Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers in Spain

How does public addiction treatment work in Spain?

Public addiction treatment in Spain is part of the SNS, but each of the autonomous communities runs its own addiction network and regional drug plan. The Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, the Spanish government’s national drug strategy office, publishes a list of every regional plan with links, which is the quickest way to find the right network.

Because the networks are regional, the cost to the person, the way in and the range of services all follow the terms of the region. Someone moving between regions, for example from Málaga to Valencia, would join a different network with its own entry points.

Who decides which public services a Spanish region offers?

In Spain, the autonomous community decides which public addiction services it offers and on what terms, under its own drug plan. The national government sets the shared framework through the SNS and the Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, while the regions build and run the outpatient units, detox places and residential communities that make up each network.

Publicly funded treatment is listed at most of the rehabs in Spain, and public health insurance is accepted at most as well. A few of the country’s listings offer publicly funded residential places.

How does a person get referred to public rehab in Spain?

A referral to public rehab in Spain usually comes from primary care or another public health service, which the national drug plan’s reporting describes as the main referral routes into treatment. Some regions also let people book directly at an outpatient addiction center, without seeing a family doctor first.

The regional drug plan for the person’s own community sets out which of the two routes applies, and where the nearest outpatient unit is.

Is opioid substitution treatment available in Spain?

Yes, opioid substitution treatment is available across Spain through the public addiction networks of the autonomous communities. The national report names buprenorphine with naloxone and long-acting injectable buprenorphine among the medications in use, and centers offering substitution treatment operate in regions throughout the country.

Medication-assisted treatment and methadone are each listed at a few of the rehabs in Spain. For anyone already on a substitution medicine, the medication import rules later on this page apply before arrival.

Can a 16-year-old consent to addiction treatment in Spain?

Yes. Under Law 41/2002, Spain’s basic law on autonomy and consent in health care, a young person aged 16 or over, or an emancipated minor, gives consent to treatment personally, and a parent cannot consent in their place. When a doctor judges there is a serious risk to life or health, the legal representative decides after hearing the young person.

Rehab for teens is listed at some of the rehabs in Spain, and young adult programs appear at some as well.

What does private rehab in Spain cost?

Private residential rehab in Spain has an estimated typical range of €8,900 to €23,700 a month, and medical detox runs from €5,300 to €16,600 a month. Outpatient care costs least, at an estimated €1,100 to €3,600 a month, with day treatment and intensive outpatient care falling between those two.

The final figure depends on the level of care, the room, the length of stay and what therapy is included. Self-pay is listed at some of the rehabs in Spain, and private insurance is accepted at a few.

Estimated monthly cost by level of care in Spain

The estimated monthly ranges for rehab in Spain start at €1,100 for outpatient care and reach €23,700 for a residential stay. Medical detox, day treatment and intensive outpatient care sit between those ends, and each level is shown in the table below for side-by-side reading.

How can I check that a rehab in Spain is authorized?

Royal Decree 1277/2003 set up a general register of authorized health centers, kept by the Ministry of Health and fed by the registers of the autonomous communities. To check a specific provider in Spain, the regional health department of the community where it operates is the place to ask, since it issued the authorization.

Addiction care carries its own code in the decree, U.71, so a provider can be asked whether its authorization covers that service type.

What kinds of programs are listed across Spain?

Outpatient care is listed at nearly all rehabs in Spain, and residential care, detox and aftercare at some. A few listings offer sober living, online treatment or walk-in access, and mental health treatment appears at nearly all of them.

Care for a mental health condition alongside addiction is listed at a few of the country’s rehabs, and programs for couples and older adults at a few more. Alcohol addiction is treated at most of the rehabs in Spain, and opioids and cocaine at some.

Are addiction treatment records confidential in Spain?

Yes. Article 7 of Law 41/2002 gives everyone in Spain the right to confidentiality of their health data, and no one may access that information without authorization under the law. That protection covers records from addiction treatment in the same way as any other health record held by a provider.

A provider can explain in writing who sees the record, including whether anything is shared with an employer or a family member.

Traveling to Spain for addiction treatment

Spain is in the Schengen area, so visitors who need a visa apply for a Schengen short-stay visa, valid for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and visa-exempt visitors may stay for the same length. A course of treatment in Spain lasting longer than 90 days falls under the country’s national visa procedures.

Rehab is also listed in Palma, Eivissa, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Mainland coastal listings appear in Alicante, Murcia and Torremolinos. English-speaking Alcoholics Anonymous meetings meet in Barcelona and Catalonia, the Costa del Sol, Madrid and Mallorca, according to AA’s Continental European Region, though Spanish remains the language of therapy at nearly all listings.

Can I bring prescribed medication into Spain for rehab?

Personal medication can be brought into Spain, but carrying controlled narcotic or psychotropic medicines above a set quantity needs a permit from the AEMPS, the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices. The application goes in at least 10 days before travel, with a medical certificate, the original prescription, a passport and tickets.

Each permit covers no more than three months of treatment, cut to 15 days where the medicine is cannabis-based, and it expires three months after issue. Passengers only changing planes in Spain do not need one.

Which helplines can people call in Spain?

Spain has no national government drug helpline, but a long-running private foundation runs a free information and guidance line on 900 16 15 15, which also answers by WhatsApp on 681 155 160 and by email at consultas@fad.es. The autonomous communities run their own regional lines alongside it.

Andalusia’s regional government, for example, offers a free drug information line on 900 84 50 40 for people in that region.

Rehab listings in nearby countries include Portugal, France and Italy, and the Europe page covers the rest of the continent.