In the rapidly evolving world of behavioral health, many startups have rushed to embrace digital-first solutions. But Lightfully Behavioral Health, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, is charting a different course — prioritizing high-quality, in-person care through outpatient centers. With a clear five-year plan in place, the company aims to open 30 outpatient mental health centers across California, Colorado, and Washington, signaling a major outpatient mental health facilities expansion that could redefine how care is delivered.
The recent acquisition of Resilience Treatment Center in West Los Angeles marks the first step in Lightfully’s ambitious growth. CEO Jennifer Steiner explained in an interview with Behavioral Health Business, “There’s really a massive lack of providers of scale with consistent, quality-oriented services in mental health. It’s just too young of a sector. We are seeking to basically be the DaVita of mental health — you will find us in every state, and you will experience a consistent care quality experience across every site and we will be highly accessible.”
Strategic Growth Driving Outpatient Mental Health Facilities Expansion
Lightfully Behavioral Health is targeting rapid growth, with plans to open or acquire 18 outpatient facilities in California over the next 18 months. In addition to these six active projects, the broader five-year vision includes opening 30 outpatient centers as part of a nationwide outpatient mental health facilities expansion effort.
This expansion is backed by $30 million in funding from Regal Healthcare Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on healthcare investments. The capital infusion supports Lightfully’s efforts to scale infrastructure, clinical teams, and operational excellence to meet growing demand.
Why In-Person Care Remains Essential Amid Digital Boom
While digital mental health platforms attracted over $5 billion in funding in 2021 alone, Lightfully remains cautious about the efficacy of app-based mental health treatment compared to traditional care. Steiner pointed out, “I think we all have this wish that we can solve all of the world’s problems with an app and then there is the reality of it. Effective, evidence-based mental health treatment is generally provided in person, and the leading indicator of therapeutic success is the therapeutic alliance with caregivers. I struggle a bit with the idea that you do that through an app.”
This perspective challenges the dominant digital narrative and highlights why facility-based care is a critical part of the overall outpatient mental health facilities expansion story.
Process-Based Therapy at the Heart of Clinical Care
At the core of Lightfully’s clinical approach is process-based therapy, which integrates multiple evidence-based modalities tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Nicole Siegfried, the company’s chief clinical officer, describes it as a flexible and comprehensive framework to treat complex mental health disorders.
Steiner uses a “sandwich” analogy to position Lightfully’s services within the broader mental health care continuum: “At the top, you have inpatient psychiatric care — hospital-based, short stays to stabilize patients. At the bottom, you have traditional outpatient therapy. We sit in the middle with intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), and residential treatment.”
Their focus on these intermediate levels is key to their outpatient mental health facilities expansion, addressing the gap between low-intensity outpatient therapy and acute inpatient hospitalization.
Professionalizing Facility-Based Mental Health Care
The facility-based mental health sector, especially in California, faces challenges in delivering standardized, scalable quality care. Backed by Regal Healthcare Capital Partners — which also supports Phoenix-based walk-in urgent care provider MIND 24-7 — Lightfully is poised to elevate industry standards.
This approach not only supports patients with improved access to consistent, effective care but also allows for the collection of valuable data on treatment outcomes. Such data can fuel ongoing improvements and demonstrate the real-world impact of their programs, which is an important aspect of their outpatient mental health facilities expansion strategy.
Experienced Leadership Driving Scalable Growth
Jennifer Steiner brings a robust background leading health care organizations, including serving as CEO of InnerChange and Alsana, along with executive leadership experience at DaVita, a national kidney care provider known for scaling high-quality care. Her vision is to replicate DaVita’s operational success in the behavioral health space by expanding Lightfully’s footprint across multiple states.
This leadership experience supports Lightfully’s ambitious outpatient mental health facilities expansion, aiming to become a trusted national provider with consistent quality.
The Future of Mental Health Care is Facility-Based and Scalable
Lightfully Behavioral Health’s commitment to in-person outpatient care highlights a crucial truth: while digital tools can complement treatment, they cannot replace the therapeutic alliance and evidence-based approaches delivered face-to-face. Their network expansion of outpatient facilities provides the appropriate intensity of care for many patients who need more than traditional outpatient therapy but less than inpatient hospitalization.
By continuing their outpatient mental health facilities expansion across California, Colorado, and Washington, Lightfully aims to make high-quality mental health care accessible, reliable, and standardized — setting a new industry benchmark.
As they grow, Lightfully Behavioral Health is poised to be a leader in reshaping behavioral health care delivery, blending clinical excellence with operational scale to meet the needs of a growing patient population.
