Cielo House is located in the San Francisco Bay area, and offers residential, PHP, IOP, and transitional living for men, women, and adolescents/young adults. They have four separate locations:
- Cielo House San Jose: PHP, and IOP Adult Treatment Center
- Cielo House San Jose: PHP, and IOP Adolescent Treatment Center
- Cielo House Moss Beach: Residential Treatment
- Cielo House Burlingame:PHP, IOP, Transitional Living
They also offer a specialized treatment track for Binge Eating Disorder.
Any current reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
Cielo House was just reopened under the name Cielomar recovery https://www.cielomaredr.com/
Any recent reviews on the new ceilomar?
BIG NEWS! Cielomar is set to (re)open all of their levels of care (res, php, transitional housing) in-person!! Set for opening in early 2026 and they are taking rsvps for the waitlist
Does anyone know how rooming works and if they will offer single room dynamic
This place is reopening in the first week of Jan of 2026
can I get the most recent review of this place?
Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but Cielomar Moss Beach residential will be reopening in January 2026! Glad to see this since we’ve already lost so many treatment centers in the Bay Area. https://www.coastsidenews.com/news/eating-disorder-treatment-center-to-reopen-in-moss-beach/article_0c8eac37-3691-4ddf-843c-102be70c5ab7.html
URGENT CALL TO ACTION‼️
Please sign this petition to stop Optum / United Health Group from closing 16 treatment centers, including Cielo House: https://www.change.org/EatingDisorder
Cielo is closing due to being apart of optum which is closing a lot of their eating disorders centers. Cielo is one of the rare places that take medi-cal and Medicare/ state insurance.
Sharing experience on transitional housing at Cielo. When I moved in, the unit was missing the smoke detector. The bathroom and kitchenette had ants. There is also no central heat, only a space heater. Really not conducive to my recovery.
Answering for their Moss Beach residential:
When were you there?
beginning of 2022
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
I’ve done their residential & their php at burlingame
How many patients are there on average?
maybe an average of 7-8 while I was there but it ranged from 5-10
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
both & combined
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc?
doctor & psychiatrist are 1x/week each. therapist I believe was 2x/week & dietitian was 1x/week.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
usually 2-3 floor staff per shift in the day & 1 staff overnight
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)?
dbt, cbt, art/recreational, ecotherapy, equine therapy, act, etc.
Describe the average day:
630 – weight & vitals
meals & snacks at around 830,1030,1230, 330, 6, & 9 (I can’t remember exact timings)
walks after breakfast
3 groups/weekday & 2 groups/weekend day – each were about 1.5 hrs
I think 6-7 smoke breaks a day
What were meals like? What sorts of food were available or served?
some were better than others but pretty decent, homemade meals. takeout for wednesday dinners. you make your own meals for breakfast & twice a week for lunch. you can chose/make all of your own snacks. they had lots of options & you could always request for them to get something.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
supplemented a certain amount of ounces based on percentage of incomplete
100% of an incomplete meal would be two supplements; 100% of an incomplete snack would be one supplement
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
you would have to fill out a behavior chain analysis worksheet & it would prevent you from leveling up.
Are you able to eat vegetarian?
yes
What privileges are allowed?
you can have tech all the time except phones get taken 10 am-330 pm on weekdays
more exercise & outing privileges as you level up
Does it work on a level system?
yes
How do you earn privileges?
I think just meal compliance, medical stability, & participating in groups
What sort of groups do they have?
might be different now but when I was there it was: goal-setting, experiential, therapeutic writing, cooking, life after treatment, process group, ecotherapy, body image, act, equine therapy, nutrition, seeking safety, farm ecotherapy, interpersonal, mindfulness, dbt, yoga, music, & creative expression/art
What was your favorite group?
the ecotherapy groups & therapeutic writing
What did you like the most?
I made a lot of really good friends there & I loved the location & going out for walks by the beach
What did you like the least?
I think there could have been more transparency and communication between clinicians & clients
Would you recommend this program?
yes
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
depending on your level, different lengths of walks & yoga
What did people do on weekends?
visiting hours & a lot of free time
Do you get to know your weight?
no
How fast is the weight gain process?
different for different people
What was the average length of stay?
it depends. maybe 1.5-2 months?
What was the average age range?
depends. it’s 18+ but there were people of all ages while I was there. maybe the average person was in their 20s.
How do visits/phone calls work?
visiting hours on weekends, phone timings mentioned above.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?
mentioned above.
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes?
I think so but while I was there, we only went to certain places for groups & not on individual passes due to covid.
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?
you use recovery record & they have (limited) housing available but not much out of programming hours support
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
they usually make sure you have some kind of discharge/step down plan
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
not sure
If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc)
when I was there, we wore masks & the dining tables had socially distanced seating
does anyone that’s recently been here know if they accept anthem blue cross medi-cal? Im currently in the process of getting back on my moms insurance but was wondering if there’s a waitlist and if they take state insurance. Thanks in advance!
Has anyone been to their transitional living house? And if so how was it? This is the longest I have been out of treatment and don’t need to refeed more so help to transition into the world… except PHP and me don’t work… and most transitional living programs don’t take EDs…
When were you there? Multiple times between 2020 – 2022
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Residential, PHP
How many patients are there on average? 6-10
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? all genders, combined
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? Residential – medical doctor weekly (in person, if she gets to you), psychiatrist weekly (zoom, for about 3 minutes, if she gets to you) therapist 2x weekly (in person or zoom) dietician weekly (in person) PHP psychiatrist weekly (zoom) therapist weekly (in person) dietician weekly (in person/zoom)
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? Residential – 1-4 staff members from 7am – 10pm and 1 staff at night php 1-3 staff
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)? DBT, CBT, experiential, art, cooking group one day a week.
Describe the average day: 3 meals, 3 snacks, 3 groups a day. lots of free time to smoke/vape and watch tv
What were meals like? Meals were repetitive, bland, not very edible. They consist of one meat-based protein usually chicken and a frozen microwaved vegetarian option. a random grain like quinoa, lentils or rice and overly greased vegetables. 1-2 times a week it would be soup instead. take out one time a week. dessert is mandatory and every day. fat is HIGHLY over portioned. vegetables and soups are drenched in it. Awful seafood that smelled up the entire house was served once a week with no other protein available besides the vegetarian option. You could sometimes have a frozen Amy’s meal instead. Everyone eats in the conference room and plays repetitive games the whole time. meals are 30 minutes. Snacks eaten in the dining room or kitchen sometimes and you can get up when you’re done and go sit on the couch. supplements are 10 minutes supervised. RC or dietician sits at meal and usually doesn’t eat. You are allowed to choose 2-3 dislikes and generally they can be broad like mine were seafood and meat substitutes.
What sorts of food were available or served? food was cooked in the bigger kitchen by the chef and reheated in the microwave, usually still cold when served and not fresh. meals were rarely coherent just some protein with random sauce, a grain and vegetables covered in oil. two times a week you have to make your own meals like sandwiches and stuff or heat up leftovers or cook a frozen Amy’s meal. Once a week they bring in take out. Dessert is daily and not optional and not part of your meal plan which doesn’t make sense at all. You make your own breakfast and you can have whatever you want like eggs oatmeal etc.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? supplements (ensure or kate farms) are based on percentage of meals completed. However if you supplement more than a couple times you WILL be discharged.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? You will be discharged without notice and no further plan for care even if you came from out of state.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes they accommodate this, gluten free, dairy free as well with dietician approval.
What privileges are allowed? Everything
Does it work on a level system? Yes – you don’t have to do anything to move up levels they just do it automatically.
How do you earn privileges? You don’t there are no privileges to earn.
What sort of groups do they have? DBT, CBT, Art, random things where they read from books or random handouts that don’t have anything to do with anything. Equine, farm, gardening, animal care. The groups are extremely unhelpful and the therapists are interns with very little supervision and don’t actually know what they’re doing
What was your favorite group? Art when they actually did it
What did you like the most? Spending time with the animals
What did you like the least? Being treated horribly by clinical staff, the fatphobia, being told I was worthless and helpless and lied to constantly. Seeing others go through the same thing when we’re literally fighting for our lives. No one understanding what you’re going through. Literally the moment I met my therapist after speaking to her for not even a minute and she dismissed me and said she can’t help me and threatened to hospitalize me because I was having a panic attack and couldn’t think. Being gaslit constantly by the two-faced clinical director who regularly does this to other clients because she takes one look at them and decides they’re not good enough.
Would you recommend this program? No. This place needs to be shut down as do the other treatment centers owned by Refresh.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? None – clients are allowed to go for daily short walks as a group
What did people do on weekends? Hang around, have visitors in the front yard. Occasionally a therapist will show up and do some sort of “group” that is equally as unhelpful as all the other “groups”
Do you get to know your weight? No
How fast is the weight gain process? Depends on the client
What was the average length of stay? Highly dependent on the client and if the clinical director feels like dealing with them
What was the average age range? early 20’s many still in high school or just starting college
How do visits/phone calls work? Phones available in the morning until 10 then again after 3:30, visits on the weekend
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? All electronics allowed you can have your laptop all day in between groups nothing allowed during most groups/meals
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes? depends on COVID protocols not at all while I was there unless you were going for labs/doctor appointments
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? I was able to email/text my therapist/dietician but I was in transitional housing I don’t know if it was different for others
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? No aftercare planning whatsoever
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? No. You pay for your flight there/back.
If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc) Last time I was at res clients had to wear masks at all times as did staff and visitors, testing was happening regularly. Same for PHP. They were doing virtual programming half the day but went back to fully in person for PHP. At the beginning of COVID they had less people at the end they bumped it back up to 10 which was a terrible idea as they were so short staffed and people had to quarantine they literally put a wall up in the master bedroom to separate it and turned the group room into another bedroom just to shove more people in when they already weren’t taking care of anyone.
Other? I had a very good experience when I first went there in 2020, the staff genuinely cared and did everything they could to help and were really good at working with insurance and making sure everyone got what they needed and were on the right path. However my latest experience was incredibly harmful and traumatic and I still haven’t recovered. I and many other clients were treated horribly by the current clinical staff who have no business working with people with eating disorders or in the mental health field at all. The clinical director and her little minion are evil. I don’t know any other way to put it. The executive director is clearly over it and should just dip at this point.
Describe the average day: wake up at 6:30-7am get vitals weight and get ready. Breakfast is at 8 then animal care or gardening, snack is at 10am, the group from 10:30-12 then lunch and dessert then group is at 1:30-3 then snack then group from 4:30-6, then dinner then down time from 7-9 then snack then bed.
* What were meals like? They have the same types of food. It was weird theres a lot of weird soups lol and every type of greasy veggies and every type of potatoes dish, different rice dishes, noodles and meats. They have like a veg meat and carb so every day is the same either some type of potatoe, some type of noodle some type of rice etc.
* What sorts of food were available or served? Different types of Rice, quinoa, different types of potatoes, different types of soups, different types of noodles, and pizza and take out. Is wednesday. And they have dessert every day and tuesday thursday you don’t pick and 100% meal completion is required and no supplementing except leas then 1 time a week so it could be a cupcake, cake, danish etc and they expect you to eat it or you risk getting kicked out.
* Did they supplement? How did that system work? They supplement but require 100% compliance and no supplementing unless absolutely necessary if you refuse a supplement or supplement like more then twice a week even if you finish the supplement you get kicked out. Which is really odd
* What is the policy of not complying with meals? ^
* Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yea
* What privileges are allowed? Most things because you have to be 100% anyways
* Does it work on a level system? Yes 1-3 after level one you can go on a 2 minute walk down the street and back lol fun. But get to go to equine and farm. And 2+ you get a ten minute walk
* How do you earn privileges? Medical stability and seniority (being there longer)
* What sort of groups do they have? Dbt cbt family dynamics process
* What was your favorite group? Process
* What did you like the most?staff
* What did you like the least? Strictness I sometimes felt you basically have to be “cured” to be there it’s normal to struggle but they expect you to be 100% when your there for a reason lol because you struggle
* Would you recommend this program? No
* What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Walks
* What did people do on weekends? Nothing lol
* Do you get to know your weight? No
* How fast is the weight gain process? 0-2 pounds
* What was the average length of stay? 2 weeks to 2 months
* What was the average age range? All different types mostly people in their 20s
* How do visits/phone calls work? Visitors on Saturday or Sunday 3:30-6 and phones from 3:30-bed and wake up to 10:30am
This place worsened my ED and created new problems for me. A certain dietician holds EXTREME views that are harmful. DON’T COME HERE. I regret it so much. The staff and program is one size fits all and is very fat phobic and trans phobic. If your not what a typical person with an Ed looks like your brushed to the side and put on extremely small meal plans even if your coming in for restricting. They told my friend that insurance wasn’t going to cover her because Ed treatment is for “weight restoration” and said said bmi which was soo uncalled for
Any reviews for the San Jose PHP with housing?
Has anyone been here recently? Do they do holds? What were meals like? Do you get to have smoke/vape breaks? What was the level system like? Do they have supplements? Do they tube? Do they have a nurse on staff 24/7? Do they allow visitors? What about phone time? Do u have roommates? Can you choose to shower in the morning or at night?
Has anyone been here recently?
Has anyone done PHP here? Reviews? Do they have supported housing?
when were you there?
how often do you meet with the medical doctor, your individual therapist, the nutritionist?
what therapies do they use most (DBT, CBT, IFS, EMDR, nature therapy, massage, acupuncture, reiki….?)
what types of groups were there?
was it all group based/ any individual sessions? do they involve family?
what were meals like..
what kind of food/brands?
how was it served (serve yourself buffet style, plated for you)
was there a chef? like some places you make your own breakfast and snacks and then a chef does lunch and dinner
how were the meals decided
exchange system used?
did they supplement?
is there a level system?
did you feel like you were treated well/listened to?
is there phone/computer rules?
did a lot of people come from different states?
php housing available? prices? laundry?
any recent reviews please!
Could anyone provide a recent review of Cielo House’s residential program?
Were there smoke breaks?
How did they handle clients who cannot consume gluten or dairy due to medical reasons? Is a different summer supplement available for people with food allergies besides ensure?
• When were you there? I was there twice, once in 2018 & 2019
• How many patients on average? 6 or 7 in res, 10 total
• Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Yes treatment is for males and females, it is combined, but males usually sleep in a different room unless you are ok with having a male roommate
• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? You see the therapist 2x/week, medical doctor, psychiatrist and dietitian 1x/week, though dietitians are always around for you to check in with.
• What is the staff ratio to patients? 1:2
• What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? They use all types of therapy such as DBT, CBT, and ACT. I know that some people did EMDR and other types of trauma work. They also have equine therapy
An average day for residential patients:
6:30- weight, vitals and UA (urine analysis every day), usually when you get ready.
7:30- breakfast prep in kitchen
8:00- breakfast
9:00- group
10:00- snack
10:30- group
12:00- Lunch
1:30- group
3:00- snack
3:30-4:30 free time and individual sessions
4:30- group
6:00- dinner
7:00- group
9:00- snack and night meds
10-11 bed time (they close downstairs at 10, but you can stay up however late you want, usually they say something if it’s past 11)
• What were meals like? Meals were the exchange system. You had complete autonomy for breakfast and snacks, staff would just check you off. For lunch and dinner the amazing cook would make that on the weekdays and it was a lot of farm to table sort of foods. Some were better than others.
• Did they supplement? How did that system work? They use ensure plus and supplement based on how much you didn’t eat. If you supplement 3x in one day you get moved down an exercise level and if you supplement most of the time, they send you to inpatient until you can eat more.
• What is the policy of not complying with meals? Non-compliance with supplement and meals means you can’t go on outings or anything and you have to fill out a form as to what you can do differently. They give you opportunities to make it up throughout the day too.
• Are you able to be a vegetarian? Yes you can be vegetarian, just not vegan. They have a lot of tofu in the menu from the cook.
• What privileges are allowed? You have your phone after 3:30 and until breakfast. You can go on passes with family about 2-3 weeks after you get there.
• Does it work on a level system? The only level system was exercise levels. There was restricted- which is basically no unnecessary ADL movement. Then Mild- you could go on outings and walk, but no equine. Then moderate- you could go to equine and walk. For full exercise depending on what your dietitian thinks
• How do you earn privileges? Stable vitals, meal compliance, working hard in therapy and etc…
• What sort of groups do they have? All types, ACT, DBT, CBT, Nutrition, process, body-image,
• What was your favorite group? Definitely nutrition or process
• What did you like the most? The staff, the clients and how close we got and they have goats and chickens you can hang out with and take care of.
• What did you like the least? Sometimes insurance sucked and they would move you to PHP with little warning.
• Would you recommend this program? YES
• What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Walking and if approved exercise in the gym/garage, but most people didn’t get to that point.
• What did people do on weekends? Weekends are very chill
• Do you get to know your weight? No
• How fast is the weight gain process? About 1-2lb a week
• What was the average length of stay? 30 days in res, 30 days in PHP
• What was the average age range? 16+ (mature 16 year olds)
• How do visits/phone calls work?
• What is the electronics policy? (ex: cell phones, iPods, Kindle, laptop, tablets) You can have your laptop at all times, cell phones from 3:30 until breakfast.
• Are you able to go out on passes? Yes after a few weeks at residential.
• What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? They have several PHP/IOP programs and connect with your team when needed.
• Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? Ask Matt- CEO about this. Sometimes they fly people out for treatment.
Do they provide organic options or make homemade supplements (not ensure drinks).. one center would make fresh shakes with a special recipe with flax and other protein and fats. I’m decided between here and another residential that I’ve already been too and I enjoyed their food approach and am nervous to try a new place like Cielo with a different food philosophy.
Rachel,
I don’t recommend Cielo House. I spent a total of eight months at all their levels of care last year, and looking back I wish I had transferred somewhere else. The therapy, both individual and groups, was a joke. Even if it were free, which it wasn’t, it wasn’t a good use of time. I would strongly suggest you look somewhere else.
Thank you Presly and Macy for your reviews!
I have a couple questions, for you or anyone else:
– What is the average length of stay?
– What is their electronics policy?
– On their website they mention a financial aid program, have you heard anything about that or about how it works?
I went here for residential and it was a good program. Very individualized. The food was wonderful and the portions extremely reasonable. The medical dr was very through and the nursing care was compassionate and detail oriented. My target weight was extremely reasonable (under the normal bmi standards) bra size they also took into account frame size and medical stability.
There were a good variety of activities. The group therapy was lacking in my opinion, but otherwise a good (often overlooked) place.