History of Cornerstone
Cornerstone of Southern California is one of the longest-running treatment centers in Southern California.
Cornerstone was founded in 1984 by our current Medical Director Michael Stone, MD.
Founder and Medical Director, Michael Stone, has been a pioneer in the field of addiction and mental health since 1969. While working at Care Unit hospital in 1983, he witnessed patients being discharged prematurely due to insurance companies’ refusal to cover further treatment. Despite being deemed medically stable, these patients had not received sufficient care to maintain long-term recovery, often leading to their readmission in worse condition just weeks later.
Recognizing the critical need for a continuum of care post-discharge, Dr. Stone established Cornerstone of Southern California, starting with one sober living home. This first recovery home aimed to help clients maintain abstinence from drugs and alcohol while educating them about their disease and potential relapse triggers. From its inception, Cornerstone has emphasized the importance of relapse prevention, which remains the crux of its successful treatment approach to this day.
Our Team
Addiction Professionals
Cornerstone Alumni and Alumni App
Our Creed
Our Levels of Care
Community, Connection & Family
Cornerstone is a family run treatment center, which prides itself on its ethical treatment. Being family run, Cornerstone understands how important community, connection and family are, in order to maintain long lasting recovery.
From humble beginnings, Cornerstone has grown from a single residential recovery home into a 20 home system including 4 residential detox homes, extended care, monitored residential and sober living homes. Cornerstone also boasts an outpatient day treatment facility in Santa Ana. As community is vital to recovery, Michael has made sure that all homes and offices are within a 3 mile radius of one another, ensuring that each resident is able to feel connected and part of the Cornerstone community.
Accredited by the Joint Commission and Licensed and Certified by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) we are a leader in the treatment community in California.
Michael Stone, is triple board-certified in addiction medicine, family practice and pain management. He is passionate about the journey of recovery and continues to be involved, and maintain the exceptional clinical quality of the program we offer.
Throughout his career, Michael Stone, MD has been involved in treating and helping over 80,000 addicts on their journey to recovery.
“I have worked in the addictions field since 1969. Working in drug and alcohol treatment centers and psychiatric hospitals prior to opening Cornerstone, allowed me to see exactly how not to run a treatment center. My biggest motivator for opening Cornerstone was seeing patients in the hospital where I had previously been employed, having to let patients go before I believed they were ready to go. Addiction impacts the mind, body as well as the spirit, so although the body may present itself as physically fit, the mind and spirit will take much longer to heal.” ~ Dr Michael Stone, MD