How rehab works in the UK: getting a place, what happens and the cost

What is rehab, and how is it different from detox?

When people say rehab they usually mean residential rehabilitation. You move into a house or unit for a period and take part in a structured programme of treatment for alcohol or drugs while you live there. The Care Quality Commission, which regulates these services in England, describes this as residential accommodation provided together with treatment for substance misuse ^[7]. That treatment can be managed withdrawal, a structured psychosocial programme, or both, and it is not limited to treatment given by a healthcare professional ^[7].

Detox and rehab are different things, and it helps to know which one you are asking for. Detox is the medical part: coming off alcohol or drugs safely while staff manage the withdrawal symptoms. For alcohol, the NHS says some people need a short stay in a medically supported unit for this, which may be an NHS inpatient unit or a medically supported residential service, depending on the assessed medical need ^[1]. Rehab is the longer stretch that follows, spent working on why you drank or used and how you will live without it. The CQC describes successful medical detox as often leading on to further rehabilitation and recovery support, which can be delivered in residential or community-based services ^[8].

The NHS also describes intensive rehabilitation that can happen either through a programme of intensive support in your own community or at a residential service ^[1]. When a service talks about rehab, it may mean either of these, so ask which one they have in mind.

Do you need residential rehab?

For most people, residential rehab is not the first step, and that is worth knowing before you spend money or wait for a bed. The NHS says most people receive support to stop drinking, and recovery support, in the community ^[1]. It describes intensive rehabilitation as usually reserved for people with medium or high levels of alcohol dependence, and for people who have had other help before that has not been successful ^[1].

NICE, which writes the evidence-based guidance that NHS and council services follow in England, takes a similar line. For alcohol, it recommends that help to stop or cut down, and to prevent relapse, is offered in community-based settings for everyone, with an intensive structured community programme for people with moderate or severe dependence who have very little support around them, complex physical or mental health problems, or who have not responded to earlier community help ^[4]. For drugs, NICE says residential treatment may be considered for people seeking abstinence who have significant physical, mental health or social problems such as housing, who have completed a detox, and who have not benefited from community treatment before ^[5].

Put together, the guidance points to residential rehab where home itself is part of the difficulty, such as having nowhere stable to live or very little support around you, or where community treatment has already been tried and has not helped enough. NICE singles out people with alcohol dependence who are homeless, and suggests residential rehabilitation for a maximum of 3 months, with help to find stable accommodation before discharge ^[4].

How do you get into rehab in the UK?

The route into funded rehab runs through your local drug and alcohol service, and starting costs nothing. The NHS says that if you have a drug problem you are entitled to treatment in the same way as anyone else who has a health problem ^[2]. Alcohol Change UK points out that alcohol treatment is available free through the NHS or charities, and that paying privately is an option you do not have to take ^[6].

These are the usual steps ^[1][2][6]:

• Talk to your GP, who can discuss it with you and refer you to the local service. If you would rather not involve your GP, you can approach the local drug or alcohol service yourself ^[2].
• Find your local service. In England, the FRANK service finder lists confidential services you can use free in your local authority area ^[11], and the NHS website has its own search. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own directories ^[6].
• Go to the assessment. Staff will ask about your drinking or drug use, and also about your work, family and housing, then agree a treatment plan with you ^[2].
• Work with your keyworker, who supports you throughout treatment ^[2]. If you think you need something more intensive, this is the person to raise it with.
• If residential treatment might suit you, the service may refer you to a residential rehabilitation service ^[2], and a further assessment may be needed to decide whether there is funding for a place ^[1].

Why the process can feel slow, and what to do while you wait

Alcohol treatment is the responsibility of each local authority ^[1], so the details vary from area to area: how long a funding decision takes, which rehabs the council works with, and what the service will want to see from you before it refers you. Ask your keyworker plainly how it works where you live and what you can be doing in the meantime.

Waiting can be hard, especially when you have finally said yes to help and a place is still some way off. Keep going to your appointments, try a mutual aid meeting such as AA, NA or SMART Recovery, and tell one or two people you trust what is happening. The NHS lists UKNA and SMART Recovery among the groups some people find helpful ^[2]. You do not have to earn a place by doing any of this, though it does mean you arrive with some support already around you.

What happens in rehab, day to day?

Programmes differ, so ask any service to show you its timetable. If you still need to come off alcohol, that comes first, and the NHS says it may happen in an NHS inpatient unit or a medically supported residential service ^[1]. After that, most programmes are built around talking: one-to-one sessions, group work, and planning for what will be different when you leave.

NICE says the same range of psychosocial treatments should be available in residential settings as in the community, and that services should encourage and help people to take part in self-help groups ^[5]. That usually means meetings on site or nearby, which has a practical benefit, because they are something you can carry on going to when you get home.

Living in means sharing a house with other people who are stopping too, and being away from ordinary life for a while. That distance is the reason for going, and it is also why the return home needs planning, because your usual routines and pressures will still be there when you leave. In my own recovery, the ordinary weeks with nothing planned asked a lot of me, and I would give the plan for leaving as much thought as the stay.

How long you stay depends on the programme and on your needs. Whatever the length, ask early what happens on the day you leave. The NHS says most people need some help or a long-term plan to stay in control or alcohol-free after they stop ^[1].

How much does rehab cost in the UK?

If your council funds a place after assessment, you do not pay for the treatment yourself. The CQC has described residential detox and rehab services as commissioned mainly by local authorities, with people also able to pay privately as self-funders ^[8]. The NHS confirms that you can pay for residential rehabilitation privately and that medical insurance companies may fund it for a certain period ^[1].

I am not going to give you a price list. I could not find a reliable, current official figure for private rehab fees in the UK, and most of the numbers online come from clinics or referral sites with something to sell. Fees vary a great deal with the length of stay, whether medical detox is included, the level of medical cover and how much aftercare comes with it. Before you sign anything, these questions are worth asking:

• What exactly does the fee include: detox, medication, one-to-one sessions, groups, accommodation and meals?
• Who provides medical care during detox, and what happens if someone becomes unwell during the night?
• What is your CQC rating, and where can I read your latest inspection report?
• What aftercare is included once I leave, and for how long does it last?
• What happens to the money if I leave early?
• Am I speaking to the clinic itself, or to a referral company that is paid commission?

How to check a rehab is safe and genuine

In England, any service that provides residential accommodation together with treatment such as detox or a structured psychosocial programme must register with the Care Quality Commission for that activity ^[7]. Since September 2017 the CQC has had powers to rate independent substance misuse services as Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate ^[8]. Look the service up on the CQC website and read its most recent report before you pay a deposit.

When the CQC reported on residential detox services in 2017, it found that 72% of the providers it had inspected were failing at least one of the fundamental standards of care ^[8]. That report tells you nothing about any one service today, though it does show why reading the latest inspection report yourself is safer than trusting a badge on a website.

Be careful, too, about who you are speaking to. Some websites that look like clinics are referral companies paid to place people. The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against referral websites that gave the impression they provided rehab directly when they did not, and against one that showed the CQC trust mark when it was not regulated by the CQC ^[10]. In August 2026 the ASA told referral companies to state prominently on their homepage that they are principally a referral service and how they are funded, and not to imply they are impartial if they are not ^[9].

If you are frightened and someone on the phone is pressing you to decide today, take that as a reason to slow down. Your GP or local service can tell you what level of help you need, and their advice comes with nothing to sell.

Before you go: why stopping suddenly can be dangerous

Waiting for a place can feel unbearable, and some people try to stop on their own to prove they are ready. Please do not do this if you are dependent on alcohol. For anyone who is dependent on alcohol, the NHS describes a sudden stop as very dangerous, and its advice is that anyone who already has withdrawal symptoms needs medical help in place first, before cutting out alcohol ^[3]. It also advises getting advice about any medicine you may need to stop safely ^[1].

If you take benzodiazepines or GHB every day, do not stop suddenly either; speak to your GP or local service first. For alcohol, the NHS says medical help for withdrawal can be given at home or in hospital ^[3], and your GP or local service will decide with you which is safe. Call 999 or go to A&E if someone in withdrawal is shaking visibly, unusually restless, irritable or upset, confused, seeing or hearing things that nobody else can, or having a seizure ^[3]. My article on alcohol withdrawal symptoms goes through the warning signs in more detail.

If you are trying to get someone you love into rehab

Families often read about rehab before the person drinking or using does. You can ring the local service to ask how referrals work, but the person will usually need to be assessed and to agree to treatment themselves. What you can do is share information, offer to go with them to the GP, and make sure you have support of your own. The NHS points families towards Al-Anon Family Groups, which support the families and friends of problem drinkers whether or not they are still drinking, and towards Adfam, which works with families where a relative uses drugs or alcohol ^[1]. If the strain is showing at home, relationship counselling can help too.

What happens after rehab?

Leaving is where much of the work carries on. The NHS says that cutting down or stopping is usually just the beginning, and that most people will need some help or a long-term plan to stay in control or alcohol-free ^[1]. It adds that relying only on family, friends or carers often is not enough ^[1]. NICE says that people who relapse to opioid use during or after residential treatment should be offered an urgent assessment ^[5].

If you have used heroin or other opioids, there is one risk I want to be very clear about. FRANK warns that if you stop taking heroin for just a few days, your tolerance drops quickly, and taking the dose you used to take can cause an overdose ^[12]. Time in detox or rehab is exactly that kind of break, so the weeks after you leave carry a real danger if you go back to using. Before your discharge date, ask your drug service or keyworker for a take-home naloxone kit, and show the people you live with where you keep it. Naloxone is the emergency antidote for overdoses caused by heroin and other opioids such as methadone, and drug services can supply it without a prescription ^[13]. If you think someone has overdosed, call 999 straight away, even if naloxone has been given.

Good aftercare usually combines continued contact with your local service, mutual aid groups, and practical help with housing, work and relationships. Ask what the plan is well before your leaving date, and get names and numbers written down. If you slip, go back to your keyworker or GP quickly. A lapse can show you what extra support you need, and services expect it to happen to some people. My article on relapse looks at this in more depth.

This is where counselling can fit. I am a counsellor and not a doctor, so I do not provide detox or any medical treatment. I work in one room in Hove and online, offering a steady, confidential space to look at what the drinking or using was doing for you and how to live without it, alongside your GP and local service. You can read more about addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems, substance use counselling or addiction counselling in Hove, and my piece on the four R's for addictions looks at staying well over time.

Common questions

Sources

1. Alcohol support, NHS (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
2. Drug addiction: getting help, NHS (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
3. Alcohol-use disorder, NHS (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
4. Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking (high-risk drinking) and alcohol dependence (CG115): recommendations, NICE (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
5. Drug misuse in over 16s: psychosocial interventions (CG51): recommendations, NICE (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
6. About alcohol treatment, Alcohol Change UK (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
7. Accommodation for persons who require treatment for substance misuse (scope of registration), Care Quality Commission (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
8. Serious concerns uncovered in residential detox clinics: regulator demands improvements, Care Quality Commission (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
9. Enforcement Notice: Ads for drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation services by clinic referral companies, Advertising Standards Authority (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
10. Clarity for ads in the addiction treatment referral sector, Advertising Standards Authority (CAP News) (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
11. Find drug and alcohol support near you, FRANK (UK government) (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
12. Heroin, FRANK (UK government) (accessed 12 Nov 2026)
13. Supplying take home naloxone without a prescription, GOV.UK (accessed 12 Nov 2026)

Written by Bradley Riddell, a BACP-registered counsellor (registered member 109340) with over 25 years' experience and lived experience of recovery. He is not a doctor: this article is general information, not medical advice. Check his registration. Sources checked 12 November 2026.