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Lifeskills Behavioral Health
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
Lifeskills is a private-pay facility that can work with out-of-network benefits. The cost of treatment depends on the length of stay and the level of care. As insurance plans vary, most clients will use a combination of private pay and insurance benefits to cover their costs. Prior to treatment, we help each client determine the out-of-pocket costs needed to cover the anticipated length of stay and help them determine their out-of-network benefits. We are proud to support our nation’s veterans as a community care network provider (NPI: 1891122396).
Lifeskills Behavioral Health
Lifeskills Behavioral Health
About Lifeskills Behavioral Health
Lifeskills South Florida treats addiction, primary mental health conditions, process addictions, and dual diagnoses through detox, residential, and outpatient care. With dual licensure in Deerfield Beach, they organize treatment around 6 clinical pathways that can address substance use, trauma, mood disorders, personality disorders, psychosis, thought disorders, and physical health, while keeping care connected to each client’s clinical needs.
Match Care to Clinical Needs
Treatment begins with psychiatric and medical evaluations, family history, substance use history, and diagnostic review. Clinicians use this information to match clients with primary and secondary pathways, then adjust care as needs and progress change. Therapy may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), family therapy, and experiential groups.
Balance Treatment with Rest and Routine
Residential clients stay in furnished townhomes with 24/7 professional staffing, shared bedrooms, community living areas, shared meals, and a swimming pool. The daily experience can include yoga, meditation groups, culinary classes, art and music therapy, gym outings, and transportation to community events or off-site treatment, giving clients structure, connection, and practical routines without keeping care limited to clinical rooms throughout treatment.
Practice Skills with Continued Care
Lifeskills South Florida offers step-down options that can help clients continue care after residential treatment. Depending on clinical needs, clients may transition into day treatment, intensive outpatient programs (IOP), outpatient services, or nearby transitional housing. This broader continuum can help clients practice new skills with ongoing support as they return to work, family, school, community life, everyday responsibilities, and independent routines.
Highlights from the Center
Highlights
These highlights are provided by and paid for by the center.
Licensed for Both Addiction & Mental Health
CARF Accredited
Certified Professionals
30+ Years in Business
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
Cash Pay Rates
Estimated Cash Pay Rate
Center pricing can vary based on program and length of stay. Contact the center for more information. Recovery.com strives for price transparency so you can make an informed decision.
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
Andrew Spaedy
Psychiatrist
MD
Tara Alhadeff
Associate Clinical Director
LMHC, CAI, DBT-Intensively Trained, EXRP
Mirella Ezeta
Director of Family Services/Residential + PHP Programming
PsyD, DBT-Intensively Trained, REBT-Trained
Anisha Hume
Associate Director of Family Services
PsyD
James Tartal
Director of Residential Operations
Corin Hubers
Assistant Director of Nursing
RN
Sandra Bernstein
Primary Therapist
LCSW, REBT-Trained, DBT-Intensively Trained, EXRP
Despina Karfis
Primary Therapist
PsyD, CTP, DBT-Intensively Trained, EMDR-Trained, EXRP
Robert Bruno
Primary Therapist
PsyD
Gregory Fortune
Primary Therapist
PhD, LMHC, LPC, DBT-Intensively Trained
Paul T. Lazar
Primary Therapist
PhD, MEd
Alexandria Marullo
Primary Therapist
PsyD, DBT-Intensively Trained
Chelsie Byars
Primary Therapist
MS, LMHC, CBT-Trained
Tamas Biro
Primary Therapist
LSW
Esther Entin
Family Therapist
LCSW, DBT-Intensively Trained
Gina Bonfigli
Family Therapist
MS
Rabbi Brandon Gaines
Group Leader
DBT-Intensively Trained
Heather Wright
Personal Trainer
ISSA
Alice Saltzman
Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor
MSW
Buffy Rouse
Yoga Instructor
Your Care Options
Specializations
Personality Disorders
Personality disorders destabilize the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. If untreated, they can undermine relationships and lead to severe distress.
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.
Co-Occurring Disorders
A person with multiple mental health diagnoses, such as addiction and depression, has co-occurring disorders also called dual diagnosis.
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.
Holistic
A non-medicinal, wellness-focused approach that aims to align the mind, body, and spirit for deep and lasting healing.
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.
Who We Treat
LGBTQ+
Addiction and mental illnesses in the LGBTQ+ community must be treated with an affirming, safe, and relevant approach, which many centers provide.
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.
Outpatient
During outpatient rehab, patients attend a structured treatment program while continuing to live at home.
Outpatient Therapy
Outpatient therapy offers scheduled counseling and treatment sessions without requiring an overnight stay or residential care.
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
Activities
Off-Site Activities
Off-Site Amenities
Learn More About the Center
Treatment Outcomes
See the reported treatment outcomes at Lifeskills South Florida–identified through a variety of evaluation tools.
Admissions And FAQs
Learn more about the admissions process, what to bring to treatment, and see answers to Lifeskills South Florida’s most common questions.
Alumni Program
Discover more about Lifeskills South Florida’s robust alumni program, and how alumnus stay in contact throughout their recovery.
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.