Outpatient Rehab Centers in Los Angeles

What does outpatient treatment for substance use look like in Los Angeles?

Outpatient treatment for substance use disorders in Los Angeles is scheduled counseling, group sessions and often medication at a clinic you visit and leave the same day. Most of the outpatient programs in these listings are in urban neighborhoods, and the rest are in smaller towns.

Listings cluster in the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, Downtown and Skid Row, and the South Bay and Long Beach. Programs are spread out, so many trips combine Metro Rail with a bus connection. The median program is 11 miles from the coast, and most of them are within 25 miles of it.

Some Los Angeles outpatient listings offer medications for opioid use disorder. Methadone is given at licensed narcotic treatment programs, and buprenorphine is prescribed at office-based clinics. Naltrexone is used for alcohol or opioid use disorder. Opioid treatment programs are grouped on the Los Angeles methadone clinics page.

Standard outpatient care involves fewer weekly hours than an intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization program. People who might have severe alcohol, benzodiazepine or opioid withdrawal may need medically managed detox first, and a county assessment can help sort that out. Outpatient addiction treatment can be paid for through Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.

How many hours a week is outpatient care compared with IOP and PHP?

Standard outpatient care usually means fewer than 9 hours of treatment a week for adults, under the American Society of Addiction Medicine level definitions. An intensive outpatient program in Los Angeles runs 9 or more hours a week for adults and 6 or more for adolescents. A partial hospitalization program runs 20 or more hours a week, and people still sleep at home.

When is outpatient care not enough?

Outpatient care may not be a safe place to start for someone at risk of serious withdrawal from alcohol, benzodiazepines or opioids. The same applies to anyone who has had seizures or severe symptoms when stopping before. In those cases, an assessment can show whether medically managed detox in Los Angeles should come first.

SAPC’s Substance Abuse Service Helpline, (844) 804-7500, can arrange a county assessment. SAPC’s Service and Bed Availability Tool shows open slots. For urgent help, call the county Department of Mental Health 24/7 Help Line at (800) 854-7771, or call or text 988.

Does Medi-Cal or private insurance pay for outpatient treatment in Los Angeles?

Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, pays for outpatient substance use treatment. In Los Angeles County, public care is arranged through SAPC’s provider network. Medi-Cal plans in the county include L.A. Care Health Plan, Health Net Community Solutions, Kaiser Permanente and PHC California. Medicare and many private plans also cover outpatient care, and federal parity rules generally require plans to cover substance use treatment on terms comparable to medical care. If you have no coverage, the state-funded rehab in Los Angeles page lists public options. Each listing shows the payment types and insurers the program says it accepts.

How can I look up an outpatient program’s license?

California outpatient substance use programs are licensed or certified by the Department of Health Care Services Licensing and Certification Division. You can search its records by program name. Joint Commission or CARF accreditation is another credential to ask about. RehabSeekers.com does not rate or vouch for any listing.

Young people aged 12 and older in California can consent to their own drug or alcohol counseling; see teen rehab in Los Angeles. Pregnant women get admission preference at programs funded by the federal block grant. Veterans can also ask the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center about outpatient care. To browse every Los Angeles program, go to all Los Angeles listings. For outpatient programs across California, see outpatient rehab in California.