VettingHow to Vet an Addiction or Mental Health Treatment Program. What to check, what to ask and what to walk away from before you choose a program.

Families often start their search in a hurry. A loved one is in trouble, and the first program that answers the phone feels like the answer. Slowing down for a day or two to check a few things can protect your loved one and your family.

Here are the common levels of care, described in general terms:

• Residential treatment: the person lives at the program for a period of time and receives care through the day.
• Partial hospitalization (PHP): structured treatment most of the day, several days a week, while the person sleeps at home or elsewhere.
• Intensive outpatient (IOP): several hours of treatment a few days a week, often around work or school.
• Outpatient care: regular sessions with a therapist, a psychiatrist or both.

No level is best for everyone. The right one depends on safety, medical needs, mental health, past attempts at treatment and support at home. A good program will explain why it thinks its level fits your loved one, and will tell you if it does not.

If your loved one drinks heavily or uses benzodiazepines every day, be careful. Stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines suddenly can be medically dangerous. Talk to a doctor before they stop, and ask any program how it handles withdrawal. Our guide to outpatient detox at home explains more.

In California, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) licenses and certifies alcohol and drug recovery and treatment programs. DHCS publishes a list of these programs by county on its directories page. Search for the program by name and confirm that the address matches where your loved one would actually receive care. DHCS also posts information on treatment facility violations.

Some mental health programs are licensed by other state agencies. Ask the program which agency licenses it and what its license number is, then check with that agency. For individual clinicians, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist, you can look up their license with the state board for their profession.

Accreditation is a separate, voluntary review by an outside group. The two you will hear about most are The Joint Commission and CARF. Accreditation means the program agreed to be measured against a set of standards and was reviewed. It is a good sign, but it is not a promise of good care. Ask when the program was last reviewed, and check the accrediting group’s own website rather than relying on a logo.

Ask these questions on the phone and write down the answers:

• Who is on the clinical staff? Ask about licensed therapists, a psychiatrist, a medical doctor and nurses, and how often your loved one would see each one.
• What methods do you use? Look for evidence-based care, meaning approaches backed by research, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and family therapy. Ask how they decide which approach fits each person.
• What medical and psychiatric care is on site? Ask who handles a medical problem at night, and what happens if your loved one needs a hospital.
• Do you treat co-occurring conditions? Many people have both a substance use problem and a mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety or trauma. Both should be treated together. See our guide to co-occurring disorders.
• What is your policy on medication for addiction treatment (MAT)? Some medicines for opioid and alcohol use disorders are well studied. A program that refuses to allow them, or that makes people stop them to attend, is worth questioning.

Ask how a treatment plan is built and how often it is updated. A good answer sounds specific to your loved one. A vague answer that sounds the same for everyone is a warning.

Families are part of the picture. Ask whether the program offers family sessions, family education or regular updates, and how often. Ask what your loved one must sign so the team can talk with you.

Discharge planning should start early, not on the last day. Ask:

• When do you start planning for discharge?
• Will my loved one leave with appointments already set, such as a therapist and a psychiatrist?
• What happens if they leave early or against advice?
• Do you help with the step down to a lower level of care?

The weeks after treatment can be a fragile time. Our guide to planning the first 90 days at home walks through what to set up.

Be careful with outcome claims. Ask how the program measures results, who collects the data and how long it follows people after they leave. Honest programs will explain their limits. No program can guarantee that someone will stay well.

• Patient brokering: someone is paid, or offers perks, for steering your loved one to a program. Paying for patient referrals is against the law in California. Be wary of a helpful stranger who calls, texts or shows up with a program already picked.
• Free flights, free rent, cash, gift cards or other perks offered to get your loved one to enroll.
• The first questions are about insurance, not about your loved one. Payment matters, but a program should want to understand the person first.
• Guaranteed results, cure rates that sound too good or promises that a set number of days will fix everything.
• Pressure to decide today, or a claim that a spot will be gone in an hour.
• A program that will not give you its license number, its address or the names and credentials of its clinical leaders.
• A hotline or website that does not clearly say which program you are talking to.

Money questions are fair to ask. Our guide to paying for addiction and mental health treatment explains how insurance, out-of-network bills and other options work.

FindTreatment.gov is a confidential, anonymous search tool from SAMHSA, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It lists state-licensed treatment for mental health and substance use. Enter a location to see programs near you. Treat the list as a starting point. Still check the license and ask the questions in this guide.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free and confidential and can help with referrals. In California, the DHCS directories page also lists county access lines for substance use services.

Comparing programs is hard when you are scared and tired. A simple table helps: one row per program, with columns for license, accreditation, clinical staff, co-occurring care, MAT policy, family involvement and aftercare.

A case manager can do much of this work with you. At Blackburn Recovery Services, case management includes helping families understand levels of care, check programs and plan what comes after. The goal is simple: someone on your side while you compare options. Learn more about case management in our glossary.

• California DHCS: Directories for Substance Use Disorder Services
• California DHCS: Licensing and Certification Division
• SAMHSA: FindTreatment.gov
• SAMHSA: National Helpline
• SAMHSA: Tips on Finding Quality Treatment
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

If you are not sure which kind of help fits, start with Where to start. You can also call us at (888) 305-5422 or email info@theblackburngroup.org. We can talk through what you have found and what to ask next.

If someone is thinking about suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 911.

• Ways to Pay for Treatment
• Outpatient Detox at Home
• How to Choose an Interventionist

All guides →