Cliffside Malibu

Hospital in California, USA

Cliffside Malibu

Discovery Behavioral Health
Geography
Location| Malibu, California, USA
Coordinates| 34°02′05″N 118°49′46″W﻿ / ﻿34.034714°N 118.829351°W﻿ / 34.034714; -118.829351Coordinates: 34°02′05″N 118°49′46″W﻿ / ﻿34.034714°N 118.829351°W﻿ / 34.034714; -118.829351
Organisation
Care system| Private
Funding| For-profit hospital
Type| Addiction treatment
Network| Discovery Behavioral Health
History
Opened| 2005 (2005)
Links
Website| www.cliffsidemalibu.com
Other links| discoverybehavioralhealth.com

Cliffside Malibu is a drug rehabilitation center in Malibu, California. It is notable for being frequently used by celebrities including Lindsay Lohan[1] and Ty Lawson[2] when they have been sentenced to rehabilitation. Kelly Stephenson has been the CEO of Cliffside Malibu since July 2018.

Former CEO Richard Taite had originally bought a house in Malibu to retire, but he said he decided to build a sober living facility there instead, "to give back."[3] Taite had previously overcome his own addiction to crack cocaine.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 1.1 2005 – 2018
* 1.2 2018 – Present
* 2 Addiction treatment
* 2.1 Clean and Sober Media, LLC
* 3 Notable patients
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Overview[edit]

### 2005 – 2018[edit]

According to former CEO Richard Taite, Cliffside Malibu has treated 2,000 patients as of November 2014[4] and that the facility has a capacity of approximately 108 beds.[4] According to Taite, between 40 and 45 percent of Cliffside Malibu's patients were addicted to prescription drugs when it opened as a licensed facility in 2005. During a discussion of opiate addiction on a May 2016 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, Taite stated that the percentage of patients addicted to prescription drugs upon entering Cliffside Malibu had increased to 90 percent.[5]

Treatment at Cliffside Malibu is more costly than the average facility. Patients pay up to $80,000 a month for treatment.[4] The center provides organic food and luxury-hotel amenities, including a heated pool and turndown service.[6]

Cliffside Malibu director of addiction research Constance Scharff told Culture Counter Magazine that "the disease of addiction is not different for celebrities, however they are more acutely impacted by substance abuse", and that Cliffside follows the same procedures regardless of the patient.[7] Cliffside Malibu assigns each patient a dedicated therapist to aid in identifying underlying issues that caused their addiction. The facility also uses Orthomolecular medicine, a form of alternative medicine.[6]

### 2018 – Present[edit]

In June 2018, Discovery Behavioral Health purchased Cliffside Malibu. Founder Richard Taite stepped down from his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Kelly Stephenson, who started her career at Cliffside Malibu in 2015 as Chief Operations Officer (COO), was appointed as the new CEO.[8]

In November 2018, the Woolsey Fire forced Cliffside Malibu to evacuate 72 patients to a hotel where they continued addiction treatment. The fire destroyed five Cliffside Malibu properties. Less than two months after the fire, Cliffside Malibu reopened its first house in January 2019, with the remaining facilities opening later that year.[9]

Adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols allowed Cliffside Malibu to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic, with residential and outpatient treatment available.[10]

## Addiction treatment[edit]

Cliffside Malibu Rehab utilizes The transtheoretical model of behavior change (aka TTM) as the foundation of their treatment protocol. Professor of psychology James O. Prochaska and the lead developer of the TTM approach, who authored the book Ending Addiction for Good, provided training for the rehab's medical staff.[11][12]

### Clean and Sober Media, LLC[edit]

Cliffside Malibu and its former CEO Richard Taite were mentioned in The Verge after reporting done by that publication in 2017 disclosed that "several popular publications covering addiction and treatment double as marketing operations for treatment centers".[13] The Verge's disclosure included information that two of these publications, The Fix and Rehab Reviews, were owned by Clean and Sober Media, LLC., which in turn is financially controlled by Richard Taite.[13] This relationship had not previously been disclosed in disclaimers by the publications to their readers.[13] Taite's attorney responded in The Verge piece, saying "Any implication that the content of an editorial review, including its aesthetics, is influenced by whether a treatment center has paid for advertising is false."[13] In 2018 it was reported that Cliffside Malibu and Center for Discovery, which is owned by private equity firm Webster Capital, were merging to become Discovery Behavioral Health. According to the Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare, "Clean and Sober Media was not part of the Webster Capital transaction."[14]

## Notable patients[edit]

* Henry Nicholas[15]

* Oscar De La Hoya[16]

* Lindsay Lohan

* Ty Lawson

* Chaka Khan[17]

* Bobby Jenks[18]

## References[edit]

1. ^ FInn, Natalie. "Lindsay Lohan Leaves Rehab After 3 Months". E Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
2. ^ "Nuggets' Ty Lawson to enter private alcohol treatment after DUI". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
3. ^ a b Moss, J Jennings. "Recovery the Malibu way: Richard Taite plans Cliffside expansion outside California". Upstart Business Journals. The Business Journals. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
4. ^ a b c Yakowicz, Bill. ""THE INC. LIFE Richard Taite: Journey From Addict to Entrepreneur"". Inc. Mansueto Ventures LLC. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
5. ^ "Richard Taite; Bryan Cranston; Ann Coulter; Nick Gillespie; Dan Savage". Real Time with Bill Maher. Season 14. Episode 15. April 6, 2016. HBO.[time needed] Kelly Stephenson was appointed to the position Cliffside Malibu CEO in July 2018.
6. ^ a b Haldeman, Peter. ""An Intervention for Malibu"". New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
7. ^ Zwillich, Brittany. ""Rehab is the new black: an inside look at luxury rehabilitation centers"". Counter Culture Magazine. Culture Counter Magazine, LLC.
8. ^ "Center For Discovery acquires Cliffside Malibu". Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network.
9. ^ "Rising From the Ashes of the Woolsey Fire, Cliffside Malibu Continues to Change Lives". California Life HD.
10. ^ "Malibu's Drug and Alcohol Residential Rehab Centers Remain Open During Coronavirus". The Malibu Times.
11. ^ "Where The Rich And Famous Go For Addiction Treatment". Forbes.
12. ^ "Cliffside Malibu Overview". Local Rehab Reviews.
13. ^ a b c d Ferguson, Cat (3 November 2017). "Review Sites Have Deep Ties to the Rehabs They Promote". The Verge.
14. ^ Miller, Julie (16 April 2018). "Center For Discovery acquires Cliffside Malibu". www.behavioral.net. Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare.
15. ^ McLean, Bethany. ""Dr. Nicholas and Mr. Hyde"". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
16. ^ ""Oscar De La Hoya released from rehab"". Fox News. FOX News Network, LLC. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
17. ^ Kennedy, Gerrick D. ""Chaka Khan squashes rumors of feud with Lindsay Lohan"". Los Angeles Times.
18. ^ Axisa, Mike. ""Bobby Jenks was in rehab when the Red Sox released him last year"". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* Discovery Behavioral Health