Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program

My kid did well and I think the therapeutic approach to addiction helped. Of course the jury is still out, but I am hopeful. As a parent I have learned a lot on the area of respect.

Changed my life in an amazing way. The leaders are who made the biggest impact on me personally. I read some of these reviews and yes people can do nothing but that's only by their own choices. Nobody can make someone sober they have to choose to do it themselves.

I read the previous review and I am sad that those experiences were had but I have to admit I am a bit confused. In our experience, everything that is brought in for the client/patient is given to the counselor and either they or other employees go through it before it is released to the person it is intended for. We had some of our items rejected as they were not allowed. We didn't even think about an iPod having a video taking capability. Needless to say it was returned to us and our child was not allowed to use it. As far as lounging around.. Yes, kids can lounge around, do nothing and not complete work and in turn they have no privileges as far as personal music, longer visiting time, outside pass, etc. to name a few. They can't MAKE them do anything however they do not encourage this behavior by rewarding them either. If they don't want to do anything, they won't. Period. That goes with anyone with anything. The hope is they will want to work toward recovery and getting out of CFD or at least work toward some of the freedoms they have lost and would like to have back. They each have household chores to do and they rotate so I also thought it was great to teach them responsibility as well.

As far as drugs and again very confused. As I said previously, everything we brought in for our child was gone through thoroughly before it was given to him. I am not sure how items were brought in or how that worked and it saddens me that it was the case with the above. The law in California does not allow a lock down facility. That means they are allowed to leave at any time however consequences also follow. Also, it could be possible that someone visiting could choose to bring items that are detrimental to their recovery or health that is again something that CFD can't control. I guess ultimately, unless someone takes accountability with their actions, it won’t matter.

As far as our personal experience at Center for Discovery in Long Beach, as you can imagine, words cannot describe how one feels when they have to place their child in a rehab facility. Regardless of whether or not you feel like your child needs it or not, it is heart breaking. Tears and tears and tears.... No matter how hard you try to convince yourself you are doing the right thing, you are still at a loss and second, third, fourth and fifth guessing of yourself. We knew we were doing the right thing and we were very very happy with the facility, employees and the help that was received there. Not for only our child but for our family as a whole. Regardless of what one believes, it is NOT just the child’s issue, it is a FAMILY issue and it is imperative that it is dealt with that way or success is much less likely.

In our child's case, we also had issues that needed to be dealt with in regard to school and they went ABOVE and BEYOND to ensure that our child's school career wouldn't be effected and had a seamless transition. Alicia was a LIFESAVER!

We really learned a lot about each other, our family dynamic, what we need to work on and what we need to change. We are all forever works in progress. This program was a true lifesaver on so many levels. As our therapist Peter said he hopes to not see us again. I felt like we had an extended family there. We really felt like people cared and we weren't alone. Being in this situation is really difficult and many people don't talk about it because of that. Their family group meetings are the best and really appreciated the kids input as well as other parents going through the same thing. We really had a good experience and because our child went to CFD, we have a much higher chance of Peter's wish of us not having to come back coming true. Ultimately though, its our child's work and actions that will dictate that.

Thank you CFD (Center for Discovery) and most of all Peter for helping our family become healthier, happier and most of all... start to put it back together to make it even better than before. There aren't enough words to express our gratitude.