The Basics
Your Empowering Solutions Inc., better known as the “Non 12 Step Alcohol Treatment Center,” is a private practice in Southern California that specializes in alternatives to the 12-step model of recovery for alcohol abuse and addiction treatment. Founders Dr. Mary Ellen Barnes and Dr. Edward Wilson offer an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) using evidence-based practices gleaned from 20 years of professional experience. YES is located in the Palos Verdes Peninsula—an affluent coastal city found 30 minutes south of Los Angeles.
YES rejects 12-step programs as isolating “cults” and views inpatient rehab as an “all filler, no substance approach” to recovery. Further, alcohol abuse is not considered a disease at YES, and substance abuse is viewed as a choice. Instead, YES treatment provides a minimum of 42 hours of individual counseling over 13 weeks using CBT, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) and by introducing a set of tools through a customized recovery plan that focus on an individual’s “strengths, interests and circumstances.” Specialized intensive programs are available for men, women and couples.
Treatment and Staff
YES offers free consultations to individuals in the greater Los Angeles area. Once clients commit to treatment, staff conduct an assessment and a physician’s evaluation. Staff determines a baseline set of conditions for the abuse and formulates specific solutions to these problems. Therapeutic modalities at YES include CBT, MI, medicated-assisted treatment as needed (using Naltrexone at an additional cost), social and recreational activities, diet and exercise plans and—most recently—Assertiveness Training.
Doctors Barnes and Wilson base their approach on their personal research into how men and women abuse alcohol differently. From their findings they conclude that each gender experiences more success when staff work with them on an individual basis rather than in group sessions. The Alternative Alcohol Treatment Program for Men uses MET and focuses on setting specific, results-oriented goals. Staff help clients focus on their individual successes, strengths, preferences and abilities.
The Alternative Alcohol Treatment Program for Women focuses on a solution-based process where clients are empowered to take back control of their lives. Clients meet with the doctors for three-to-four hours each day for five intensive days to focus on achievable goals. Therapeutic approaches for women are based on research from Gabrielle Glaser’s Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink and How they Can Regain Control.
The accelerated 5-Day IOP is tailored for the specific needs of each gender and includes 40 hours of individual therapeutic contact, a physician’s evaluation and 12 weeks of aftercare therapy sessions—in person for locals and using either phone or Skype sessions for individuals who live outside the area.
The Intensive AA Alternative Outpatient Alcohol Treatment Program for Couples is what sets YES apart from other treatment centers. Staff meet with both partners to examine alcohol/drug use dynamics in the relationship and its effects on the couple as a unit. This track is also a 5-day accelerated IOP with a minimum of 40 hours of counseling, and 12 weeks of aftercare.
YES staff includes five doctors: Dr. Norcross (family medicine and FAA Aviation Medical Examiner), Dr. Neal (Board Certified in Internal Medicine), Dr. Barnes (Ph.D. and a California Registered Addiction Specialist), Dr. Wilson (expert in Alternative Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Treatment, a California Master Registered Addictions Specialist and a Nationally Certified Master Addictions Counselor), and Dr. Silveria (a psychologist with over 25 years of experience specializing in EMDR).
Extras
Clients have up to a year from initial work with the practice to continue aftercare treatment. The practice offers this guarantee to clients: “We’re confident you will put your alcohol dependency behind you for good.” Additionally, Dr. Barnes and Dr. Wilson personally answer every call and email inquiry from both perspective and current clients.
In Summary
Prospective clients must provide a deposit $2,500 to reserve their spot for treatment, though there are no waiting lists. The practice does not accept insurance, due in large part to staff’s ideological stance against clients having alcohol abuse on their insurance and medical records.
For clients who seek a distinctly different approach to recovery that objects totally with 12-step philosophy, Your Empowering Solution Inc. is the practice for them. Individuals who prefer the support and fellowship of a group, however, will fare better in a more traditional treatment facility. This is a small practice that emphasizes the importance of clients healing quickly—and completely—from alcohol and drug abuse problems. With so much individual attention, YES is an inexpensive alternative to the cost of high-end rehabs which may not offer as much one-on-one guidance.
Your Empowering Solutions Inc.
4020 Palos Verdes Dr North, Suite 201
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Your Empowering Solutions Inc. Cost: Couples program $17,500.00 (5 days plus 12 weeks aftercare), Individual Program, $12,500 (5 days plus 12 weeks aftercare). Reach Your Empowering Solutions Inc. by phone at (310) 541-6350 and (888) 541-6350 or by email at drbarnes@non12step.com. Find Your Empowering Solutions Inc. on Facebook, YouTube and Google+
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Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
