Rehabilitation

SAMHSA’s National Helpline

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.

National Rehab Hotline

The National Rehab Hotline is free and available 24/7/365 to help anyone struggling through a substance use or mental health crisis get immediate help. is free and available 24/7/365 to help anyone struggling through a substance use or mental health crisis get immediate help.

The Rehab Racket: Investigating the high cost of addiction care

Reporter German Lopez is looking into America’s notoriously opaque addiction treatment industry, which affects thousands of people each year.

Does Rehab Work as a Treatment for Alcoholism and Other Addictions?

Before her death, Amy Winehouse had cycled in and out of rehab. Many celebrities have done the same, with some having more success than others at staying on the wagon. A neuroscientist explains why traditional therapy often seems to fall short of expectations.

Effective Addiction Treatment

Countless people addicted to drugs, alcohol or both have managed to get clean and stay clean with the help of organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous or the thousands of residential and outpatient clinics devoted to treating addiction. But if you have failed one or more times to achieve lasting sobriety after rehab, perhaps after spending tens of thousands of dollars, you’re not alone. And chances are, it’s not your fault.

Few doctors know how to treat addiction. A new program aims to change that

A recent comprehensive report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University found that most doctors fail to identify or diagnose substance abuse “or know what to do with patients who present with treatable symptoms.”

Inside The $35 Billion Addiction Treatment Industry

To be sure, there's a lot of hand‒waving, glitzy marketing and pseudo‒science to justify the enormous cost associated with treatment plans, but little proof of scientific efficacy.

Norway tries a novel tactic for drug addicts—rehab instead of jail

In the US, almost half of federal prisoners are in jail for crimes related to drugs (pdf); almost a fifth committed their crimes to obtain money for drugs. Norway is trying to take a different approach to the problem.

When Relapse Turns Deadly: What You Need to Know About Drug Overdose

It is a sad irony that rehab is life-saving, yet the weeks and months immediately following checkout are among the most vulnerable times in an addict's recovery. It can take up to a year for the areas of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotion regulation to return to normal functioning.

Why Drug Rehab Works – A Rebuttal to the New York Times

If you’re looking to learn why and how drug rehab works, you probably won’t find much help in a recent New York Times article titled Effective Addiction Treatment. Author Jane Brody writes about misgivings with drug rehab centers, ultimately stating that most addiction treatment programs are outdated and not based on evidence-based practices.

In Rehab, ‘Two Warring Factions’: Abstinence vs. Medication

A reluctant evolution is taking place in residential drug treatment for opioid addiction. Here’s a look at one center’s wary shift.

A radical approach to confronting addiction puts human connection first

In 2015, Jennifer Nicolaisen was working in consulting and getting by some days on just two hours of sleep. She was a 27-year-old statistician in northern Virginia, basking in what she called “rising star energy”—the glow that came from approval from her boss, her clients, and her peers. It was a thrill, she says. She was also downing Adderall and Vyvanse like candy, medications prescribed for her ADHD but also used to maintain a relentless pace of work and life.

Addiction Rehab Is Broken. Can Technology Fix It?

My time in rehab for an opioid addiction left me humiliated and desperate to know why my friends were dying. Now a wave of app developers are trying to do things differently.

Advances in understanding addiction treatment and recovery

Scientific studies on addiction have led to the development of a number of medications for pharmacological interventions, along with other nonpharmacotherapies including behavioral, cognitive, and social interventions (see the comprehensive reviews in this collection).

After Addiction Comes Families’ Second Blow: The Crushing Cost of Rehab

Out-of-pocket expenses to save loved ones are soaring beyond what many can afford, especially when addicts go through multiple rounds of treatment.

John Oliver Walks Us Through the Most Outlandish Methods Used to Treat Addiction in the Rehab Industry

While there were plenty of jokes about C-3PO’s urine, the futility of petting horses, and how terrible it is to live in Florida, the Last Week Tonight host came away with a sobering conclusion: The rehabilitation industry is dangerously underregulated.

The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous

Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective.

The Sham of Harvey Weinstein’s Rehab

Exiled by his movie-industry colleagues, Harvey Weinstein has taken refuge among the scorpions and cactuses of Arizona, where he’s immersed in what has been described as rehab. He certainly needs help. What we need is a better way of talking about why.

The Wrong Way to Treat Opioid Addiction

Buprenorphine is one of only two treatments proven to cut the death rate from opioid addiction by half or more. But the programs Mr. Thompson tried viewed abstinence as the only true recovery — even though abstinence treatment has not been shown to reduce mortality and is less effective than medication at preventing relapse. Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson’s experience is more the rule than the exception.

Why Forced Addiction Treatment Fails

To do better, the United States needs more evidence-based treatment. And since the data shows that the best treatment is compassionate and inviting, coercion should be the last resort, not the first.

The Rehab Industry Needs to Clean Up Its Act. Here’s How

No one argues that the American addiction treatment system is anywhere near optimal — even its cheerleaders recognize that there’s miles to go before all people with addiction have access to respectful, ethical, effective and evidence-based care.

The Clean Slate Addiction Site

The addiction treatment industry, along with it's anointed experts and the recovery subculture have made a simple matter extremely complicated. The results of their teachings are disastrous. Addiction rates are edging up, overdoses and alcohol related deaths are skyrocketing, and the people who receive their help end up having higher rates of binge use, overdose, and longer periods of "addictive" use and more "relapses." The Freedom Model for Addictions is the antidote to the mess the recovery...

OverTheCounterDrugAddiction.com

Some addicts may resort to over the counter drugs when trying to quit using their original prescription or illegal drug of choice. These substitutions are part of the cycle of chemical addiction. Substituting over the counter drugs for previous substances of abuse is not the answer. The solution to over the counter drug addiction can be found in a drug rehab treatment center with a proven track record in helping individuals overcome their addictions to OTC drugs.

Addiction Treatment Forum

Addiction Treatment Forum has reported on substance abuse and addiction therapies, research, news, and events of interest to both healthcare professionals and patients since 1992.