What a level of care means
Level of care means how much support a program gives you.
It also means where you sleep while you get it.
The steps run from most support to least. Most people move down the steps over time.
You do not pick a level on your own. A clinician assesses you and recommends one.
| Level | Where you sleep | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| detox | At the program | Getting through withdrawal with staff watching |
| residential treatment | At the program | Living in treatment while you get stable |
| inpatient hospital care | In a hospital | Treatment when a medical or psychiatric problem needs a hospital |
| partial hospitalization | At home | Most of the day, most days, then home at night |
| intensive outpatient | At home | A few hours a day, several days a week |
| outpatient treatment | At home | Regular appointments around work or school |
Detox, or withdrawal management
Detox treats the physical side of stopping. Staff watch your vital signs and treat symptoms.
It is short. It is a start, not a whole treatment plan.
Withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines can be medically serious. Talk to a doctor before you stop either one.
Most people need a next step booked before detox ends. Ask what that step is.
Residential treatment
Residential means you live at the program. Staff are there day and night.
Days are structured. You get therapy, groups, and help planning what comes next.
It suits people whose home is not steady enough to get well in.
Inpatient hospital care
This is treatment inside a hospital. A medical team is on hand around the clock.
It fits someone with a serious medical or psychiatric problem alongside substance use.
It is usually short. People often step down to residential or PHP afterwards.
Partial hospitalization, or PHP
PHP runs most of the day, most days of the week. You sleep at home.
It is often the step down from residential. It is also a step up from outpatient.
You need somewhere safe and stable to go home to each night.
Intensive outpatient, or IOP
IOP meets a few hours a day, several days a week.
You keep working or studying around it.
Many programs run evening groups so a job does not have to end.
Outpatient treatment
Outpatient is the lightest step. You see a counselor or a prescriber on a set schedule.
It works best with stable housing and people around you who help.
It is also where many people stay for a long time after the intensive part ends.
Medication is not a separate level
Buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone are medicines used to treat addiction.
They can sit inside any of the levels above.
Not every program offers them. Ask directly, before you commit to a place.
How many places offer each level
The counts below come from our own directory. They are read from the database when this page loads.
These counts are read from our directory when the page loads. The read did not come back this time, so the table is not shown. Nothing is substituted for it. Reload in a moment, or search the directory directly.
A facility can offer several levels at once.
Outpatient is by far the most common. Partial hospitalization is the rarest.
That shape matters when you are searching. The lighter the level, the more choice you have near home.
Who decides which level you need
A clinical assessment decides. It is normally free and it takes under an hour.
An assessor looks at a short list of things:
- What you use, how much, and how long you have used it
- Whether withdrawal is likely to be dangerous
- Other health and mental health conditions
- Whether home is safe and stable
- Whether you have tried treatment before, and what happened
Ask for the recommendation in writing. Ask what the step after it looks like.
Questions worth asking before you say yes
- What level of care is this, in plain words?
- How long does it usually last?
- What does it cost me, after insurance?
- Do you take my insurance, or Medicaid?
- Do you offer medication for addiction on site?
- What happens on the day I leave?
- Are you licensed in this state, and by whom?
A good program answers all seven without hesitating.
Two of those seven questions are about insurance. Check the answers yourself rather than taking them on trust. A plan's published provider list can be out of date, so confirm the facility is in network first. We run a separate site about health plans, and it explains how to do that: how to check your plan's doctor list.
AllowanceHealth is operated by Spain Companies LLC, the same company that operates aSoberBed. Treat that link as our own sister site, not an independent recommendation. No money changes hands when you follow it. About the Spain care network.
If you need help right now
Call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free and it runs all day, every day.
Call the SAMHSA National Helpline on 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential treatment referral.
If someone is unresponsive or cannot breathe, call 911.
How this site is paid for
Facilities pay a flat listing fee to be listed here.
The fee does not change what you see, or the order you see it in.
Nobody pays us for a referral, and nobody pays us when a person is admitted.
That is a legal line, not a preference. Federal law makes paying for a treatment referral a crime.