Alta Mira's Transformational Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program

If you want or need truly comprehensive care for complex addiction issues and co-occurring disorders, our program will allow you to focus on the deeper work needed to address your individual issues and best develop your key recovery and relapse prevention skills.

Your treatment starts with our highly advanced medically-supervised detox and evaluations conducted by our medical team. You and your therapist will then engage in comprehensive treatment planning that looks at your goals, motivations, and needs across all areas of life.

As you proceed through treatment, our neuropsychological assessment team engages you in a series of diagnostic testing and assessment sessions tailored to your specific clinical profile. The results of these sessions illuminate diagnostic considerations, identify strengths and resources you possess, and shape continuing care recommendations.

Throughout the duration of treatment, you will participate in our full clinical program, which includes:

• At least 2 individual sessions per week with a primary therapist
• Daily group therapy (includes DBT Skills, Process Groups, Principles of Recovery, Somatic Awareness)
• Neuropsychological and psychological assessments to better inform accurate diagnosis and advise medical recommendations
• In-depth family engagement and the option for loved ones to attend multiple 3-Day Family Programs
• Experiential therapy (activities may include equine therapy, ropes courses, psychodrama, hikes, kayaking, ziplining, and excursions focused on recovery principles)
• Rejuvenating holistic services (massage, yoga, acupuncture)
• Intensive workshops based around critical topics, such as trauma
• Individual outings with our amazing Experiential Program Manager
• Peer support groups (12-Step, SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery)
• Access to local temporary sponsors for support through the early stages of treatment and recovery
• Incorporation of supplemental evaluations/therapies through external providers as needed (EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, CBT, CBTi, process addictions, nutritional support, couples intensives, spiritual counseling, medical specialists)
• Individualized relapse prevention and continuing care planning

We offer two-day intensive workshops provided by our team of clinicians on a variety of topics that are best explored within this format. Workshops provide longer lengths of time to cover complex material and allow clients to engage in experiential activities designed to make it come alive in ways that are generally not possible in standard didactic or group formats.

These workshops are offered monthly, and all clients are welcome to participate as long as they are medically and clinically cleared to do so.

Among our newest offerings are the following:

(Re)Connecting With Your Authentic Self with Karen Spedowfski, Ph.D.

In this two-day workshop, we will explore the ways that we lose our authenticity from an early age, develop identities that contain aspects of both our true selves and falsehoods to be identified and challenged, and masks that we wear that hide and protect our true, authentic selves in the world.

Codependency and addiction, in many ways, are the opposites of authenticity. Clients will explore their own masks and identities through multi-media and experiential exercises designed to explore core beliefs, roles, and messages received from others beginning in early childhood and will realize the opportunity that recovery provides to be able to choose whether these fit or serve them any longer. Clients will consider how to change behaviors that do not serve them, and, most importantly, how to begin to develop self-compassion and live authentically. This workshop will be interactive and will challenge clients to view themselves in new ways while engaging meaningfully with each other.

Exploring Spirituality with Kellie Beals, Psy.D.

This two-day workshop on spirituality offers a reflective and immersive journey designed to deepen personal insight, inner peace, and a sense of connection beyond the material world. It involves delving into the deep human desire to find purpose, and connection. Spirituality is often described as an inner journey—one that transcends religious boundaries and speaks to a universal longing for meaning and truth.

In a therapeutic setting focused on substance use recovery, exploring the meaning of spirituality can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation. It encourages individuals to ask profound questions such as “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “What is my relationship to others and to life itself?” While it can be expressed through religion, art, service, or personal philosophy, spirituality is deeply personal and evolves over time. Ultimately, it invites people to live more consciously, guided by values like compassion, authenticity, and a deeper sense of interconnectedness.

Process Addictions with Andrea Garrett, LMFT, CSAT-C

Many people describe themselves as having “addictive personalities.” While this is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis, we are learning more about what are referred to as “process addictions” which can be just as powerful as those involving chemical substances.

In this workshop we will explore all aspects of the addictive process as it presents in a number of different human behaviors such as sex and romantic relationships, gambling, gaming, internet use and social media, shopping, food and eating, exercise, etc. Clients will come to understand how the neurobiology of the brain and nervous system become involved in the process of behavioral addictions in ways that are similar to those of chemical addictions. We will explore the very real risk of cross addiction in early recovery (and beyond), how process addictions serve as attempts to regulate emotions, and how engaging in these behaviors can pose risks for relapse back to chemical substances if they are not managed within an overall program of recovery.

If you would like more information on our intensive workshops, please contact one of our Admissions Specialists.

Addiction is a disease with physical, psychological, spiritual, and relational components. Just stopping the use of a drug doesn’t teach us anything about how to maintain sobriety. It takes time to learn how to use the skills taught in treatment. Longer-term treatment provides the opportunity to learn and practice these skills.

National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) research supports the idea that increased lengths of stay predict a greater likelihood that a person will stay sober. Other studies have found similar results in improved outcomes based on time in treatment.

• The appropriate duration for an individual depends on the type and degree of the patient’s problems and needs.
• Recovery from drug addiction is a long-term process and frequently requires multiple episodes of treatment. As with other chronic illnesses, relapses to drug abuse can occur and should signal a need for treatment to be reinstated or adjusted.
• Longer treatment stays provide time to complete detox and move progressively through structured phases of treatment.
• At Alta Mira, clients who remain in our program are engaged in deeper work on individual issues, key recovery skills, and relapse prevention.

At Alta Mira, it is our purpose to create positive treatment experiences that lead to lasting recovery. If you’re interested in our transformational recovery program, we will work with you to determine if it’s truly your best option. In general, this program is the right choice if any of the following apply:

• You’ve struggled with relapse in the past
• You have had one or more prior residential treatment episodes
• You have complex detox needs (e.g. opiates, benzos, etc.)
• You need to address co-occurring behavioral, psychiatric, or medical issues
• You face legal, relationship, or career consequences due to addiction issues

Our compassionate team will keep you as comfortable as possible in our luxurious treatment center overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Please contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

Contact Us