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Bakersfield, Kern CountyVirtual intensive outpatient program for Bakersfield
An intensive outpatient program delivered by video to people in Bakersfield. No drive to Los Angeles, no residential stay, and a cohort that fits around a rotating shift. You need to be physically in California during each session.
No building in Bakersfield.
Shift has no clinic in Bakersfield. Every session runs by video. If the options you have been shown involve either a bed somewhere else or a drive over the pass, this is the third option: the same level of care, delivered where you already are.
Our clinicians are licensed in California, and California telehealth rules follow the patient. You need to be physically in California during every session. Shift is certified by the California Department of Health Care Services, certification 191663AP, for outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and ambulatory withdrawal management.
What you would actually be attending.
Weekday cohorts in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. Group work, individual sessions and family sessions when they are clinically indicated. A treatment plan a licensed clinician signs, and a clinical review of whether this is still the right level of care.
What is in it
- Intensive outpatient treatment at ASAM level 2.1, by video.
- Individual therapy with the same clinician week to week.
- Family sessions when the clinical plan calls for them.
- Ambulatory withdrawal management for low-risk withdrawal.
- Psychiatry on the team for co-occurring mental health.
What is not in it
- Medical detox in a bed. That needs a building, and we will say so.
- Residential treatment. Same answer, and we help you find it.
- Acute psychiatric stabilization. An emergency department, not us.
- A promise about your outcome. We do not make one.
- A referral fee, in either direction. We do not pay for referrals.
Who this tends to fit here.
A cohort that fits the turn
Morning, afternoon and evening cohorts. When your rotation flips, we move you rather than ask you to miss a week.
Check your benefits If a drive over the pass is the planIt does not have to be
Treatment that depends on a long drive five days a week fails on the days the drive is impossible. There is no drive here.
Check your benefits If you hold a safety-sensitive jobDocumentation that holds up
We document the level of care against the ASAM Criteria and can report attendance and progress to the people entitled to it, with your written consent and nobody else.
Check your benefitsWe read your plan before you commit to anything.
Covered by many PPO plans. We check your benefits first.
Shift bills most major commercial plans on an out-of-network basis. We are not part of any commercial carrier network. We read your plan, tell you what it pays toward intensive outpatient care, and give you that number before your first appointment. Nothing is committed until you decide.
Medi-Cal. We cannot bill Medi-Cal today, because we hold no county contract yet. If Medi-Cal is your coverage, tell us and we will point you to a county provider who can help now.
Pages for specific cards: Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield of California, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, UMR, Carelon, Magellan, Kaiser.
If Shift is not the right answer for you.
In a crisis, call or text 988. That is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, it is answered around the clock, and it covers substance use as well as mental health. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Shift is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service.
For public treatment in Kern County, Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services runs the county network and is the place to start if commercial insurance is not what you have.
And if the clinical screen says you need a level of care we do not offer, we tell you that and help you find it. That happens, and it is a better outcome than being admitted to the wrong program.
The ones people ask first.
Do you have a Bakersfield location?
No. Shift has no treatment site in Bakersfield or anywhere in Kern County. All care is virtual.
Can I join from Delano, Taft or Tehachapi?
Yes. The requirement is that you are physically in California during each session.
Can you send paperwork to my employer or my attorney?
Only with your written consent, and only to the person you name. Substance use treatment records carry the stricter protection of 42 CFR Part 2, which is a higher bar than ordinary medical records.
What are the public options in Kern County?
For a crisis, call or text 988, or 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services runs the county's public mental health and substance use services.
Start with a call or a benefits check.
Five minutes either way. We read your plan, a licensed clinician does a clinical screen, and if Shift is the right level of care you start. Next business day on most cases.
If you or someone you are with is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Shift Support Network is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service. Other cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Riverside, Long Beach, Oakland.