About MDRT Rehab
For 16 years, MDRT Rehab has helped young adults across Oxnard and Ventura County overcome substance use and build futures they can be proud of. With 75 staff members and a full continuum of care, we provide the clinical rigor and personal warmth that early recovery demands.
Our Story
MDRT Rehab began in 2010 as a modest outpatient counseling office on Rose Avenue in Oxnard. Our founder, a licensed addiction counselor who had spent a decade working in hospital emergency departments, saw the same young patients cycle through crisis after crisis with nowhere to go for sustained support. The gap between a hospital discharge and real recovery was enormous, and it was swallowing lives whole.
That first office had three counselors and a waiting list that grew faster than we could manage. Within two years, we expanded into group programming. By year five, we had secured our current campus on South Rose Avenue and opened a residential unit with 20 beds. The demand never let up. Families across Ventura County were searching for a facility that understood young adults, not a one-size-fits-all program that lumped 19-year-olds in with populations twice their age.
Today, MDRT Rehab operates a 35-bed residential facility with medical detox, outpatient services, and dual diagnosis care. Our team has grown to 75 professionals. More than 7,300 patients have completed treatment here, and the outpatient practice that started it all still runs every weekday, a reminder of where we came from and why we keep growing.
Our Mission
Our mission is to make high-quality addiction treatment accessible to every young adult who needs it, regardless of financial background or insurance status. We believe that excellent clinical care should not be a privilege reserved for the few. By accepting Medicaid, Medicare, and a broad range of commercial plans, MDRT Rehab ensures that cost never becomes the barrier between a person and the help they deserve.
We measure success not by occupancy rates but by the lives rebuilt after discharge: the degrees earned, the jobs held, the families reunited. Accessible quality care means delivering outcomes that last, not just beds that fill.
Treatment Philosophy
Peer Accountability. Recovery sticks when it is reinforced by people who genuinely understand your experience. Our peer accountability model pairs clients with age-matched mentors and structured group dynamics that create honest, ongoing support networks extending well beyond the walls of our facility.
Trauma-Informed Approach. Substance use among young adults is frequently rooted in unresolved trauma. Every member of our clinical staff is trained to recognize trauma responses and to create a therapeutic environment where healing can happen without re-traumatization. We treat the whole person, not just the substance.
Nature as Therapy. Oxnard offers an ideal backdrop for experiential healing. From coastal mindfulness exercises to trail hikes and equine-assisted sessions, we integrate the natural environment into daily programming. Research consistently shows that time outdoors reduces anxiety, improves mood regulation, and strengthens the neural pathways that support sustained sobriety.
Our Team
Dr. Ramon Castellanos
Medical Director
Board-certified in addiction medicine and psychiatry, Dr. Castellanos spent nine years at a Level I trauma center before joining MDRT Rehab. He oversees all medical detox protocols and dual diagnosis programming, bringing a calm precision that steadies both staff and patients during the most critical phases of early recovery.
Tamika Saunders, LCSW
Clinical Director
With 14 years of experience in adolescent and young-adult behavioral health, Tamika designs the therapeutic programming that makes MDRT Rehab distinct. She introduced the peer accountability model and expanded trauma-informed training across every department. Her philosophy: meet each client exactly where they are, then walk beside them.
Jordan Whitfield, CADC
Lead Counselor
Jordan is a certified alcohol and drug counselor who entered the field after his own recovery at age 22. He leads group therapy sessions and coordinates the outdoor experiential program. Clients consistently name him as the staff member who made them feel understood for the first time, a distinction he credits to lived experience rather than any textbook.
Dr. Lina Pham, MD
Staff Psychiatrist
Dr. Pham specializes in co-occurring mental health disorders in young adults. After completing her residency at UCLA, she chose community-based practice over private referral work because she wanted to serve the populations that needed it most. At MDRT Rehab she manages medication-assisted treatment and psychiatric evaluations for every incoming client.
What Our Alumni Say
"Working double shifts in the ER, I told myself the Percocet was just for back pain. By the time I admitted the truth, I had been using for three years. MDRT Rehab gave me a space where I did not have to perform competence every second of the day. The therapists understood that healers need healing too. I finished the program, took a leave from work, and came back stronger than I had been in years."
"I did not want to be at MDRT Rehab. I made that clear to anyone who would listen for the first five days. But the counselors did not take it personally. They kept showing up, kept asking questions I could not dodge, and eventually I stopped fighting. The moment I realized I actually wanted to get better was the scariest and best moment of my life. Fourteen months sober and counting."
"As a mother, you never stop worrying. When our daughter entered MDRT Rehab at 19, my husband and I were terrified and exhausted. The family sessions changed everything. They taught us how to support her without smothering her, how to set boundaries without shutting her out. She graduated the program last spring, and for the first time in years, our house feels like a home again."
Your Future Starts With One Call
Our compassionate team is ready to help you take the first step.