“The great things about new friends is that they bring new energy.” – Shanna Rodriguez

We believe that friendship is a cornerstone to a happy and fulfilling life. We also believe that in order to make good friends, one has to learn how to be a good friend. On a weekly basis we leave Malibu to explore other meetings and meet new people. The staff at The Oasis are always available to encourage and support clients as they build new friendships and start figuring out how to choose good friends(another vital skill!).

At The Oasis Malibu we encourage you to challenge your thoughts, your story, and your beliefs about yourself and your perceptions of the world and everything in it. You CAN change your emotional reaction to cognitive response if you try and we can give you the time and tools to do so. Once you start to pick apart the illogical basis for many of your emotions you can free yourself from some of the dominant maladaptive feelings such as rage, jealousy, rejection, and dejection, and instead boost your adaptive emotions of happiness, contentment, and joy.

We believe the journey of positive emotional evolution is paramount to a happy, fulfilling life. We work with the top therapists, psychiatrists, trauma specialists, addictionologists. Many of you will already be on your journey, having started it in a rehab, or a trauma center and now continuing it with Out Patient. Others, will have the opportunity for us to create their own personal treatment team. 

What’s most important is that you are continuing to grow, to evolve, to transform into your best self. More will be revealed.

“Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.”  – Randy Pausch

We can’t stress enough our belief in the importance of having fun! Biologically, your body releases anti-stress hormones which enables you to relax, especially if you are taking part in activities that require physical energy. However fun can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, what is fun for you? Many of us due to depression or addiction have lost sense of these things or how to have fun. This might be one of the most important things on our list. For if the life you want to live isn’t fun then what’s the point in putting in all the hard work?

Here at the Oasis Malibu we believe in the old motto “work hard, play hard“. At The Oasis we offer a whole host of activities to help you find what works for you. Whether it’s music, painting, photography, scuba diving, sky diving, stamp collecting or dancing! We have the resources available to help find the right fit for you. Yes, we take fun…very seriously. See our FUN page for some ideas.

“Like branches on a tree we may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.”

We believe our clients need to build or strengthen their relationships with their families and encourage them to continue their journey towards a healthy family dynamic through ongoing therapy. We also work closely with some of the top MFT certified clinicians in case a plan isn’t in place.

We also want clients to feel free to invite their families to the house on weekends where they can take a swim, sit poolside or stay for our Sunday BBQ. Children are also welcome to visit and participate in the fun! We know changing the family system is one of the hardest areas to grow and transform, after all, those buttons they push?..they sowed them in a long time ago. But at Oasis we are here to support you on that journey.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

At The Oasis Malibu, we believe it is important to build faith. In addition to the journey of discovering a higher power, religious or spiritual practice we emphasize the importance of building faith in yourself. Having faith means trusting the process, being willing and allowing your highest self to emerge. We are here to guide and support you as you explore and develop your own personal practice. You may find this to be the most important journey of them all.

At Oasis, we believe that learning to meditate and incorporating it into your life is paramount to a fulfilling life. Scientifically the evidence is in. Meditation brings blood to the frontal lobes of the brain. The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior. Yes, that’s right, we really need this part of the brain working well! But that’s just the science.

Most people find themselves calmer and happier after developing the habit of meditating regularly. We need new self regulating and self soothing tools, meditation is one of the vital keys. To many meditation is intimidating and hard to start. At Oasis, we have literally hundreds of ways you can meditate, we explore with you as you try different techniques until you find one you like. Of course, we know it takes time, for the rewards.

“Do not save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving.” – Warren Buffet

One of the major pitfalls for any recovering addict and most people in general is finance. Whether you are trying to get back up on your own two feet or trying to learn how to create a realistic and sustainable budget, we provide the tools for all levels of support. We support you in the process of becoming accountable by offering access to DA meetings (debtors anonymous), Money Mastering workshops, as well as basic budget planning.  We have lists of comprehensible reading materials and apps to guide you.  We will walk with you every step of the way and help you prepare for your new life.

Finding a job in early sobriety can be challenging but is essential as means for accountability, self reliance and self esteem. For those who don’t already have a career, a job is a great start while you build and plan the career you want or search for the career that interests you.

It’s important to differentiate between a career and a job. A career is your calling, a passion or purpose that you continue to grow in whilst simultaneously prospering from it. A job is a way to make money to support you in your current situation.

At The Oasis Malibu we do require that you find a job if you don’t already have a career and not in intensive IOP. We will help you with your resume and prepare you for interviews. A job is a stepping stone and can be related to your life purpose if applied correctly. This all may seem daunting, but don’t worry. We are here to help.

It is through esteemable acts we build self esteem. At The Oasis Malibu we work closely with many charities and encourage our clients to find one that resonates with them. Whether it’s working with animal shelters, ocean clean up or helping the homeless. If you don’t have a job, career or IOP then we expect you to get plugged in with a philanthropic team and help make the world just a little bit better.

“The mind and body are not separate. What affects one, affects the other.”

When people engage in physical exercise, that activity causes their brain to release a number of neurotransmitters — chemicals that communicate information from the brain, to the central nervous system and the rest of the body. For example, one such neurotransmitter released during exercise is serotonin, which when released, regulates mood. Yes we are talking about natural , free drugs here, hello!

At The Oasis Malibu we highly encourage you to find an exercise regime that works for you. If you already have an exercise regime we will help you to structure that into your day to day activities. We work with a number of certified personal trainers and nutritionists. If you don’t have a specific preference for exercise we will help you explore them from our wide range of resources, such as Rock Climbing, Kung Fu, Pilates, Bar work, Hip Hop Dance, Tai Chi and more. See our OASIS RESOURCE LIST.

“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

As addicts (of all kinds) and alcoholics we have been held captive by our disease. Once we get clean we may think that we are no longer slaves. The problem with this is that we can still be held hostage by our minds.

Depression and anxiety can also become a pattern, a cycle that seems impossible to get out of and one, despite the horror of it, we can easily fall back into. The repatterning of the brain and nervous system takes time. Have you ever arrived at your home and realized you drove there without thinking about it? That’s the habit part of your brain, many people will be on the phone whilst driving and arrive home even if they were not planning on going home. It takes mindfulness and many months to re habituate, to re teach and re pattern the brain.

Sadly, 64,000 people died last year by overdoses alone! A mistake or relapse can lead to permanent tragedy. Sixty percent of the 2.3 million people that went to treatment in 2017 relapsed within 60 days after leaving treatment. The treatment facility is only the second step in recovery after detox. The third and final step before re-emerging into life and perhaps the most crucial, is supportive living. Some call is sober living or transitional living, we at Oasis call it Transformational living.

In order to free ourselves from mental slavery (yeah that’s right, we just quoted Bob Marley) we need to establish positive reinforcements, practices, rituals, create new habits. Develop a rounded and balanced life. We work closely with eastern meditation practitioners and cutting edge western scientific based therapies from Transcendental Meditation to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Here at The Oasis Malibu it is our mission to help you transform your life and give you the freedom to experience a fulfilling life…but we do require willingness to evolve and we do not accept clients without a full assessment and a commitment from them to work our fundamentals program.

The TRUTH is that changing your life requires work, commitment, time and humility, it’s hard enough when we are willing.

OASIS is only for the willing.

If you are willing,

Let’s do this…