AGOURA HILLS, California – We’re pretty much all feeling a heightened sense of fear, anxiety, and isolation in this pandemic — these unprecedented times.

Most of us are feeling a wave of financial instability. And many of us are coping with physical manifestations of the coronavirus that’s sweeping across the globe.

While most of us will not actually contract the Covid-19 virus, we will feel ourselves fighting the stress. For those among us with underlying emotional or mental illness, this can be as brutal as any contagion.

At the outpatient Awakenings Treatment Center, most clients are dealing with trauma, addiction, eating disorders, and chronic pain.

But Awakenings Treatment Center also is recognized for its treatment of interrelated conditions and for its ability to pivot in the direction of the need at hand. Today, that need is clear.

“We are here to help those trying to cope in this pandemic, in these uncertain times,” said Dr. Shari Corbitt, founder, and CEO of Awakenings Treatment Center. “There’s no current barrier to admitting people to treatment here. In fact, it’s safer than ever because of the heightened level of awareness.”

In addition to the hand-sanitizing stations in every room of the sprawling Awakenings Treatment Center complex, “we are a Joint Commission-accredited facility, so the bar that we have to meet for infection control and prevention is already extraordinarily high,” Corbitt said. “Also, of course, we’re very used to respecting people’s space, so there’s social distancing built into our operation.”

For those in distress, Corbitt sees treatment as a key to not just surviving this crisis but emerging from it happy and healthy.

“In times of stress, the connection is everything – connecting with ourselves and connecting with our loved ones,” Corbitt said. “But we have a very special challenge right now, and it’s not the novelty of the virus; it’s the challenge so many of us have of going from connecting on many levels at a frenzied pace to now just having it all come to a screeching halt.

At Awakenings Treatment Center, we’re not just happy to help people stay connected; we need to do that. It’s literally what we’re here to do.”

A “Dr. Phil”-preferred facility, Awakenings Treatment Center is among the premier addiction treatment centers in Southern California. It uses a holistic approach including alternative therapies such as breathwork, meditation, and mindfulness as well as the latest in neurofeedback, Alpha-Stim, and movement therapy.

Under Corbitt’s leadership and through her vision, Awakenings Treatment Center has grown in a decade into a sprawling, 13,000-square-foot state-of-the-art intensive outpatient care facility spanning most of the second story of a large office building in Agoura Hills.

• Awakenings Treatment Center is located at 28632 Roadside Drive, Suite 210, in Agoura Hills. For information on admissions, call 855-717-3268 or visit awakeningstreatment.com/admissions.

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