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Sanctuary Psychiatric Ctr
updated: Jun 19, 2010, 8:45 AM
Sanctuary Psychiatric Centers of Santa Barbara
Founded in 1976 as a non-profit organization, Sanctuary Psychiatric Centers (SPCSB) initially provided residential treatment for severely mentally disabled and dually diagnosed (mental illness with substance abuse) adults (aged 18-59). At the time, our small group of founders established the mission of SPCSB which is to assist individuals living with mental illness toward reintegration back into the community with the necessary skills to once again become viable contributory individuals.
For over 33 years, with this singular purpose in mind, SPCSB has evolved into a community based array of treatment programs serving individuals from Santa Barbara County as well as referrals from all fifty states and several other countries. As such, our focus is on the prevention of crisis situations and the need for hospitalization, teaching basic living and communication skills, supporting clients in community reintegration, vocational/educational training and support, and assisting clients in reducing their dependency on psychotropic medications. In addition educational and emotional support is provided not only for the clients, but for their families and other persons in the community whose lives are directly affected by the mentally ill.
To this end, our programs range from intensive, structured treatment to independent living with a minimum of therapeutic supervision and support.
Our residential facility, which treats roughly 30 unique clients annually, provides intensive therapeutic support. In addition, each of our outpatient programs, serving roughly 100 adults annually, consists of individual and group therapy coupled with vocational counseling, in home therapeutic supports, and dedicated dual diagnosis groups and therapies. The success of these programs is measured by the long-term remission of our past clients. To date over 75% of our clients have graduated into independent community living. Of those individuals over 80% never required further hospitalization or residential programming.
Research has demonstrated that, in order to achieve positive client outcomes, persons with chronic mental illness needed access to stable social supports as well as stable affordable long-term housing. Therefore, in the mid 1990's SPCSB offered low cost housing at our Arlington and Hollister apartments allowing clients to live independently yet have a familiar support system in place to assist them with any crises that may arise. Since that time, our strategy of early intervention coupled with collaborative and integrated services has restored countless lives and fostered long-term success and independence. Within this caring environment over 85% of our clients are involved in vocational/educational pursuits, 31% of our clients have "graduated" into permanent vocational and/or higher educational opportunities and have therefore moved on to other living arrangements in the larger community or out of state. Hospitalizations are under 10% annually, relapse has averaged fewer than 15% annually, and the loss of housing is no longer an inevitable consequence of setbacks suffered by persons with mental illness and addictions.
In all, we at SPCSB have held true to our initial mission statement and are proud to have contributed to the long term security that each client/tenant has achieved.
For more information see our website: www.spcsb.org or call 569-2785:
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