Villages of Vision – Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

Visions is an incredible program that goes above and beyond for the adolescents and families they serve. The staff is highly compassionate and genuinely invested in each resident’s well-being.

Our daughter entered Visions at 16, and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. From the very beginning, the care, structure, and support she received were outstanding. The staff are not only highly trained professionals, but genuinely compassionate people who truly understood the challenges teens and their families face. The programming was incredibly well rounded, from different therapy modalities to engaging activities that kept her motivated and involved. Family therapy was a cornerstone of the experience for us; it helped rebuild trust and communication in ways we never expected. We were reassured by how much attention was given to creating a safe, comfortable environment where our daughter could focus on healing. The on-site school was excellent and kept her on track academically, which made her transition back home much smoother. Today, our daughter is 3.5 years sober, thriving in her life, and continues to build on the foundation that was laid during her time in treatment. We are forever grateful for the role Visions played in her recovery and in our family’s healing.

I randomly thought of googling Visions today and was excited to see the support for the many one star reviews. I would like to give my own, honest review as a former illegal detainee at Visions Malibu. I was sent there because of declining grades during second semester of my senior year in high school, which my parents attributed to weed. Amanda and Chris, if you read this, know that I understand why you do what you do, but that you two directly caused irrevocable harm to my and my parents’ lives. The same can be said by many from my cohort I still keep in touch with. I have succeeded *despite* crossing paths with your business, not because of it. As for the “miracles” I see on the walls in Visions HQ and in these reviews: I did not see these while I was there except maybe in the desperate behavioral changes detainees acted on in hopes to be sent home earlier. Let’s talk about the hidden dehumanization they perform on you at Visions that they don’t discuss on their websites. Don’t be fooled by the scenery, it’s essentially a white collar prison. It has strip searches, room tear-downs, abusive young staff on power trips, strict schedules with punishment for noncompliance, gaslighting from owners and “professional staff” even when I reported inappropriate or illegal behaviors to them, and the list goes on. You cannot leave any room without an escort, though doors are (rarely) locked due to fire hazards. Two girls tried to run and they brought in rescue helicopters, charged the parents for the fee despite not finding them, and the girls almost died from exposure before they were taken to a hospital by a local. They take away your shoes if they’re worried you’ll run. They can take away whatever they want to break you into compliance with their program. Most damaging of all, Visions focuses on retraining adolescents to be LESS independent and more dependent on their parents and a prison-like structure (which we all know works well in our prison systems). These facilities make a lot of money for the owners, so “recommending” parents that their child needs it isn’t anything but a scam. Recently, Paris Hilton and others have been championing awareness in congressional hearings about the unconstitutional and abusive behaviors that go on at these centers. I root for them. I would never send my child to wilderness, county health, or Visions unless a jury required it. It is not a bandaid for parental negligence. You may laugh and say how good I had it at a ritzy mansion in Malibu with personal chefs. (At least it seems grand from my more modest upbringing.) Let’s be clear: I was kidnapped in the middle of the night and held involuntarily for months. I was a month away from graduating with a college admission to the University of California. This acceptance was rescinded due to the inability for the Visions school program to fulfill a final grade in my senior classes. To this day, I have never seen some of my classmates from back home ever again, and I did not get to graduate and celebrate with my friends and lifelong colleagues. Every day I prayed I’d get to leave. I still daydream about all the chances I could have ran and gotten help from a bystander. My parents fought for over a year with insurance to cover a portion of Visions, as the insurance deemed it non-medical and unnecessary. It hurt our family financially and my parents have openly apologized for their decision to send me here. We have grown closer despite Visions, not because of it. Oh and that addiction I had? I never had one. Visions doesn’t care!