Passages Malibu Staff Information

Born in New York City, Mary Van Lent was raised and educated on both the east and west coasts. Having grown up in a family of celebrated modern art collectors, Mary developed a life-long passion for the arts. Because of this passion, Mary has traveled extensively abroad, majored in art history at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and worked at both the Wesleyan Art Gallery as well as the Light Gallery in N.Y.C. She has earned numerous honors and awards in art and started her own greeting card company.

After four years at Wesleyan, Mary went on to receive certification in early childhood development. She used her creative abilities in the classroom-teaching children for ten years. Her teaching experience is invaluable in facilitating her group sessions at Passages.

Mary's graduation from the Passages program inspired her to yet again go back to school to obtain a Chemical Dependency Counselor's Certification. In addition to her education, Mary was trained under the supervision of her personal mentor who holds a CADC II. She recently completed and received her CADC II certification as well. Passages is very proud to have Mary on board as an integral part of our Treatment Team.

Mary Van Lent's goal is to help each client find the true self that lies beneath the years of drinking and using drugs and alcohol. Mary uses the Person-Centered approach, believing that each client has an innate capacity to heal, to grow, and to become whole. Mary invites others to rise in stature and to think and act naturally from a higher level of consciousness. Mary's success with these goals and philosophy has led her, along with her husband, Duncan, to open, own, and manage an extremely successful transitional/sober living home, Serenity Corner of Ojai in Ojai, California. In so many words, she is thoroughly committed to recovery.