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Lifeskills Fort Lauderdale
Verified Center
This provider's information has been quality-checked by Recovery.com's Research Team for accuracy and completeness, including center verification through appropriate third-party organizations.
Treatment Focus
This center treats substance use disorders and mental health conditions. You'll receive individualized care catered to your unique situation and diagnosis, learn practical skills for recovery, and make new connections in a restorative environment.
Primary Level of Care
Offering intensive care with 24/7 monitoring, residential treatment is typically 30 days and can cover multiple levels of care. Length can range from 14 to 90 days typically.
Treatment Focus
This center treats substance use disorders and mental health conditions. You'll receive individualized care catered to your unique situation and diagnosis, learn practical skills for recovery, and make new connections in a restorative environment.
Primary Level of Care
Offering intensive care with 24/7 monitoring, residential treatment is typically 30 days and can cover multiple levels of care. Length can range from 14 to 90 days typically.
Provider's Policy
We are primarily private pay, but we work with out-of-network benefits.
Lifeskills Fort Lauderdale
Lifeskills Fort Lauderdale
About Lifeskills Fort Lauderdale
Lifeskills South Florida provides medical detox and residential treatment in Fort Lauderdale for adults with complex, high-acuity mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders. The campus offers 24/7 nursing and clinical support, semi-private accommodations, and care designed for stabilization, evaluation, and detoxification, including support for conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, anxiety, trauma, and behavioral addictions.
Match Care to Clinical Needs
Treatment begins with medical and psychiatric evaluation, detox planning when needed, medication review, and a closer look at each client’s symptoms, history, and safety needs. Clinicians use this information to shape care around stabilization first, then adjust therapy, psychiatric support, and daily structure as clients become more ready to process emotions, build coping skills, and plan next steps.
Balance Safety, Comfort, and Routine
Clients receive care in a structured campus setting with semi-private rooms, private outdoor spaces, an on-site pool, and chef-prepared meals tailored to nutritional needs. The environment supports safety and routine during detox and residential treatment, while recreational therapy, yoga, personal training, and daily structure help clients practice healthier rhythms outside formal clinical sessions.
Continue Care After Stabilization
Fort Lauderdale is part of Lifeskills’ broader Florida continuum, giving clients step-down options after detox or residential treatment. Depending on clinical needs, clients may transition into partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient programs (IOP), transitional living, alumni support, or outpatient coordination that helps them continue progress with more independence.
Center Overview
Treatment Focus
This center treats substance use disorders and mental health conditions. You'll receive individualized care catered to your unique situation and diagnosis, learn practical skills for recovery, and make new connections in a restorative environment.
CARF Accredited
CARF stands for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. It's an independent, non-profit organization that provides accreditation services for a variety of healthcare services. To be accredited means that the program meets their standards for quality, effectiveness, and person-centered care.
Insurance Accepted
Recovery.com Verified Listing
Recovery.com verified that the name, location, contact information and license to operate for this treatment provider are valid and up-to-date.
CARF Accredited
Licensed by Florida DCF
Recovery.com is an independent, third-party mental health resource. Verification does not imply endorsement and does not guarantee the quality of treatment services.
Meet Your Care Team
David Ockman
Executive Director of Clinical Services
PsyD, CAP
Sheryl Gross
Executive Director
LMHC, EMDR-Trained, QS
Andrew Spaedy
Psychiatrist
MD
James Tartal
Director of Residential Operations
Octania Therazin
Nurse Manager
MHA, BSN-RN
Spencer Pollack
Associate Clinical Director
MSW, EMDR-Trained
Arneisia McCutcheon
Milieu Manager
AABA, BHCM, MHCM
James Frazier
Primary Therapist
MS, DBT-Intensively Trained
Monserrat Dominguez
Primary Therapist
MS
Joseph (Yosef) Polinsky
Primary Therapist
MSW
Mirella Ezeta
Director of Family Services/Residential + PHP Programming
PsyD, DBT-Intensively Trained, REBT-Trained
Anisha Hume
Associate Director of Family Services
PsyD
Joelle Alexis
Family Therapist
MSW, ED.D
Jenny Pi
Family Therapist
PsyD, CAP, DBT-Intensively Trained
Heather Wright
Personal Trainer
ISSA
Buffy Rouse
Yoga Instructor
Your Care Options
Specializations
Alcohol
Using alcohol as a coping mechanism, or drinking excessively throughout the week, signals an alcohol use disorder.
Detox
Detox fully and safely removes toxic substances from the body, allowing the next steps in treatment to begin with a clean slate.
Co-Occurring Disorders
A person with multiple mental health diagnoses, such as addiction and depression, has co-occurring disorders also called dual diagnosis.
Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is the excessive and repetitive use of substances, despite harmful consequences to a person's life, health, and relationships.
Who We Treat
Men and Women
Men and women attend treatment for addiction in a co-ed setting, going to therapy groups together to share experiences, struggles, and successes.
Treatment Services
Detox
Detox fully and safely removes toxic substances from the body, allowing the next steps in treatment to begin with a clean slate.
Licensed Primary Mental Health
Some primary care providers offer mental health diagnosis and treatment. This can prevent patients from developing more serious conditions.
Residential
In a residential rehab program, patients live onsite, with access to daily treatment and 24-hour care. An average stay is 30-90 days.
Approaches
Evidence-Based
A combination of scientifically rooted therapies and treatments make up evidence-based care, defined by their measured and proven results.
Individual Treatment
Individual care meets the needs of each patient, using personalized treatment to provide them the most relevant care and greatest chance of success.
Medical
Medical addiction treatment uses approved medications to manage withdrawals and cravings, and to treat contributing mental health conditions.
Therapies
1-on-1 Counseling
Patient and therapist meet 1-on-1 to work through difficult emotions and behavioral challenges in a personal, private setting.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people identify and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to emotional distress.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches skills for managing emotions, improving relationships, tolerating distress, and increasing mindfulness.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy helps individuals gradually face feared situations or triggers to reduce anxiety and build confidence over time.
Eye Movement Therapy (EMDR)
Lateral, guided eye movements help reduce the emotional reactions of retelling and reprocessing trauma, allowing intense feelings to dissipate.
Family Therapy
Family therapy addresses group dynamics within a family system, with a focus on improving communication and interrupting unhealthy relationship patterns.
Group Therapy
Group therapy brings people together in a supportive setting to share experiences, develop skills, and work toward common goals.
Motivational Interviewing and Enhancement Therapy (MET)
MET combines motivational interviewing techniques with structured feedback to encourage behavior change and treatment engagement.
Psychoeducation
This method combines treatment with education, teaching patients about different paths toward recovery. This empowers them to make more effective decisions.
Languages
Conditions We Treat
Anxiety
Anxiety is a common mental health condition that can include excessive worry, panic attacks, physical tension, and increased blood pressure.
Bipolar
This mental health condition is characterized by extreme mood swings between depression, mania, and remission.
Depression
Symptoms of depression may include fatigue, a sense of numbness, and loss of interest in activities. This condition can range from mild to severe.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD is characterized by intrusive and distressing thoughts that drive repetitive behaviors. This pattern disrupts daily life and relationships.
Personality Disorders
Personality disorders destabilize the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. If untreated, they can undermine relationships and lead to severe distress.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is a long-term mental health issue caused by a disturbing event or events. Symptoms include anxiety, dissociation, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts.
Psychosis
Psychosis is a condition that affects a person’s perception of reality, often involving hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized thinking.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health condition that can affect thinking, emotions, behavior, and perception of reality.
Self-Harm
The act of intentionally harming oneself, also called self-injury, is associated with mental health issues like depression.
Substances We Treat
Alcohol
Using alcohol as a coping mechanism, or drinking excessively throughout the week, signals an alcohol use disorder.
Co-Occurring Disorders
A person with multiple mental health diagnoses, such as addiction and depression, has co-occurring disorders also called dual diagnosis.
Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is the excessive and repetitive use of substances, despite harmful consequences to a person's life, health, and relationships.
Aftercare
Care Designed for Your Needs
Personal Amenities
Amenities
Special Considerations
Activities
Yoga
Yoga is both a physical and spiritual practice. It includes a flow of movement, breathing techniques, and meditation.
Learn More About the Center
Medical Detox Services
Learn how Lifeskills provides 24/7 medical supervision during detox and stabilization.
The Link Between Alcohol and Anxiety Disorders
Understand how co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorders feed into one another, and how Lifeskills can help.
Alumni Program
Discover more about Lifeskills South Florida’s robust alumni program, and how alumnus stay in contact throughout their recovery.
Treatment Outcomes
See the reported treatment outcomes at Lifeskills South Florida–identified through a variety of evaluation tools.