Pacific Place Residential Mental Health Program

Discovery Mood & Anxiety
350 West Wardlow Road
Long Beach, CA 90807

PROGRAM FEATURES
Residential
All Genders 11-17

GET IN TOUCH CALL 714.828.0808

COVID-19 Update: In-person residential treatment is still offered at this location. Learn about all that we are doing to protect the safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff.

Healing Co-Occurring Disorder at Pacific Place

Pacific Place is a 16-bed, all-gender facility in Long Beach, California. This center specializes in treating young people struggling with co-occurring substance use and mental health issues. The patients are housed in separate wings based on the gender that they identify with in a safe and supportive atmosphere where they can focus on themselves. Our ESTEEM System™ provides adolescent patients with individualized care to help them develop the skills and confidence they need to create the life they want. Along with utilizing traditional talk therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), patients are also immersed in a number of creative arts therapies such as:

Art therapy
Music therapy
Psychodrama therapy
Holistic therapy
Sound bath therapy (currently halted until COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted)

When not in therapy, patients have access to a basketball half-court, spacious outdoor area, ping-pong table and supervised field trips. The philosophy at Pacific Place is to help young people understand that fun can be had while sober and that any “boredom” they experience may actually be due to sadness, frustration or another intense feeling.

Tackling Substance Use with the 12 Steps

At Pacific Place, patients develop self-awareness about their urges for substance use and high-risk behaviors and learn coping skills and tools to manage them in healthy, appropriate ways. The program utilizes a 12-step model to help patients identify their struggles with substance use and transfer what they learn in and around their home. In fact, most of the staff members at Pacific Place are in recovery themselves and practice the 12 steps every day. This experience gives patients the chance to interact with someone who has been in their shoes and helps patients see that success is possible.

Involving Family from the Start

When one member of the family struggles with a mental health disorder and drug or alcohol abuse, the entire family feels it. That’s why family and/or the support system of a patient is involved throughout the duration of treatment. Family programming – which includes online or in-person family sessions with the patient, multi-family groups and visitations on weekends – supports family growth and reconciliation.

Adventure Therapy for the Soul

Our center works with Serene Waters Adventure Therapy to incorporate experiential therapy into our program’s treatment plan. Patients engage in mindfulness activities, have meaningful conversations with the group facilitator and participate in an experiential activity such as surfing or hiking. The group facilitator will design a theme for that activity and then discuss this with the patients prior to the activity and then again after the activity during the debrief. Patients have reported this as a helpful part of their overall recovery. The benefits that patients have gained from adventure therapy include learning a new positive activity that they want to engage in for the future, learning a new way to think about their recovery or struggles, and pushing themselves in a physically and emotionally uncomfortable way that made them feel more confident in themselves.

Educational Support

Therapy is at the forefront of what we do but that doesn’t mean education takes a backseat. At Pacific Place, each patient has 20 hours per week dedicated to schoolwork. Our educational liaison provides supervision and support to help patients focus on their studies. Even if a patient needs a lot of catching up to do, the school support program aims to get them back on track and build confidence along the way.

In-Network Provider

Insurances we accept at this location include but are not limited to Kaiser, Humana, Cigna and Unicare. Please remember that the insurances we accept change frequently. Our insurance team will verify your coverage.

LEARN ABOUT OUR COVID CLEAN COMMITMENT

MEET THE TEAM

Lisa Arndt, LMFT
PROGRAM THERAPIST

Lisa Arndt earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to earn her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University. In addition, Lisa has been involved in creative ventures, including recording CDs and playing live music as well as writing and directing small theater projects. Lisa has previously worked at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute, St. John’s Hospital and the Eating Disorder Center of California. Then, following her work as an eating disorder counselor at Rader Programs for 3 years, Lisa began working at Center for Discovery in 1999, as a part of the initial treatment team hired to establish Center for Discovery’s Eating Disorder Program. Lisa has worked as a lead counselor, group therapist and as a primary therapist at Discovery (working at the Lakewood, Downey and Whittier facilities). Lisa also authored and operated a popular website, providing the public with education regarding eating disorders for nine years. Lisa has been dedicated to helping adolescents and their families find a happier, healthier life at Discovery for over a decade as a loyal and passionate employee. Lisa has also helped trained other staff members, and has spoken at schools and professional meetings. Lisa was a part of a People Magazine article regarding eating disorders, and was also featured on Dateline NBC regarding her work. In addition, Lisa has appeared on the television program Extra, on the Maureen O’Boyle Show, on the John Bradshaw show, and twice on the Leeza Gibbons Show. Lisa was given an award for her dedication to troubled youth in 2002. For the last few years, Lisa has been working at Discovery’s Pacific Place facility with the Co-Occurring program (substance abuse and mental health). Lisa earned her license in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2009 and became a Clinical Supervisor in 2012, and now also supervises therapy interns at Discovery. Lisa is passionate and dedicated to helping troubled youth, and thoroughly enjoys working with the treatment team and the clients at Discovery Mood and Anxiety Program.

Malvin Hawkins

EDUCATIONAL LIAISON

Malvin R. Hawkins proudly served in the U.S. Army for two tours receiving a Presidential Citation and a number of other medals as a combat veteran. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in both Business Administration and Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Youth Ministry which stirred his passion for working with youth. He obtained his Masters in Counseling from Trinity University. He has experience working with both adolescents and adults from diverse cultures in a variety of settings from residential to independent supported living to outpatient care. He has worked in a wide range of roles in the various levels of care from level 6 to 14 since 2000. Currently working in the role of Education Liaison, he brings an honest empathetic structural disciplined approach to the youth he works with, to inspire and assist them in discovering their strengths in education.

Lorraine Widgeon, LVN

REGISTERED NURSE

Lorraine has been the nurse for Pacific Place for over a year. She has an extensive background in geriatric as well as pediatric nursing. She is motivated to work in this field because she has a lot of compassion for troubled youth and has a desire to provide compassion and understanding. She enjoys Pilates, yoga, and spending time with her husband and four kids and also my boxer Nubi. In addition, she also has a passion for all things makeup and skincare.

Venus Miles

PROGRAM THERAPIST

Venus Miles has been with the company for over 2 years. She started in the company as a counselor at the Whittier facility while still working on her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy. At Pacific Place, Venus realized how much she enjoyed working with adolescents who suffer from mental health and substance use issues. Although this is her second career, she finds this field holds more value, which she is passionate about. Her hobbies are crocheting, jigsaw puzzles, reading different books for leisure and articles of various genres.

Brittanie Robledo

PROGRAM THERAPIST

Brittanie holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Antioch University. Brittanie’s experience includes working as a case manager with both adults and adolescents in dual diagnosis residential and outpatient settings. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Addiction Studies from Antioch University. Her treatment modalities include Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Strengths-Based Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. In her personal time, she enjoys spending time in nature, watching her favorite television show The Office, and spending quality time with loved ones.

Matt Keough

FACILITY MANAGER

Matt is the facility manager at Pacific Place in Long Beach, CA. Matt did an internship for drug and alcohol counseling at the Beacon House Association of San Pedro and has been working in the field of addiction for the past five years. He has spent the past three years at Pacific Place working with adolescents in hopes of helping teenagers overcome their struggles earlier than he did. He enjoys the practice of self-care through reading, creative writing, and spending time with his family.

Dr. Michael Louie

PSYCHIATRIST

Dr. Louie received his medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences and went on to complete his psychiatry residency training at Loma Linda University. He is well versed in treating adult, child and adolescent, and geriatric patients. Dr. Louie has an understanding and ability to treat a range of disorders including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, and psychosis.

Elizabeth Capps
DIETITIAN

Elizabeth has dedicated her career as a registered dietitian to working in the mental health field, specifically focused on disordered eating and substance use. She has counseled patients in all levels of care, including residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient and outpatient. Elizabeth is a Health at Every Size®-informed practitioner, utilizes the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating, and focuses on partnering with her patients to help restore their relationship with food; mentally, physically and emotionally. She believes that everyone can recover and live a fully satisfied life.

Evan Sahn
THERAPIST

Evan has a master’s degree in counseling from Palo Alto University. Evan’s clinical experience includes intensive outpatient substance use treatment with teenagers, adult residential care, and court-mandated therapy for domestic violence offenders. He takes an eclectic approach to care which includes cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. Evan takes a skills-based and solution-focused approach to care, as well, with an emphasis on empathy and patient accountability. In his free time, Evan can be found rock climbing, reading, spending time with his loved ones or watching TV.

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