AKUA Mind & Body - Addiction Treatment Newport Beach

Do not use them. They are not there to help you but to take your money &. treat everyone bad. They talk down to, disrespect and yelled at everyone constantly. If you stand up for yourself you'll be removed from the program. I watched dozens of people get kicked out for no reason. Their groups are a joke. Only 2 out of 10 classes are taught by a therapist. They do not help people they just take their money and are abusive to them. Especially the VP Dr Sarah. I watched her interrupt our private group to yell at people in it.

I worked here. They don't care at all about the clients. "Heads in Beds" thats what it is about. As an employee I learned quickly how much they really care about the clients, they are just another company ready to take advantage of peoples suffering. you are warned!

UNETHICAL, SLOPPY, AND HARM CAUSING CARE. I had a loved one spend 5 tragic days in Sacramento location's detox. Mistake. It is of my opinion that when the medical director of a treatment facility is off site (because apparently they only communicate via skype), there is a lack of accountability and oversight which results in terrible care. You want some proof? Keep reading. 1. One ten minute skype session with a doctor throughout the entire stay with a poor connection, and no questions answered. 2. An unnecessary prescription for Seroquel - which is a very heavy antipsychotic that is not recommended for insomnia - and my family member did not even complain of sleep issues but apparently its protocol. When the staff was asked if it were safe to take in combination with the detox meds he was prescribed, he was told "I'm not sure exactly. You may have to wait an hour or so? But I am going to go ahead and give it to you anyway." Are you kidding? You, as a staff member in a medical treatment facility aren't sure if you are giving a patient a potentially harmful medication combination - and you do it anyway? 3. The medication combination in fact ended up affecting my family member in a negative way - he told staff this - and they SENT HIM HOME with 25 100 mg pills. 3. No discharge plan was made. No encouragement to stay for residential. No follow up. Nothing. They basically drop kicked someone with a heavy opiate habit to the curb with nothing to arm himself against the disease. Except the Seroquel. Good job, guys. 4. A staff member told my family member that it was ok to "just smoke weed". NO AWARENESS OR EDUCATION ON CROSS ADDICTION. Giving a newly detoxed person the green light to trade substances because "weed isn't as bad" is ridiculous and harm causing. 5. Due to an error on Akua's part - my family member was left to deal with incessant phone calls and emails putting their mistake on him to correct. Right out of detox. Causing him unnecessary stress and anxiety. No one called to check in, or followed up about their empty promises for IOP help or doctors appointment. No one cared about him at all. They only cared that they got this TOTALLY SHADY document signed. He was asked to text a photo of some unsigned paperwork to a cell phone, potentially violating his HIPPA and confidentiality rights. 6. If for some reason after reading all this you are still considering Akua, ask for a copy of the financial agreement up front. See if you can figure out why they are saying they charge almost $4000/day for detox and then grant scholarships. Because I couldn't, and no one could tell me why it said that or what it meant. All I was told was its "just a document". Um. No. Its not lost on me that the total just happened to be the same amount that your average 30 day stay in residential would cost a private pay client. So what are you doing, Akua? Changing numbers in your Kipu system to get people to sign off to pay for treatment they didn't receive? Akua is a clown show.

Akua made the beginning of my recovery journey a positive one. The staff are excellent and the programs and classes top notch. I couldn't of chosen a better place to get and stay sober

I spent two weeks at akua and was shocked at the low paid staff who had barely any sobriety. One woman was even homeless and had 60 days of sobriety. This is the same woman who drove the van to meetings at 70 miles an hour with the radio blasting. We were required to go to these meetings and be in this unsafe situation. After 2 weeks of unable to think straight I found out I was on the wrong medication from the start. The staff was upset at me because of this. After I demanded going off all meds they prescribed me I decided to leave because I felt unsafe. The staff put me out on the street with my luggage and a dead cell phone I had to use a neighbor's outside outlet to charge my cell phone and call a cab. The director laughed at me as she left to go to lunch. This place is dangerous. I wish that I had seen a review like this before I went there. This is a review of the women's program. The positive reviews are mostly from the men's program. Beware!