I attended paradigm Malibu in Early January of 2018 for addiction problems and depression and was released less than 30 days later. I strongly advise anyone not to pay for this rehab, for it is way too expensive for what it really is. You are paying for really nice housing, 10/10 food 3 times a day with snacks at your disposal, 24/7 support and counseling from “professionals” (they are all runt of the litter type professionals not actual renowned therapists with private practices). You are also paying for liability costs of shipping your child off for 30 days which involves activities all over Malibu. This bill will screw you honestly, I attended out-patient rehab and learned 10 times more skills than I did at paradigm. Also, every person I know who went there relapsed. They also try to rope your family into making you buy an extra 15 days: in the final days of your initial stay (30 days) you get assessed and every time (no matter who the kid is or what problems he or she has) the primary therapist for that kid will STRONGLY AND PERSUASIVELY try to convince them that their child absolutely needs this extra 15 days by instilling fear that they will relapse if they are sent home too early. Every kid who stays the extra 15 days relapses anyways, you have to pay an extra $15,000 or something for the extra 15 days, I’m convinced it’s a whole scheme. When I have trouble with depression or addiction I think back to the things my out patient therapist have said to me and I feel better and recall tricks to help me out. I sometimes try to think of instances at paradigm in these times, and I can never think of anything. Seriously nothing I learned from paradigm has stuck with me. A bubble is a good way to describe it because living in that environment is not real life. You are thrown into a pool of people with all types of issues and problems and live together, most kids there are NOT AT ALL willing to be there, so everyone seems to “team up” on the staff and do what ever they can do to feel thrill and have fun in rehab. This is where you really learn, you learn how be deviant and sneaky, you learn what you really crave and it makes you fiend for it even more when you are back home.
I would describe it as a psychotic vacation in Malibu California with really good food and housing but absolutely horrible vibes and chaos left and right.