Drug addiction treatment (Treatment of drug (substance) dependence)

What is drug addiction treatment?

Drug addiction treatment is the support that helps you stop or take control of drug use and rebuild your health and life. It is tailored to you and the drug or drugs involved, and usually combines a named worker (keyworker), psychological therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and practical help with health, housing, work and relationships.

For some drugs, medication is part of treatment — for example methadone or buprenorphine for heroin and other opioids. For stimulants such as cocaine, there is no substitute medicine, so psychological and social support are the mainstay. Harm-reduction help, such as testing for blood-borne viruses and, for opioids, take-home naloxone, is also offered.

Treatment can greatly improve your health and safety, but it cannot guarantee you will never use again. Addiction is a health condition, not a moral failing, and recovery is very possible. Relapse is common and is part of the process, not proof of failure.

You do not have to pay. Free NHS and charity drug services are available across the UK, and you can usually refer yourself.

Types, options & approaches

There may be different ways to do this. The right approach depends on the clinical question and your circumstances.

Options at a glance

These are the main approaches described in this guide. The right option depends on the diagnosis, your goals and what your clinician thinks is safe.

Preparing for your treatment

• Have a confidential assessment first, so the right plan and any medication can be agreed safely.
• Be honest about what you use, how much and how often — this keeps you safe and gets you the right help.
• List all your medicines and any physical or mental health problems.
• Tell the team about any injecting, overdoses, or breaks in use (for opioids, a break lowers your tolerance and raises overdose risk).
• Think about your goals — stopping, cutting down or staying safer — and who supports you.
• You can usually self-refer to a free NHS or charity service; you do not need to pay to get help.
• Ask at the start what is confidential and what to do in an emergency.

What happens

Treatment starts with a confidential assessment of your drug use, health and circumstances. Staff may ask for a urine or saliva sample, and you are given a keyworker who helps plan and coordinate your treatment.

Your plan is tailored to you. For opioid dependence it may include a substitute medicine such as methadone or buprenorphine; for stimulants such as cocaine, it focuses on psychological therapy and support, as there is no substitute medicine. Talking therapy, such as CBT, helps you understand and change your drug use, and practical help addresses housing, work and family.

Harm-reduction support is offered throughout — including blood-borne virus testing and, for opioid users, take-home naloxone and training to use it. Your progress is reviewed regularly and the plan is adjusted. Most treatment is as an outpatient, with residential rehabilitation reserved for more complex needs.

Is this treatment right for me?

A good consultation should explore whether it's the right choice for you now — including reasons to wait or consider something else.

Before you decide

Use this as a shared-decision checklist. The aim is not just “can this be done?”, but whether it is right for you, now, with the risks and alternatives clearly understood.

The biggest safety point depends on the drug. For opioids, the main danger is overdose, especially after detox, prison or any break in use, because tolerance drops — ask for take-home naloxone and never use alone. For stimulants, watch for heart and mental health effects. For all drugs, relapse is common and is a reason to get support, not to give up. Ask your team about your specific risks, what monitoring you need, and what to do in an emergency.

Published figures to discuss

Outcomes after drug treatment vary widely depending on the drug, severity of dependence, other health and mental health problems, and social support. For opioids, the clearest hard risk is overdose, which rises sharply after any break in use because tolerance falls. Because reliable single figures depend heavily on the population and drug studied, we describe risks in plain terms rather than quoting precise percentages.

These are literature figures, not a personalised prediction. Your own risks and likely benefits depend on your circumstances, your health, and how your care is carried out and followed up.

What happens afterwards

Recovery from drug addiction is a process, not a single event. 'Afterwards' here means how things change over the weeks and months after treatment begins.

• Strong cravings that come and go, especially around old triggers.
• Disturbed sleep, vivid dreams and changeable mood early on.
• Tiredness and low motivation as your body and brain adjust.
• Mild side effects from medication where used.
• Lapses or relapse — common, and a reason to get support rather than give up.

Aftercare

• Take any medication exactly as prescribed, and never mix opioid substitutes with alcohol or other sedatives.
• Keep therapy and keyworker appointments, and be honest about lapses.
• If you use opioids, carry take-home naloxone, make sure those around you know how to use it, and never use alone.
• Identify your triggers and have a written plan for handling them.
• Use peer support such as NA, Cocaine Anonymous or SMART Recovery if it helps, and involve supportive family.
• Get tested and, if needed, treated for hepatitis and HIV, and look after your physical and mental health.
• If you relapse — especially after a break in opioid use — get advice, because your overdose risk is higher.
• Save crisis numbers: 999, Samaritans 116 123, and the FRANK drugs helpline 0300 123 6600.

• Assessment booked or completed
• Keyworker and care plan in place
• Medication understood (and naloxone obtained, for opioids)
• Therapy or support sessions booked
• Triggers and a relapse plan written down
• Blood-borne virus testing arranged where relevant
• Crisis numbers saved (999, Samaritans 116 123, FRANK 0300 123 6600)

⚠ Get urgent help if…

• Signs of overdose in yourself or someone else: very drowsy, unresponsive, slow or stopped breathing, blue lips — call 999 and, for opioids, give naloxone if available.
• Thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life — contact your GP, Samaritans on 116 123, or 999 if in immediate danger. For urgent advice you can also use NHS 111 in England, Scotland or Wales; in Northern Ireland, contact your GP out-of-hours service or your HSC Trust's Phone First service.
• Severe chest pain, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or collapse (especially with stimulants like cocaine) — call 999.
• Severe agitation, paranoia, or seeing or hearing things that are not there.
• A very high temperature, fits, or severe headache.
• Signs of a serious infection at an injection site — spreading redness, swelling, heat or fever.

Who to contact: your clinician, clinic or test provider first (keep their number to hand). For urgent advice when you can't reach them, call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

General guidance — it doesn't replace the specific advice your psychiatrist gives you.

Results & realistic expectations

Good treatment helps you stop or take control of drug use and improves your health, safety and daily life. For opioids, substitute medicines reduce illicit use, overdose risk and crime, and stabilise lives; for all drugs, therapy and support help you change patterns and prevent relapse.

Treatment cannot guarantee you will never use again. Relapse is common and is part of the condition, not proof that treatment has failed. The honest measure of success is steady improvement in health and life, with setbacks treated as something to learn from. Be wary of any provider promising a guaranteed cure.

Staying well after drug addiction is an ongoing process. For opioids, some people stay on a substitute medicine for a long time because it keeps them stable and safer, while others reduce gradually when ready. Therapy skills, peer support and practical stability (housing, work, relationships) help protect recovery long term. Many people stay well, and many have setbacks along the way — both can be part of a successful recovery.

Related tests, treatments or support

Drug treatment is often combined with support for mental health, because conditions like anxiety, depression and trauma frequently sit alongside drug use. It is also combined with physical health care (including blood-borne virus testing and treatment), harm reduction such as naloxone, and support for family members affected by your drug use.

Follow-up & long-term care

You will have a keyworker and regular reviews of your progress, medication and goals. Therapy continues over weeks to months. For opioids, take-home naloxone and harm-reduction advice are revisited. If you relapse or your circumstances change, your plan is adjusted rather than withdrawn, and you can get back in touch at any time.

• Continue medication (where used) and follow-up as agreed.
• Keep using therapy skills and peer support after formal treatment ends.
• For opioids, keep naloxone available and replace it when used or out of date.
• Maintain stability in housing, work and relationships where possible.
• Have a written relapse plan and ask for help early if cravings return.

Repeat, follow-on and what comes next

• Medication (where used) is commonly adjusted, switched or, when the person is ready, gradually reduced.
• Treatment goals may change over time between stopping, cutting down and staying safer.
• Relapse usually leads to a revised plan rather than discharge from treatment.
• More intensive treatment, such as residential rehab, may be considered if community treatment is not working.

Ask what happens if the result is unclear or needs repeating, and what is included if further tests or follow-up are needed.

What good aftercare looks like

• A keyworker and clear plan, with regular review of progress, medication and goals.
• Take-home naloxone and overdose-safety advice for opioid users.
• A written relapse plan and an easy route back into treatment.
• Ongoing therapy, peer support and help with housing, work and family.
• Clear emergency advice, including 999 for overdose, and blood-borne virus testing and treatment where needed.

What affects the cost

Costs vary a great deal between people and providers, and we don't publish prices. What matters is understanding what drives the cost and making sure your quote is complete. The main things that affect it:

• The type and amount of psychological therapy provided.
• Whether medication is used (for example opioid substitutes) and the monitoring required.
• Level of keyworker and care-coordination support.
• Whether residential rehabilitation is involved, and for how long.
• Harm-reduction and health services included, such as blood-borne virus testing.
• Seniority of the clinician (for example a consultant addiction psychiatrist).
• Aftercare, relapse support and family support included.

• The clinician's or service's fees and what the treatment plan covers.
• Whether medication, monitoring and any tests are included or charged separately.
• What psychological therapy is provided and how many sessions.
• Aftercare and relapse support, and what happens if you relapse.
• If residential care is offered, the length of stay and what is included.
• Cancellation policy and what happens if the plan changes.
• Confirmation that free NHS and charity options have been explained.

On the NHS? Drug treatment is available free on the NHS and through charities across the UK, often by self-referral; private treatment may be used for speed, choice or privacy, but you do not need to pay to get help.

You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including reports, follow-up and what happens if the result is inconclusive — before you decide.

Consent traps and marketing red flags

These are not small details. They are often where patients lose choice, time to reflect, or realistic expectations.

Choosing a specialist safely

• Check the psychiatrist is on the GMC Specialist Register for this area.
• Make sure they work at a CQC-registered service, and look for membership of the relevant Royal College or professional body.
• You're entitled to time to consider and to have your questions answered before you agree — the psychiatrist who looks after you should explain it, not a salesperson.
• Be wary of pressure: time-limited offers or deposits taken before you've had time to think are red flags, not bargains.
• You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including any follow-up — before you decide.

How Vuemedics verifies every consultant →

Take this to your consultation. A good psychiatrist will welcome every one of these.

• Is there a medication for the drug I use, and would it help me?
• What talking therapy and support will I have, and how often?
• If I use opioids, can I have take-home naloxone and training?
• What harm-reduction help and health checks should I have?
• What should I do if I relapse, and who do I contact?
• What free NHS or charity support and peer groups are available to me?
• Are you on the GMC Specialist Register for this area, and which Royal College or professional body are you a member of?
• Will you be the psychiatrist who carries out my treatment, and who looks after me afterwards?
• What are the risks for someone like me, and how often do your own patients have a problem or need it repeated or redone?
• What does a realistic result look like — and what can this treatment not achieve?
• What are my options, including waiting, doing nothing for now, or choosing a different approach?
• Can I have written information, results and aftercare instructions in a format I can use, including any accessibility or communication support I need?
• What is the total cost in writing, including any follow-ups, and how much time do I have to decide?

Find a verified psychiatrist for drug addiction treatment

Every consultant is GMC-checked and independently reviewed. Search by postcode and distance, or switch to a map. Ordered by rating, relevance and recency — never by who pays.

How we made this page

Medically reviewed by a GMC-registered consultant. Written in plain English, checked against NHS, NICE, GMC and relevant Royal College / specialist-society guidance, and kept under review. No clinic paid to appear on this page, and we publish no pricing. This is general information to help you prepare — it is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician. How we review our guides →

Source hierarchy: UK regulator and NHS/NICE guidance first, then relevant Royal College or specialist-society guidance, then peer-reviewed evidence for procedure-specific figures where available.

Sources & standards: NHS — Drug addiction: getting help FRANK — find drug treatment support near you Royal College of Psychiatrists — Addictions faculty resources NHS England — Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment workforce We Are With You — free, confidential drug support nidirect — urgent and emergency care services (Northern Ireland) nidirect — GP out-of-hours service (Northern Ireland)

Reviews reflect patients' experience of care, not clinical outcomes. For procedure volumes and outcome data see PHIN.

Last medically reviewed 2026-09-21. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report an error in this guide.