Malibu, Calif. -- Cliffside, Summit, Milestones, Seasons. The names suggest New Age spas or, perhaps, recent-vintage vineyards. They sprawl across the scrubby foothills of this storied coastal town and survey its expensive, eroding beaches, their comforts rivaling those of world-class resorts.
They promote their privacy and exclusivity even as they bask in the reflected glory of their celebrated patrons. (Anyone who passed a newsstand last month knows that Lindsay Lohan spent her summer vacation at Cliffside.) And they’re spreading. As of July, there were 35 state-licensed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities in this city (population 12,645), in addition to a multiplying number of unlicensed sober-living homes.
Question: What are Malibu’s only growth industries? Answer: Winemaking and sobriety. The locals may have a sense of humor about the situation, but that doesn’t mean they are happy with it. They fret that the playground of the rich and famous is turning into the capital of detox for the rich and famous. “The rehabs are overwhelming our neighborhoods,” Lou La Monte, a Malibu city councilman, recently said. “We have safety issues, noise issues, traffic issues. We’re going to take our city back.”
The largest and most expensive treatment center here is called Passages, which sits on a bluff across the Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean in the Sycamore Park neighborhood. Passages’ 35 clients live in several palatial residences scattered across a 10-acre campus that includes two pools overlooking the ocean, a tennis court and a glass-enclosed gym. Guests receive “integrative holistic treatment” that eschews traditional 12-step recovery methods in favor of such ministrations as hypnosis, life-purpose counseling and sound therapy. Marc Jacobs was a Passages client, as was Mel Gibson. Treatment starts at $64,000 a month. (...)
Blame the Malibu Model for it all. Fifteen years ago, Richard Rogg, a real estate developer who turned to treating substance abuse after kicking a cocaine habit, opened Malibu’s first drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. From the beginning, Promises Malibu, originally housed in two rambling Mediterranean-style residences in the Big Rock area, was meant to serve as an alternative to hard-line traditional programs. Promises offered customized care — drawing on psychotherapy and holistic practices like yoga, meditation, and biofeedback — in vacationland surroundings. Mr. Rogg registered Malibu Model as a service mark for his treatment plan.
Lots of high-octane substance abusers embraced this model. That van containing Mr. Affleck, Mr. Downey and Charlie Sheen belonged to Promises. Britney Spears and Diana Ross are graduates. Promises grew: there are now five houses (and three pools) accommodating 24 rehab patients. Their daily regimen revolves around a therapy session (group or individual) in the morning and two in the afternoon. These are broken up by meals prepared by a chef (specialties include lobster tail and osso bucco) and complemented by optional activities like massage, tennis lessons and equine therapy. There are also excursions to A.A. meetings, a local gym and a beauty salon.
The Malibu Model proved to be a highly marketable paradigm. A surge in prescription drug use, along with a 2000 state statute promoting treatment rather than jail time for drug offenders and lax state licensing procedures, fueled a sharp increase in residential rehab centers. Nowhere was the growth more significant than in Malibu, whose setting and high-profile inhabitants, detoxifying or not, provided free advertising for the programs. By 2007, there were two dozen treatment centers in the city.
“Why Malibu? Because they can charge the big prices here,” Mayor Joan House said. While 85 percent of drug and alcohol treatment programs in the United States are nonprofit ventures, the luxury facilities in Malibu are commercial operations. Room tabs at the better-known centers make the Four Seasons look like a discount chain: rates start at around $60,000 a month and can exceed $100,000 a month for V.I.P. accommodations like private rooms or pet boarding. (By comparison, Hazelden, the 64-year-old treatment center network founded in Minnesota, charges as much as $32,000 a month.)
They promote their privacy and exclusivity even as they bask in the reflected glory of their celebrated patrons. (Anyone who passed a newsstand last month knows that Lindsay Lohan spent her summer vacation at Cliffside.) And they’re spreading. As of July, there were 35 state-licensed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities in this city (population 12,645), in addition to a multiplying number of unlicensed sober-living homes.Question: What are Malibu’s only growth industries? Answer: Winemaking and sobriety. The locals may have a sense of humor about the situation, but that doesn’t mean they are happy with it. They fret that the playground of the rich and famous is turning into the capital of detox for the rich and famous. “The rehabs are overwhelming our neighborhoods,” Lou La Monte, a Malibu city councilman, recently said. “We have safety issues, noise issues, traffic issues. We’re going to take our city back.”
The largest and most expensive treatment center here is called Passages, which sits on a bluff across the Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean in the Sycamore Park neighborhood. Passages’ 35 clients live in several palatial residences scattered across a 10-acre campus that includes two pools overlooking the ocean, a tennis court and a glass-enclosed gym. Guests receive “integrative holistic treatment” that eschews traditional 12-step recovery methods in favor of such ministrations as hypnosis, life-purpose counseling and sound therapy. Marc Jacobs was a Passages client, as was Mel Gibson. Treatment starts at $64,000 a month. (...)
Blame the Malibu Model for it all. Fifteen years ago, Richard Rogg, a real estate developer who turned to treating substance abuse after kicking a cocaine habit, opened Malibu’s first drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. From the beginning, Promises Malibu, originally housed in two rambling Mediterranean-style residences in the Big Rock area, was meant to serve as an alternative to hard-line traditional programs. Promises offered customized care — drawing on psychotherapy and holistic practices like yoga, meditation, and biofeedback — in vacationland surroundings. Mr. Rogg registered Malibu Model as a service mark for his treatment plan.
Lots of high-octane substance abusers embraced this model. That van containing Mr. Affleck, Mr. Downey and Charlie Sheen belonged to Promises. Britney Spears and Diana Ross are graduates. Promises grew: there are now five houses (and three pools) accommodating 24 rehab patients. Their daily regimen revolves around a therapy session (group or individual) in the morning and two in the afternoon. These are broken up by meals prepared by a chef (specialties include lobster tail and osso bucco) and complemented by optional activities like massage, tennis lessons and equine therapy. There are also excursions to A.A. meetings, a local gym and a beauty salon.
The Malibu Model proved to be a highly marketable paradigm. A surge in prescription drug use, along with a 2000 state statute promoting treatment rather than jail time for drug offenders and lax state licensing procedures, fueled a sharp increase in residential rehab centers. Nowhere was the growth more significant than in Malibu, whose setting and high-profile inhabitants, detoxifying or not, provided free advertising for the programs. By 2007, there were two dozen treatment centers in the city.
“Why Malibu? Because they can charge the big prices here,” Mayor Joan House said. While 85 percent of drug and alcohol treatment programs in the United States are nonprofit ventures, the luxury facilities in Malibu are commercial operations. Room tabs at the better-known centers make the Four Seasons look like a discount chain: rates start at around $60,000 a month and can exceed $100,000 a month for V.I.P. accommodations like private rooms or pet boarding. (By comparison, Hazelden, the 64-year-old treatment center network founded in Minnesota, charges as much as $32,000 a month.)
by Peter Haldeman, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Gary Hovland
