Mie Kaneda is one of our magnificent CD counselors and licensed CADCs  who also happens to be a California native. Mie is a remarkable ball of energy and service: she has a background in gymnastics as well as personal training. She currently spends her time at our residential facility but can also be found at our outpatient facility working with clients  or training folks at Burn 60. Mie is facilitates groups in addition to meeting with individual clients and also helped start the Teen Love group aimed to support teens struggling with love addiction.  Mie loves to use movement with the …

Lianne Domingo is our stupendous Logistics Coordinator, making sure all of our facilities have their I’s dotted and their T’s crossed, and also well-stocked with everything we need. One of the things I adore about Lianne is her infectious personality and sense of humor. She can make the mundane fun and she brings light and laughter into everything she does, even if it’s simply loading the printer with paper. Throughout the years, Lianne has worn many hats at Visions, and as a result, she understands the deep inner workings of what makes us tick. She is the ultimate problem solver …

Come paintballing with Visions as we raise money for the teens of Haiti vis a vis the Global Adolescent Project (G.A.P)! “Global Adolescent Project, G.A.P, was born out of necessity, to fill a void — a gap — in youth services. Global Adolescent Project was launched in July, 2010, in one of the largest IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in post-earthquake Port au Prince, Haiti.” We are thrilled to host this event of this caliber and are doing it in the wildy fun, whimsical Visions way. Our mission is to help teens everywhere. All teens deserve a chance to live a …

Roxie Fuller is a remarkable Mental Health Recovery Mentor who brings a sense of calm compassion and kindness to everyone she engages with. Roxie has the innate ability to carry a sense of serenity with her wherever she goes, regardless of circumstance. There’s something truly wonderful about Roxie: her quiet calm, the gleam in her eye, and her subtle, yet hilarious, sense of humor. Roxie is really a gem of a human being. We are grateful to have someone of this caliber as part of the Visions team. The staff wholeheartedly agrees with me:   Roxie is the sweetest old …

We are once again faced with the darkness of another tragedy: the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Events like this inevitably bring up our past traumas, leading to feelings of deep sadness, and often confronted by some of our unfettered grief. There is also a huge sense of confusion when we are faced with the unanswerable question of “Why?”   As parents, it is important to be transparent and honest with our kids in times like this. This does not mean sharing gruesome photographs of the event with them or feeding them gory details. Talking to our kids and allowing …

Santa Monica, California: home of the Beach Boys, beautiful sunsets, surf, skateboarding, healthy living and NeXT, our gender-specific Extended Care program for teens. NeXT provides a therapeutic environment for teens that helps guide them and teach them how to become grounded in their independence while living away from home. Teens can come from any treatment facility across the nation and live at our Extended Care. No physical parental presence needed, though emotional support is welcome and required. Included in the treatment plans for those living at Extended Care is a supportive and caring education environment along with the appropriate therapeutic …

Outpatient programs have a unique position for those seeking treatment. They are sometimes looked upon as a softer way to approach treatment when a family is seeking help for their teen. There are some who think they can recover via our outpatient program alone, only to find out they need the more intensive care of our residential facility.  There are those who resist our outpatient program after spending time in residential only to discover that it is through our outpatient program where they learn to apply the tools they learned in our residential program.   Our outpatient program provides a …

When being of service becomes a source of obligation and stress, you’re not really being of service to anyone. If anything, you are causing harm to yourself and denigrating the purpose of service work. The steps are in order for a reason, right? Learning to love ourselves before we can wholeheartedly love others has to become part of the cornerstone of our recovery. We do the steps and “leave no stone unturned,” looking at our actions, the actions of others, our responses to them, how they effect us, how we react, and so on. We uncover and discover as much …

Chloe Huerta is one of our amazing alumni who came back and joined the Visions’ team. In 2010, Chloe brought her engaging personality and compassion to our residential facility as a Program Aide; Chloe has since become the Assistant Manager for NeXT, our Gender-Specific Extended Care program and is working toward her CAADAC.  Chloe always makes me smile whenever I see her. She’s funny, incredibly positive, willing to learn, always filled with gratitude and is a remarkable young woman. She has made it her mission to give back to the community that helped her find her way during her youth. …

Scott Davenport started working as a Program Aide in 2010. His dedication and willingness to learn has led him to become a Residential Counselor, the position he holds now. As such, Scott is working more directly with the clients, and bringing his cool sense of calm energy into everything he does. Scott has this wonderful ability to connect with the clients on a very real level, especially since he was once a client himself. His innate gentleness and kindness make him easy to talk to and extremely relatable. Scott is an extremely consistent and dedicated member of the Visions team—he’ll …