Lightfully Behavioral Health is coming to downtown Santa Barbara.
The facility will offer a partial hospitalization program and intensive outpatient care for adults with mental health conditions once it officially opens on July 8. It began accepting inquiries and referrals last week.
Lightfully’s leadership welcomed community members to the location at 111 W. Micheltorena St. on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house.
“All communities deserve good care,” Lightfully CEO Jennifer Steiner said.
The new location aims to fill gaps in local services for adults experiencing more severe and complex mental health conditions, including psychosis and suicidality.
Serving those populations is part of why Lightfully was founded, according to Chief Clinical Officer Nicole Siegfried.
“Here in Santa Barbara, we’ve gotten feedback that there’s a need for not just mental health services in general, but really (for) those higher acuity populations,” Siegfried said. “We want something that can fit the needs of all of those levels of acuity.”
The nearest other Lightfully location is in Thousand Oaks. The new Santa Barbara program will reduce that travel burden for local clients and meet a rising demand for mental health services in the region, driven by factors such as a tense political climate and social media usage, Siegfried said.
The opening is especially meaningful for Steiner, a Santa Barbara resident.
“Being a member of this community, I have a real awareness of the limited resources,” Steiner said. “It felt really important to offer something.”
Services follow a Precision Care Model, which combines evidence-based treatment with clinical support centered on human connection.
Its partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs provide higher levels of treatment without requiring residential care. The partial hospitalization program offers treatment five days a week, while the intensive outpatient program offers flexible programming.
David Barks, an associate marriage and family therapist at the office of Cara Behan LMFT, said he attended the ribbon-cutting to learn more about Lightfully’s intensive outpatient program.
While he has heard about mixed experiences with intensive outpatient programs, he believes they can be vital because they help clients continue with their outside obligations.
He also appreciated that Lightfully’s treatment plans are community-centered and include group therapy sessions.
“So many people do struggle alone,” Barks said. “Having something that gets them integrated into groups, so that they can just get a little bit more connected to others, and realizing that they’re not so alone in this, is a great thing.”
Lightfully works with major insurance providers and CareCredit to reduce financial barriers, Siegfried said.
Santa Barbara Behavioral Health and Wellness recently contracted with Lightfully as a provider in its network.
They are now working to implement the partnership, which will serve Medi-Cal members who need higher levels of outpatient care, Steiner said.
“Mental health is something that so many folks are struggling with, and I think it’s the root of so many societal challenges,” Steiner said. “We’re doing our best to contribute and make a difference.”
