong, Tommy Lee, Matthew Perry, Paula Poundstone, Christian Slater.

SPENCER RECOVERY CENTER

AT FIRST GLANCE IT'S HARD TO TELL WHETHER SPENCER is a resort or a rehab. The beachside facility is housed in a former historic hotel on Pacific Coast Highway, and its Web site notes the shops and restaurants in nearby Laguna Beach, with no mention of the unpleasantness of drug withdrawal. "Sleep through medications that reverse the effects of narcotics," the site says of its rapid-detox service. "Wake up without a physical dependency on narcotics."

"We do try for the higher-end client," says program director and intervention specialist Robin McGeogh. "We want to get the message across that treatment is not just for rejects and convicts. It's dignified."

Days are filled with exercise--complete with personal trainer--and therapy that emphasizes family participation; kin can stay next door at the Hotel Casa del Camino. Spencer's comfy and tastefully appointed sober-living units (airy rooms with poster beds) are collectively known as the Laguna Vista Resort. Therapists, visiting M.D.s, and certified counselors make up the staff. A 30-day stay costs $14,700, and relapse prevention and intervention services are available. 1316 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, 800-281-5133 or www.spencerrecovery.com.

Famous alumni: None that we know of.

ANONYMOUS INC.

BILL WILSON AND DR. ROBERT H. SMITH FOUNDED Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935 in Akron, Ohio. California's first AA meeting was held in Los Angeles on December 19, 1939. Today more than 3,000 AA meetings (always free) are held every week in the L.A. area. The only requirement for membership: the desire to stop drinking. The AA bible, called the "Big Book," tells the stories of Wilson, Smith, and many others who have recovered from alcoholism. It also outlines the program's methodology and philosophy--its emphasis on a higher power (not necessarily God) and the 12 steps leading to recovery. Most good rehab centers use some sort of 12-step model. To find a meeting in your area call 323-936-4343 or pick up a Meeting Directory at the Alcoholics Anonymous Los Angeles Central Office (4311 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 104). Phone lines are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days it week. Whatever your addiction, there's an AA offshoot for you.

Cocaine Anonymous: 310-215-4444

Compulsive Eaters Anonymous: 562-942-8161

Crystal Meth Anonymous: 213-488-4455

Gamblers Anonymous: 323-260-4657

Marijuana Anonymous: 323-964-2370

Narcotics Anonymous: 323-850-1624

Nicotine Anonymous: 800-642-0666

Sex Addicts Anonymous: 213-896-2964

REHAB VOCAB

IN ROBERT ALTMAN'S THE PLAYER, PETER GALLAGHERS'S character attends AA meetings because "that's where all the deals are being made." While Altman may have been spoofing Hollywood, he wasn't far off about the social aspect of 12-step meetings. They are clubby, with rules-spoken and unspoken--and they have their own lingo. Following is a small lexicon so you won't be confused when, for instance, the meeting speaker asks you to clean up around your sobriety station (aka chair).

"Are you a friend of Bill W's?" Used to find out on the Q.T if you are talking to another AA member; refers to AA cofounder Bill Wilson.

Big Book Nickname for the AA bible Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, first published in 1939.

Civilians Anyone not in AA.

Commitment Your task for the AA meeting: ranges from bringing cookies to setting up chairs. "What's your commitment?" "Making the coffee."

Drug court Developed in Miami in 1989 and came to Los Angeles in 1994. A full- or part-time court that supervises nonviolent felony drug offenders who have been referred to a judicially monitored drug treatment and rehab program.

Family Day Visiting day or scheduled family therapy at rehab center; usually a Sunday.

Geographic Moving to a new city in the hope of changing your life. As in, "So you pulled a geographic, hub?"

"Here, Here" Said at the end of meetings when the moderator declares, "What we hear here stays here."

"I ID you" Short for "I identify with you." Said after you state your qualification.

Pigeon AA newcomer.

Qualification Stating your background it an AA meeting.

Retread Someone who goes in and out of AA or has been in a residential program many times.

Thirteenth Step Sleeping with pigeons.

Stag Used in AA directory to indicate meetings for men or women only.

Assistant editor Kari Mozena ("Clean & Sober," page 64) writes the Seen column. This is her first feature for Los Angeles.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Los Angeles Magazine, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group