Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centres in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Starting addiction treatment in Amsterdam

Starting addiction treatment in Amsterdam means seeing a GP first, because Dutch basic insurance only pays for specialist addiction care after a GP referral. The GP refers on when the problem cannot be treated in the practice, and treatment arranged without a referral falls outside the basic package entirely.

Everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands must hold standard health insurance from a private insurer, and the basic package is identical at every insurer. That means the route into care in Amsterdam is the same whichever company a resident chose.

How do I get a referral for rehab in Amsterdam?

A referral for rehab in Amsterdam comes from the GP a person is registered with. After the referral, a large nonprofit addiction care organization in the city takes sign-ups for intake on its website and answers on 088 505 1220, offering information, online self-help, prevention and treatment alongside other providers in Amsterdam.

Anyone new to Amsterdam should register with a GP before they need one, since the referral cannot be arranged without that registration. Asking the practice early whether its doctors work in English or another language saves time later.

Where can relatives in Amsterdam get support?

Relatives in Amsterdam can get support from the same nonprofit addiction care organization, which offers help to family members as well as to the person using alcohol or drugs. Family education is listed at some of the city’s rehabs, giving partners and parents a structured place to learn about treatment.

Mutual-aid meetings are another option. Alcoholics Anonymous in the Netherlands lists meetings every day through its meeting finder and runs a national helpline.

What care do Amsterdam rehabs provide?

Amsterdam rehabs provide outpatient care at nearly all programs, and alcohol detox, cocaine detox, day treatment and aftercare at some. Alcohol is treated at about half of the city’s rehabs, and cocaine, opioids and benzodiazepines each appear at some.

Mental health treatment is listed at nearly all Amsterdam rehabs. Combined care for addiction and a mental health condition, PTSD treatment and crisis intervention appear at some, and help to stop smoking at some as well.

Is there addiction treatment for teenagers in Amsterdam?

Addiction treatment for teenagers is listed at some Amsterdam rehabs, including teen outpatient programs, teen dual diagnosis care and online sessions for teens. Dutch law covers under-18s through the Youth Act rather than the basic insurance package, so the funding route for a young person in Amsterdam differs from an adult’s.

Programs for teen girls and for teen boys are each listed at some Amsterdam rehabs, as is trauma care for teens. Parents can ask a program how it involves the family and how the Youth Act route is arranged for someone under 18.

What will rehab in Amsterdam cost?

Private rehab in Amsterdam has an estimated typical range of €1,100 to €3,600 a month for outpatient care, the level listed at nearly all of the city’s rehabs. Medical detox runs from €5,300 to €16,600, and self-pay is listed at some Amsterdam rehabs for people outside the insured route.

For a referred resident with Dutch insurance, the insurer pays the provider directly, so these ranges mostly apply to private arrangements. Residential stays are not among the levels Amsterdam rehabs list on the site, so someone who needs round-the-clock care may continue elsewhere, and transfers to other programs are listed at some of the city’s rehabs.

Amsterdam monthly cost estimates by level of care

Amsterdam’s monthly cost estimates cover the four levels its rehabs list: medical detox, day treatment, intensive outpatient and outpatient care. Day treatment runs from an estimated €5,300 to €11,200 a month, and intensive outpatient care from €2,600 to €6,500, as the table shows.

Is treatment free with Dutch insurance in Amsterdam?

Treatment with Dutch insurance in Amsterdam carries no personal contribution for medical mental health care, the part of the basic package that covers addiction. The yearly compulsory excess, the eigen risico, can still apply to insured care, although GP visits never count toward it, so the referral appointment itself is not affected.

Private insurance is accepted at nearly all Amsterdam rehabs and public insurance at most, which reflects the Dutch model of private insurers selling a government-defined package.

How are Amsterdam’s addiction providers regulated?

Amsterdam’s addiction providers are supervised by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate, the IGJ, which oversees mental health and addiction care across the Netherlands. The Care Providers Admission Act, the Wtza, requires every care provider to register with the government, and some need an admission permit as well.

Registration under the Wtza is a condition of entry to the market rather than a quality score, so it is one question among several to put to a provider. Others include whether the provider holds a permit, how its staff are qualified, and who oversees medical care during detox.

Can someone be treated against their will in Amsterdam?

Treatment against a person’s will is possible in Amsterdam only under the Compulsory Mental Health Care Act, the Wvggz, when a psychological disorder causes serious harm that voluntary care cannot prevent. A judge grants a care authorization, or the mayor can impose a crisis measure, and the care must be proportionate and effective.

The act does not mention addiction specifically. Medical records from any treatment are protected by the treatment contract rules in the Dutch Civil Code and by the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

Visiting Amsterdam for treatment

Visiting Amsterdam for treatment usually means arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which has international flights and lies 7.0 miles from central Amsterdam in a straight line. All distances here are measured that way from the city center, and there are 9 hospitals within 10 miles.

The Sloterplas lake is 3.0 miles from the center, Het Nieuwe Meer 4.0 miles, and the nearest beach 10.8 miles. The rehabs near lakes page gathers similar settings, and rehab is listed in Belgium, Germany and England as well.

What should visitors to Amsterdam know before a treatment stay?

Visitors to Amsterdam can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, because the Netherlands is in the Schengen area, using a short-stay visa if their nationality requires one. Stays longer than 90 days fall under national procedures, and the EU rules set out no separate visa category for medical treatment.

Medicines covered by the Opium Act need an official statement to be brought into the Netherlands, and a medication passport may be requested at the border. Medicines may not be mailed in without licenses. Because Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands, a visitor normally relies on a policy from home or pays the Amsterdam provider directly, and the admissions team can explain which option it accepts.

Which helplines can people in Amsterdam call?

People in Amsterdam can call Alcoholinfo and Drugsinfo on 09001995, national lines run by the Trimbos Institute, from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 17:00, at 10 cents a minute. Alcoholics Anonymous answers its Dutch helpline on 085-104 53 90 every day from 8:00 to 23:00.

Gambling and gaming questions go to Gameninfo on the same 09001995 number, Monday to Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00.

Listings in more countries, including Switzerland, France and Spain, are on the Europe page.