By Dr. Narine Arutyounian, M.D., Medical Director
Clinical contribution by Ritsa Fistes, LMFT, Clinical Director
Healthy Living Residential Program, Santa Clarita, CA
Of all the questions people ask before entering treatment, one comes up more than almost any other, and it is usually asked by the person who is most nervous: “So… what do you actually do all day in rehab?”
It is a fair question, and the industry has done a poor job of answering it. Most treatment centers describe their programs in vague phrases, “individualized care,” “holistic healing,” “evidence-based therapies,” without ever telling you what Tuesday at 1:00 PM actually looks like. That vagueness feeds the fear of the unknown, and for many people, the fear of the unknown is the last thing standing between them and making the call.
We take the opposite approach. Our complete weekly schedule, every hour, every group, and the credentialed staff member who runs it, is published openly on our website for anyone to see. In this article, I will walk you through that day hour by hour, explain the clinical reasoning behind how it is built, and show you why the structure itself, not just the therapy inside it, is one of the most powerful treatments we offer.
Why Structure Is Treatment, Not Just Scheduling
Before the walkthrough, it is worth understanding why the schedule matters so much, because the research here is striking.
When someone stops using, they do not just lose a substance. They lose the way they spent their time. Researchers studying adults in early recovery found that people suddenly face as much as 16 to 18 hours of newly unoccupied time every day, hours once consumed by obtaining, using, and recovering from substances, and that the most difficult moments of the day consistently trace back to patterns of unused time. The same study concluded that people in early recovery need consistency and structure to build the new routines recovery depends on [1]. In other words, empty hours are not neutral in early recovery. They are where cravings live.
This aligns with what addiction science has long established: the people, places, moods, and idle moments associated with past use are among the most common relapse triggers [2]. A well-built daily schedule systematically replaces those openings with connection, therapy, movement, and rest. The environment and its routines function as an active part of treatment, what clinicians call the therapeutic milieu, providing the stable, predictable container in which deeper healing happens [3].
That is the philosophy behind every hour below.
Morning: Waking the Body, Grounding the Mind
7:00 AM – Breakfast. Every day begins with a home-cooked breakfast from our in-house chef, the first of three nutritious meals daily. Many clients arrive physically depleted, and restoring the body through real food is part of the clinical plan, not a perk.
8:00 AM – Daily Reflections. Led by our recreational therapy staff, this grounding practice sets an intentional tone before the clinical day begins. It is simple, consistent, and, by the second week, most clients tell us it has become the anchor of their morning.
9:00 AM – Medication with our LVN. Our Licensed Vocational Nurse administers all medications, including Medication-Assisted Treatment where prescribed, at the same time every morning, with our physician-led medical team overseeing care around the clock.
10:00 to 11:30 AM – The core clinical block. This is the deepest work of the morning, and it rotates through the week so no two mornings are identical: Community Meeting with the clinical team on Mondays, Relapse Prevention with our SUD counselors midweek, Principles of Recovery with our LAADC, Health in Recovery education with our LVN, and Psychodrama with our counselor on Sundays. The rotation is deliberate, recovery has many angles, and the weekly rhythm addresses them one by one.
Midday: Refuel, Recharge, Reconnect
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM – Lunch and recharge. A real break. Clients eat together, decompress, and connect. In a 12-bed home-like setting, these unscripted peer moments become some of the most therapeutic parts of the day.
1:00 to 2:30 PM – Afternoon groups. The week rotates through Psychoeducation, Faith in Recovery, Recovery Toolbox, Rock 2 Recovery, and Reiki, and on Saturdays, a Community Outing where clients practice real-world social skills in a supported setting. These sessions blend evidence-based skills work with experiential therapy that engages more than talk.
3:00 to 4:30 PM – Second afternoon block. Mindfulness, Family Systems with our LAADC, Psychoeducation with our LMFT, and The Art in Healing round out the afternoon, therapies that build self-awareness, address the family dynamics addiction disrupts, and give clients creative and contemplative tools they keep for life. Alongside these groups, every client’s plan includes individual therapy sessions with their assigned therapist, where the personal work goes deepest.
Evening: Community, Connection, and Rest
5:00 to 6:00 PM – Dinner. The third chef-prepared meal of the day, shared as a community.
7:00 to 8:30 PM – Outside AA/NA meetings. Evenings shift to peer-led recovery, connecting clients with the recovery community that will support them long after discharge. Wednesdays feature an H&I panel, and Sunday evenings are reserved for visitation hours with loved ones, because family connection is part of the plan, not an interruption to it.
9:00 PM – Evening medication. A second daily medication window with our LVN keeps care consistent.
10:00 to 10:30 PM – Wrap-Up. The day closes the way it opened: together and intentionally. Clients reflect on the day, share wins, and hand in electronics for the night.
11:00 PM – Lights out. Sleep is treated as seriously as any therapy on this schedule, because substances profoundly disrupt sleep, and rebuilding healthy rest is a core part of physical recovery [4]. Consistent wake times, wind-down routines, and a hard lights-out protect it.
A Sample Day at a Glance
| Time | Monday (sample) |
|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast (chef-prepared) |
| 8:00 AM | Daily Reflections |
| 9:00 AM | Medication with LVN |
| 10:00–11:30 AM | Community Meeting with Clinical Team |
| 11:30 AM–1:00 PM | Lunch / Recharge |
| 1:00–2:30 PM | Psychoeducation with LAADC |
| 3:00–4:30 PM | Mindfulness with Therapist |
| 5:00–6:00 PM | Dinner |
| 7:00–8:30 PM | Outside AA/NA Meeting |
| 9:00 PM | Evening Medication |
| 10:00–10:30 PM | Wrap-Up |
| 11:00 PM | Lights Out |
Want the full week, all seven days, every group, and the credentialed staff member who leads each one? See our complete weekly schedule here. We publish it because we believe you deserve to know exactly what you are saying yes to.
Where Your Life Fits Into the Schedule
A structured day does not mean a locked-down life. After the first five days of treatment, clients regain access to personal technology during designated free time, a policy built for our working and employed clients and anyone who cannot simply vanish for a month. We are also a facility that welcomes couples and pets, so for many of our clients, the people (and animals) who matter most are part of the daily rhythm rather than absent from it.
And the structure has a purpose beyond the 30 days: it is a rehearsal for the life that follows. The routines built here, consistent sleep, regular meals, daily reflection, recovery meetings, become the template clients carry home through aftercare planning. The research is encouraging on exactly this point: with comprehensive, continuing care, recovery is an achievable outcome [5], and a practiced daily structure is one of the most portable tools we can send home with you.
Why Choose Healthy Living Residential Program
Healthy Living Residential Program is a 12-bed co-ed residential detox and treatment facility in Santa Clarita, California, serving Los Angeles County, the San Fernando Valley, and all of Southern California. We are DHCS licensed and JCAHO accredited, owned and operated by board-certified physicians and staffed by licensed therapists, LMFTs, LAADCs, certified counselors, LVNs, and credentialed recreational therapists.
We publish our full weekly schedule because transparency builds trust, and because we are proud of what a day here looks like. From medically supervised detox through our 30-day residential program, every hour is intentional, every group has a purpose, and every client is known by name. We accept most PPO insurance plans, and our admissions team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The unknown is always scarier than the schedule. Now you have seen the schedule.
Call us today at (661) 536-5562, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your first structured day of recovery is closer than you think.
See our full Day-to-Day schedule →
Learn about our Admissions Process →
Related reading: What Happens During the First 72 Hours of Fentanyl Detox?
Sources
[1] Kitzinger RH Jr, Gardner JA, Moran M, et al. (2023). Habits and Routines of Adults in Early Recovery From Substance Use Disorder: Clinical and Research Implications From a Mixed Methodology Exploratory Study. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9926005/
[2] National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction – Treatment and Recovery. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/treatment-recovery
[3] Mahsoon A, et al. (2022). Use of Therapeutic Milieu Interventions in a Psychiatric Setting: A Systematic Review. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9514247/
[4] National Sleep Foundation. Alcohol and Sleep. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition/alcohol-and-sleep
[5] Office of the Surgeon General / SAMHSA (2016). Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424859/
About the Author
Dr. Narine Arutyounian, M.D. is the Medical Director at Healthy Living Residential Program in Santa Clarita, California. She oversees the medical care of all clients in detox and residential treatment, including the daily medication administration windows and 24/7 physician-led medical supervision built into the facility’s schedule.
Clinical contribution by Ritsa Fistes, LMFT, Clinical Director at Healthy Living Residential Program, who designs and oversees the weekly clinical programming, the rotating schedule of evidence-based and experiential groups that structures each client’s day.
