HOFH Elite Care Center Spotlight: The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center
By: HOFH
On a pristine private beach in Malibu is a one-of-a-kind treatment facility with 5-star concierge-style service and elite-level comforts. The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center, an Elite Care Center with the Hall of Fame Health (HOFH), offers drug and alcohol treatment in an ultra-private and discreet setting. The world-class medical and clinical treatment programs are evidence-based, abstinence-based, and holistic-based treatments to address one’s mind, body, and spirit.
Residents of The Pointe Malibu Recovery are given the utmost attention with a 5:1 staff-to-client ratio and 5 to 8 individual sessions per week. The centerpiece of their treatment philosophy is the Integrated Care Alliance, which is an interconnected support structure for residents that also provides a complete Continuum of Care that extends well beyond discharge from the facility. To form a strong, unbreakable support chain, the four key pillars of the Integrated Care Alliance are comprised of the medical/clinical team, the resident’s referring professional, the family members, and the resident.
Rebuild Family Relationships With Custom Family Informed Care
One main area of focus at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center is healing families to help each person best support their loved one in recovery. The Family Program is supported by a team of leading addictionologists and psychiatrists, therapists, and licensed addiction specialists. The program is customized to each individual resident. At the onset, residents and their families will have separate sessions, which allows the team to closely observe family dynamics and address each person’s specific needs and circumstances. The family sessions are customized to heal emotional wounds, address differences, clarify misconceptions and enhance understanding. For example, it’s important for each person to understand their role in the family system and to look at factors such as transgenerational trauma. To further support the resident and their family unit, the team may recommend a family intensive session at the treatment center.
“The goal with our Family Program is for every person to get their needs met so that we can help them to make a shift,” says Michael Gillis, MSW, Executive Director of The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center. “During the course of the program, everyone processes their feelings and learns new skills, which supports the end goal of moving the family forward.”
Pain Recovery Curriculum Integrating Polyvagal Informed Treatment
The team at Pointe Malibu Recovery Center is committed to ongoing learning and training in order to be as best equipped as possible to help their patients. In one of its newest endeavors, all of the staff has participated in training on the Polyvagal Theory (PVT) by the Polyvagal Institute. The groundbreaking Polyvagal Theory was developed by Stephen Porges, Ph.D. who identified a third part of the nervous system (supplied by the ventral vagal nerve) that he calls the social engagement system. This system connects one’s sense of safety with behavior and communication patterns.
“Our counselors, armed with Polyvagal Theory, can recognize shifts from fight-or-flight to shut down when clients feel trapped. They can also recognize the movement from shutdown into fight-or-flight that offers a possible shift into social engagement biology if and when the client can gain a sense of safety,” says Michelle Migliore, Clinical Outreach Specialist at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center.
Incorporated across various treatment programs at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center, Polyvalgal informed treatment is notably integrated with the Pain Recovery Curriculum at the treatment center. Led by Dr. Mel Pohl, Senior Medical Consultant for Chronic Pain Treatment at The Pointe Malibu, the curriculum may not be able to eliminate pain but it can teach one how to live with it.
“Dr. Porges’ Safe and Sound Protocol, otherwise known as SSP, is a key part of the Pain Recovery Program,” adds Migliore. “SSP is an auditory program that helps patients regulate their nervous systems, process external cues, and signals more effectively, and attain a grounded state in which they feel safe and calm.”
Supporting Athletes and Their Families
For athletes who struggle with addiction, mental illness, and pain, The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center offers a healing refuge in a highly private setting. As a concierge-style program, residents gain the benefit of elite care tailored to their individual lifestyles.
In one such example, a golfer entered the program to help him with an addiction to pain medication. After 30 days of treatment, the athlete needed to get back to training in his sport. To accommodate, the team amended his program so that he could participate in therapy sessions once a week on a golf course.
The programs at the center provide options to remain active while participating in treatment. In one such program, taking advantage of the coveted private beachfront Malibu location, The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center is joined by Surf Therapist, Christiana Grotlisch, MSW, ASW. She leads the weekly group and individual DBT Surf Therapy sessions to aid clients in their recovery. A typical session begins with a breathing exercise and/or meditation, followed by a surf lesson. At the culmination of the session, participants process the experience as a group. The therapeutic program aims to help clients in their recovery from chemical dependency while reducing mental health symptoms.
“There are so many different layers to treating an athlete,” says Migliore. “You have to be well-versed and understand how to unravel the layers including complicated family systems, doctors, teams. Athletes are complex. We care about treating the individual and we are proud to be an invaluable resource to the Hall of Fame Health.”
“The team at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center is exceptional. They continue to strive to improve their programs, offerings, and education to best serve their patients in their recovery,” says Ryan Cain, President of the behavioral health program for Hall of Fame Health. “We admire their commitment to quality and growth, and are proud to welcome them as an Elite Care Center.”
The HOFH Elite Care Centers is a network of elite facilities across the country that specialize in mental health and substance use disorders. Each treatment center is vetted and accredited to provide high-quality, customized care to former players and their families, veterans, and beyond. Financial aid options are available through Fund Recovery, which serves athletes, veterans, their families, and others seeking assistance for mental health or addiction issues.
For more information on The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center, please visit https://www.hofhealth.com/elite-care-centers or call the HOFH concierge line at 866-404-HOFH.