It’s never been easy to choose a treatment for addiction. Today, there are more than 14,000 specialty addiction treatment programs in the US, and they offer a wider array of methods than ever before. This means it’s even harder to choose a treatment program now than it ever was.
This website serves to clear up all the confusion in getting help for a substance use problem, and match consumers with the services that are right for them. It’s both a database of available treatment programs, and a database of the growing range of available treatment methods. There are two ways you can use it to your advantage. You can enter your treatment preferences and be matched with programs that best fit what you want. And if you are unsure of what you want, you can learn about all the available methods before you make a choice.
One important note before beginning your search – if you believe you may need urgent medical assistance with detoxification, please contact your primary care physician, local hospital or 911 for an immediate referral for that service. Withdrawal syndrome from substances such as alcohol or benzodiazepines (prescription drugs such as Xanax or Valium) can be dangerous and potentially fatal, and the need for medical assistance with detoxification from these drugs can only be determined by direct examination from a medical professional.
For those who already know what they want and do not have an immediate need for detoxification, we offer 3 broad categories to choose from, each of which include a choice between inpatient or outpatient treatment (inpatient programs are those where the patient lives in a facility during the initial stages of treatment, often for 28 days, known as “rehab” or residential programs. Outpatient refers to services delivered at appointments in offices or clinics while the patient continues living at home). Some of the treatment providers listed in your personalized search results can also provide or coordinate detoxification services when needed.
You can check the following options, and then will be brought to a page of matching programs, where you can further refine your search. For those who are less familiar with these treatment options, click here to visit our educational portal where you can learn more about the options before doing your treatment search.
12 Step Treatment. Based on the theory that addiction is a disease. This is the traditional spiritual model of addiction recovery based on Alcoholics Anonymous that has dominated the treatment field throughout the 20th century.
Non-12-Step / Alternative treatments. Based on the theory that addiction is a disease or mental illness. These are programs that focus more on therapeutic methods and possibly medication-based treatments. This can include Dual-Diagnosis programs for other mental health diagnoses, but can also include a wide range of methods that are spiritual or holistic in nature as well.
The Freedom Model for Addictions, non-disease based, non-12-step, social educational approach.
If you know one of the above options is what you want, clicking on any one of them will bring you to a page where you can further refine your results in that category by cost, location, insurance coverage, demographic specialties (adolescent, adult, elderly, men, women, LGBTQ, etc.), and with or without medical detoxification. If you want to know more before searching for treatment, continue reading.
A good doctor will always explain how a treatment, medication, therapy, or surgical procedure basically works before applying it, but this sadly isn’t the case with addiction treatments. Treatment centers simply say you need their treatments, give a list of several methods they might use as part of an “individualized treatment plan”, assure you these are Evidence Based Treatments (EBT), but offer little or no explanation of how these methods are meant to work. They quickly move to getting you signed up for the treatment, creating urgency with dire warnings of how intractable the disease of addiction will be without treatment. The conversations with treatment quickly move toward logistics of payment/insurance coverage, before you can gauge whether the treatment fits your needs. The gap in knowledge and emotionally charged process of seeking addiction treatment leave the consumer at a disadvantage, and can lead to costly decisions since the average inpatient rehab costs more than $20,000.
Our educational portal can help you to navigate these choices better, by closing the information gap, and putting you on a level field with treatment providers. Here you can learn the basics about common addiction treatment methods to gauge whether they might be a good match for your individual needs. The portal covers methods like CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy); Twelve Step Facilitation; MI (Motivational Interviewing); Individual Counseling; Group Counseling; Dual Diagnosis Treatment; Relapse Prevention; Support Groups such as SMART Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, etc; Medication Assisted Treatments (MAT) such as Buprenorphine, Suboxone, Subutex, Methadone, Naltrexone, Vivitrol, Antabuse, Disulfiram, etc; EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing); and many more. When available, we will also describe the evidence base for these methods. With fuller knowledge of the methods offered, you’ll be better equipped to handle decisions regarding the best addiction treatment for you or your loved one.
Even if you already know that you want 12-Step or Non-12-Step treatment, we still recommend using the educational portal before conducting your search, as there is often crossover between these categories, and the evidence base for these methods may surprise you.
Baldwin Research Institute first began its efforts in 1989 when it conducted a study of the modern Alcoholics Anonymous organization. Then, in 1990, the Institute began a study of 38 subjects with drug and alcohol problems. These studies were initiated to prove or disprove claims by Alcoholics Anonymous of success rates as high as 93% and claims by the treatment industry of success rates as high as 80%, but the claims of any single treatment program could not be validated with a success rate greater than 30%.
This website is a free service to consumers seeking information about addiction treatment, and fulfills BRI’s original charter to educate the public on solutions to drug and alcohol problems. BRI also offers unique methods of help for people with substance use problems, and this site serves the purpose of matching the right candidates with our services. Our model of help is educational and choice-based rather than treatment and disease-based. It does us no good to accept students who are fully invested in a disease / mental health model of addiction as we cannot be helpful to them. We would rather match them to the services they believe are appropriate for them, as research shows that people with substance use problems are more likely to make progress when they believe in and have chosen the recovery method they are using.
Disclaimer: @ Consumer’s Guide to Addiction and Alcoholism Treatment, and Treatment Locator – The information on this website is designed to provide information, research and education on the subject of drug rehab center and alcohol treatment programs. This website is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat alcoholism, drug addiction, chemical dependency, substance abuse or any associated condition. Baldwin Research and authors are not responsible for any consequences from any drug and alcohol treatment, action, application, or preparation, by any person or to any person reading or following the information on this website. Baldwin Research has put forth its best efforts in preparing and arranging this website of treatment centers as a community service.