Paradigm Treatment Centers – Malibu (29149 Cliffside Drive)

Paradigm saved me life, Jake was an amazing therapist and an amazing person, he might be one of the smartest most special people i’ve ever met. The clinician assistants were also great and they truly cared about all the… young adults. The outings were awesome and included horseback riding, surfing, and equine therapy. The program director, Mark, really cared too and he was an amazing addition to the staff. All of the staff are really good people and have a great world view. No program is perfect, no staff is perfect, but if you or your child wants to actually get better and can at least advocate for themselves a little bit, this is a great program. A lot of people who don’t get anything out of this program aren’t keeping an open mind and aren’t open to receiving the help that they are offering.

Reviews of mental health facilities such as this are often going to be mixed due to the very nature of the facility. After multiple short term inpatient hospital stays for my kid, I went in with my eyes peeled for… issues. I did not want my child to be living some place that felt like a jail. To be fair, earlier reviews that state that the house are more worn than the photos / brochures show are accurate. But they are housing multiple adolescents, who are not known for being the most respectful of our own homes either, so I'm not too fussed about that. It was lived in but clean. It felt like a mildly untidy dorm. We were absolutely blown away by how caring and hands-on the therapists were at Paradigm. We were kept in the loop as much as we could've expected. Zena and Laura were AMAZING. I was feeling all kinds of something about dropping my child off for weeks / months hundreds of miles away, but I never once felt like they were doing any less for her than I could've hoped. Her safety was paramount at all times. I never felt vilified, but we were encouraged to participate as a family to root out any unhelpful patterns we had unintentionally perpetuated that weren't productive. If you are in the unfortunate position to consider admitting your child to an RTC, it is standard practice to engage in family therapy because we ALL have developed some negative cycles around our kids' struggles at this point, and accountability will be key for all involved to heal. But these therapists met our kid where she was and went above and beyond to engage her in her own recovery. As far as billing, we were kept in the loop very well about the insurance reviews etc. I was very nervous at the first review because Blue Cross only approved two weeks, but the staff let me know that that's normal, and they'd be reviewing regularly to make sure my child was not discharged prematurely. Some insurance companies apparently only approve a few days at a time, which I can imagine is extremely nerve-wracking and frustrating for parents and staff alike. Our child made such impressive progress at Paradigm that when we became less sure toward the end of her stay that insurance would continue to cover it, we were willing to take money out of retirement to keep her as long as she needed to be there. Paying cash would indeed have been expensive, around $1,600 per day. This covers multiple therapists (family, individual, and group), a psychiatrist, supervisory staff, a chef (who was well-loved by the kids and engaged with them and provided nutritious and delicious food), surfing lessons, occasional equine therapy, and a semi-private room. That cost seems reasonable to me when I think of it as a mental health boarding school / camp / hotel with that many amenities. In the end, Paradigm was successful in getting her stay covered until they felt she was safe to transition back to home life. Months later, my child still actually misses Paradigm staff. We've dealt with a lot of different mental health facilities and professionals in our journey, and we have had our fair share of less positive experiences. Coming from Texas, we do not have programs like this nearby. If my kid spirals as far as she had prior to Paradigm, I would not hesitate to re-enroll her here.

Truly dedicated staff who cares about the young adults in their care. Paradigm is also the only residential program I know of that offers multiple individual therapy sessions a week, in addition to family therapy.

I felt the most loved and accepted I’ve ever felt in my life when I went to paradigm. Love to everyone there and everyone who was with me during my stay

Great place. Amazing staff, therapist, and especially chef! Highly recommend this RTC.

shoutout to chef brian for making the best carne asada fries ever , also abigail, anna, alex, jim, NASHIII, diana (CA & therapist) caroline, marissa, haley, shawn, grace, & bridget y’all are awesome thanks for everything

The only good thing I can say is that my kid liked the clientele and one of the therapists. But pretty much ends there. There's very little transparency of any sort. They tend to treat parents like they are the problem… and they are super quick to medicate. The photos look nice, but in reality the house is kind of worn out and the grounds are poorly kept. If your child simply needs a quick break away from a bad situation this place might work....

Nice place, but, I had delivered a client to them in 2020– he was turning of age mid way through and was kicked out. They know their ages, birthdays, issues, medications etc.. but it’s on average like 1500 a day per bed… at these places. So he was forced to go to an adult facility before he could return home… in Utah. On one hand these places are good for kids, on the other it’s sadistic. Money and angry vengeful parents getting their last hurrah out on their children. Glad I don’t do it anymore.

Paradigm is a very professional and effective treatment program. Our 19-year-old daughter, who suffers from anxiety and depression, willingly checked herself into Paradigm's Malibu Beach House program recently. Based on… the Paradigm counseling and treatment, she emerged from the program much more positive and she was armed with new tools and skills to maintain and improve her mental health. Paradigm's family therapy sessions were especially beneficial. The treatment professionals were outstanding and the support staff, both onsite and in their corporate offices, were also outstanding. Five stars! I highly recommend the program.

I am a parent of a daughter who struggles with Mental Health and she attended Paradigm Young adult program in Malibu and it was honestly the best experience we have had. Not only did they give my daughter support but… they helped me in understanding what I could do to help support and encourage. It was truly an eye opening experience. I highly recommend Paradigm not only for your a young adult struggling with Mental Health but to the families who want to only support and be helpful and not harmful… my deepest gratitude and respect to the entire Paradigm Malibu Family xoxoxox

Honestly this place is harmful and toxic. Sent a family member here and he left worse than he was when he went in. And he wasn’t even in there for that long… I implore you to find somewhere else to go, this place is NOT… it. I had ignored some of the other negative reviews and focused on the positive ones, but that was a huge mistake. Please please rethink this place and look elsewhere! I’d give this place less than one star if i could.

Literally best experience of my life and such a turning point. Love it there and all the people so much. So welcoming and loving and made a huge difference on my life, idk where I would be without it. Life changing. So… cool