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Many options exist for quality alcohol rehab in Houston. If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD), it’s important to seek out the right treatment for you. Houston alcohol rehabs offer different amenities and accept various forms of payment, including cash payments, health insurance, payment plans, sliding scale programs, Medicare, and Medicaid. Finding an affordable rehab in Houston that meets your needs is possible.

Houston Alcohol Use Statistics

According to the National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health, of Harris County at least 46%, or almost half of Houston residents (2.3 million) and more than third of metro area residents (7.1 million) consumed alcohol between 2016 and 2018. ² Here are other figures from this survey:³

Binge drinking was heaviest among Black and Hispanic Houstonians, at 17%, followed by white Houstonians at 13%.
Houstonians aged 30-44 were the most frequent binge drinkers, at 32.0%, followed by residents aged 30-44 (28.4%), aged 45-64 (18.4%), those between the ages 8 and 20 (6.6%), and those 65 and older (4.5%).
The percentage of Houstonians who admit to binge drinking has risen by 3% over the past decade.

Cost of Alcohol Rehab in Houston

Rehab costs vary depending on several factors.⁴ As a rule:

Outpatient rehab costs less than inpatient rehab because inpatient involves costs for room and board.
As the quality of amenities increases, costs rise.
Shorter rehabs cost less than longer rehabs.
It is possible to obtain free or low-cost alcohol rehab in Texas.
If you cannot obtain free rehab, costs at different rehabs vary widely. It’s best to contact several rehabs and inquire about costs for the type of rehab you are seeking.
Regardless of cost, rehabbing with a good outcome will be an economic plus for the rest of your life.

Options for Low-Cost and Free Alcohol Rehab in Houston

Government rehabs primarily aim to serve clients lacking insurance or other financial resources to cover the cost. Usually located in population centers, government detox facilities usually have accessible public transit services and minimal amenities. To get into a government rehab, you will need to fill out an application detailing your AUD history. You will also need to show you reside in the rehab’s governing jurisdiction and have little or no income.

Having health insurance is a key to helping keep out-of-pocket rehab costs down, whether it’s private or government-provided Medicaid or Medicare. Contact your health insurer to understand which facilities and types of rehab your health insurance policy will cover and what expenses you need to pay yourself.

How Do I Pay for Alcohol Abuse Treatment in Houston?

You have options to consider if you do not have private health insurance or Medicaid or Medicare coverage or if your coverage is for only part of your rehab costs.

Choose a Program That Offers Payment Plans

Many rehabs offer payment plans which allow you to pay your rehab costs in installments. Before committing to a payment plan, make sure you fully understand repayment terms, interest, and other charges. You can search for rehabs with payment plans online or contact one of our treatment specialists at 800-948-8417 Calls are forwarded to these paid advertisers to help you find an alcohol rehab in Houston that works for you.

Apply for a Rehab Scholarship

Some rehab facilities offer scholarships to pay for all or a part of treatment at their facility. A limited number of nonprofit foundations, corporations, and spiritual institutions also provide rehab scholarships. To receive a scholarship, you will need to apply. Be prepared to explain why you need the scholarship, describe your AUD history, and your plans to stay sober after rehab. Contact rehabs directly to see if they offer scholarships.

Find a Sliding Scale Rehab Program

Many rehabs offer sliding scale payment plans if you cannot pay the rehab cost yourself. If accepted for a sliding scale plan, the less your ability to pay, the lower your cost. Do an internet search or contact rehabs directly to determine if they offer sliding scale plans. You will need to document your income and significant expenses to be eligible.

Popular Alcohol Rehab Centers in Houston

The Turning Point West Clinic

This rehab is in west Houston near Westpark Tollway and South Gessner Road. It offers adult and youth rehab services for men and women and is LFTBQ friendly. For adults, it provides a three- to six-month program. For adolescents, the program is 13 to 24 weeks. The programs revolve around cognitive and motivational therapies (see below), peer support, anger management, HIV education, and relapse prevention. In addition to the West Clinic, Turning Point operates adult and youth outpatient facilities elsewhere in Houston and its environs.

Positive Recovery Garden Oaks

Positive Recovery provides inpatient, outpatient, and medical detox with aftercare services from Garden Oaks and 13 other locations in and around Houston and the Hills Country in Austin’s surrounding area. The inpatient facilities are comfortably furnished, and the facility offers outpatient treatment remotely via Zoom. Positive Recovery offers a one-year assurance plan for clients paying cash out of pocket. Under this plan, upon completion of 30 days of inpatient treatment, you may return to the facility for additional treatment at no charge if you relapse within one year.

Gateway to Sobriety

This rehab is located in Houston’s Golfcrest/Bellefort/Reveille area south of downtown. It provides a 90-day inpatient rehab experience and outpatient rehab founded upon 12-Step recovery.⁵ It also treats dual diagnosis clients. The inpatient rehab client’s day begins at 7 a.m. and ends with lights out at 10 p.m. Gateway to Sobriety also offers outpatient treatment three hours a session several times a week. Modalities used at this rehab include cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalytic, dialectical therapy, and family therapy (see below). As with all rehabs in Houston and its environs, rehab staff and technicians speak Spanish and English.

Into Action Recovery Centers (IRAC)

This is a full spectrum of service rehab on El Camino Real, not far from Johnson Space Center in Houston. The facility occupies a campus typesetting. It offers the complete course of treatment for inpatient and outpatient clients, including medical detox and continuing care. Its programs revolve around the 12-Step philosophy. Therapies used include cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing. Trauma and relationship counseling is offered. The interiors are comfortable. Into Action Recovery accepts most major insurers, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Cigna. IRAC also operates a facility in Galveston.

Behavioral Hospital of Bellaire

Behavioral Hospital of Bellaire provides inpatient and outpatient adolescent rehab services in Houston specifically designed to meet the mental health care needs of patients ages 12-17. The hospital specializes in treating dual diagnoses adolescents with co-occurring disorders. Therapies used include cognitive behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, and yoga as recreational therapy. The rehab also provides inpatient and outpatient treatment for adult men and exclusively to adult women and operates an inpatient program exclusively for senior adults. Its programs revolve around the 12-step spiritual philosophy.

Cenikor Odyssey House

Located in Deer Park east of downtown, this rehab provides inpatient and outpatient treatment for adult men and women and continuing care, sober housing, and medical detox. It also provides a dedicated program for veterans and assists clients with developing job training needed to secure stable employment. In addition to its rehab, two facilities in Houston — one for adults and one for youth and adolescents — Cenikor operates rehabs at eight other locations in Texas.

Inpatient vs. Outpatient Alcohol Rehab in Houston

Clients receive rehab on either an inpatient or outpatient basis.⁶ Inpatient involves living at a rehab facility 24/7. With outpatient rehab, you can stay at home and regularly attend rehab sessions at a facility Inpatient or outpatient, the length of your rehab can extend from a week to 30 or 90 days or longer.

Benefits of Inpatient Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Many variables are at play, but as a rule, inpatient rehab leads to better outcomes than outpatient rehab. This is because inpatient rehab is more intensive, with fewer distractions from your rehab program from family, friends, and work. The higher intensity of inpatient rehab with a higher propensity for a good outcome is the main benefit of inpatient rehab.

The first step in your rehab will be an assessment. It is used to create an individualized service plan (ISP). The ISP suggests whether you should rehab inpatient or outpatient and need medical detox.

Detox involves a medical intervention to treat withdrawal.⁷ Detox clears alcohol out from your system. If you suddenly stop consuming alcohol after long periods of heavy drinking, you may experience withdrawal. It can threaten your life. If you need detox, inpatient rehab will probably be recommended.

When checking into rehab, you will have your belongings looked through. Contraband such as drugs, alcohol, and weapons will be confiscated. Cell phones and laptops will be taken by staff and stored. You will be allowed to access them at a designated time of the day. As an inpatient client, you can have visitors while in rehab.

Benefits of Outpatient Addiction Treatment

If you have a less severe case of AUD, it is likely outpatient will be recommended. Outpatient rehab’s primary benefit is that it allows you to return home each night to be with your family and go to work. You may want to supplement outpatient rehab with other types of support, such as AA meetings in Houston or SMART Recovery meetings.

Types of Alcohol Rehabs in Houston

The use of core inpatient, outpatient, and group therapy treatment modalities is common in all rehab programs. Rehabs sometimes incorporate other special programs that therapists and clients believe will improve rehab outcomes.

Holistic Rehab

These rehabs incorporate dance, acupuncture, meditation, art therapy, and yoga.⁸ The aim is to align the body, mind, and spirit on a path of lifelong abstinence by expressing thoughts and feelings through these modalities.

Christian and Faith-Based Rehab

Religious and other spiritual and non-secular practices and principles are incorporated into the faith-based rehab experience.⁹ Christian is the most popular faith-based rehab mode, but faith-based rehabs can affiliate with any spiritual denomination.

Luxury Alcohol Rehab Centers

Luxury rehabs incorporate resort-style settings into the rehab experience. They are usually located in scenic locations such as in the mountains, on the coast, or in the desert. They offer the highest quality amenities and interiors outfitted with fine room furniture. Amenities include extensive fitness facilities, spas, hiking trails, boating, and horseback riding.

Executive Rehab

Executive rehab is costly and generally reserved for clients who need enhanced access to their places of work during inpatient stays. Rooms are comfortably appointed private or double occupancy. Clients are allowed more flexible access to cell phones and laptops.

Dual Diagnosis Rehab

Rehab for a client who suffers from AUD and co-occurring mental health disorder is called dual diagnosis. Common co-occurring disorders include depression, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and personality disorders. Teams of physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists work together on dual diagnosis clients.¹⁰ Because it increases the severity of both AUD and the co-occurring condition, dual diagnosis clients are among the most difficult to treat.

Depression and Alcohol Addiction

Clients diagnosed with AUD are 2.3 times more likely to have experienced a major depressive episode in the prior year than the general population.¹¹ Symptoms of depression include lost interest in activities and thoughts of self-harm. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) stabilize a neurotransmitter produced by the brain that leads to feelings of well-being.¹² SSRIs commonly prescribed to treat depression include Citalopram Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paroxetine Paxil, and Zoloft.

Anxiety and Alcohol Addiction

AUD and excessive anxiety, or social anxiety disorder (SAD), frequently co-occur. AUD and SAD co-occur in 2.4% of people’s lifetimes in the general population.¹³ SAD symptoms include fear of strangers, worrying, and fear of humiliating yourself in public. Counseling and SSRI antidepressants help to treat SAD.

PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorder

Posttraumatic stress and AUD co-occur often. PTSD can result from experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Indications include severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks. AUD or other substance use disorders co-occur with PTSD over the lifetimes of 57.7% of PTSD diagnoses.¹⁴ Between 11 and 30% of U.S. veterans develop PTSD.¹⁵ Treatment for PTSD focuses on cognitive and dialectical behavior therapy and SSRI medications.

Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Abuse

Extreme mood swings between mania and depression are signs of bipolar disorder (BD). AUD co-occurs in as many as 62% of BD diagnoses.¹⁶ To treat BD, psychotherapy and mood-stabilizing, anti-depression, and anti-anxiety medications are used.

Personality Disorders and Alcohol Addiction

Personality disorders (PD) are behaviors characterized by rigid and self-destructive patterns of thinking and difficulties relating to people that last over the long term. The link between PD and AUD is not entirely clear. But it has been estimated that AUD co-occurs in 50% of personality disorder cases in some populations.¹⁷

Types of Addiction Therapy Used in Alcohol Rehab

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Standard to AUD treatment, CBT aims at changing your beliefs and how you think to recover from AUD.¹⁸ The goal is for you to learn how to identify problem-causing behaviors that lead to drinking and skills to anticipate and manage these behaviors without drinking.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) aims to mediate harmful emotional behavior. Clients learn how to cope with stress, manage change, move on from past mistakes, move forward in life, and strengthen their relationships with loved ones.¹⁹

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Motivational enhancement therapy, also called motivational interviewing, encourages you to think about the positive aspects of sobriety as a pathway to leading a healthier and happier life.²⁰

Contingency Management

This therapeutic approach stresses rewards in exchange for healthier behavior.²¹ For example, you would receive a voucher in exchange for passing a urine test to see if you have drunk alcohol.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is standard in all rehab programs. It involves meeting together with other clients to talk about the causes and consequences of AUD.²² By sharing your experiences, clients learn how to live sober. A counselor facilitates group sessions.

Family Therapy

Family problems are a frequent source of excessive alcohol consumption. This therapy brings together families to talk about and identify solutions to these problems to eliminate family conflict as a source of AUD.²³

Should I Travel to Houston for Alcohol Rehab?

The following are reasons you might consider traveling for AUD rehab in Houston:

Houston is home to supportive family and friends.
Alcohol rehab in Houston is covered by your health insurance.
You currently live somewhere that doesn’t provide the type of rehab available in Houston

Neighborhoods in Houston to Consider for Treatment

Houston is a very big, culturally, economically diverse sprawling city of 2.3 million. Neighborhoods are often indistinguishable. It is the fifth most bilingual city in the U.S., with 25% of Houstonians speaking both English and Spanish.²⁴

There are quality facilities for Houston alcohol rehabs throughout the city. Most people searching for an alcohol rehab in Houston near me consider the following:

Are you seeking inpatient or outpatient rehab?
Do you have insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare? Where is it accepted? Does the rehab offer sliding scale fees, payment plans, or scholarships?
Do you want to incorporate holistic or faith-based or other types of practices into your rehab experience, and what amenities will give you the best rehab outcome?
Do you want a rehab specializing in treating people from the Spanish Speaking, LGBTQ, and non-binary communities, veterans, or teens?
Does the rehab’s visitor policy work for you, your family, and your friends?

Alcohol and Drug Laws in Houston

Right to Privacy

Under federal law, you are entitled to have any records about AUD care treated as confidential. Without a court order, information about your rehab cannot be released unless you first approve.²⁵

Other Laws

Most laws pertaining to alcohol use and AUD rehab in Texas are created at the state level.²⁶ Texas is generally viewed as a tough-on-crime state. It’s not unusual for people suffering from AUD, a medical, disease, to be viewed with ill intent by police. Unfortunately, as much progress as Texas has made, it still lacks the rights and privileges afforded under California’s Ethical Treatment for Persons with Addiction Act, Illinois’ Substance Abuse Disorder Act, and Ohio’s Recovery Bill of Rights. ^{27 28 29}

Resources

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Newman, R. K., Stobart Gallagher, M. A., & Gomez, A.E. (2021). Alcohol Withdrawal. Bethesda: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Biotechnology Information
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Grim, B.J. and Grim, M.E. (2019). Belief, behavior, and belonging: How faith is indispensable in preventing and recovering from substance abuse. Journal of Religious Health, 58(5), 1713-1750.
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Schneier, F.R., Foose, T.E., Hasin, D.S., Heimbuerg, R. G., Liu, Shang-Min, Grnt, B.F., and Blance, C. (2010) Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder comorbidity in the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. Psychological Medicine, 40(6):977-988.
Simpson, T.L. Goldenberg, S,B., Louden, D.K.N., Blakey, Hawn, S.E., Lott, A., Browne, K.C., and Kayson, D.Lehavot, K. (2021). Efficacy and acceptability of interventions for co-occurring PTSD and SUD: A meta-analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
Kintzle, S., Barr, N., Corletto, G. & Catsro, C. A. (2018). PTSD in U.S. veterans: The role of social connectedness, combat experience and discharge. Healthcare, 6(3), 102.
Farren, C. K., Hill, K. P., & Weiss, R. D. (2012). Bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder: A review. Current Psychiatry Reports. 14(6): 659-666.
Rosenström, T., Torvik, F.A., Ystrom, E., Czajkowski, N.O., Gillespe, N.A., Aggen, S.H., Krueger, K.S., and Rieichborn-Kjennerud, T. (2018). Prediction of alcohol use disorder using personality disorder traits: A twin study. Addiction, 113(1), 15-24.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2018, Jan). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
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National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Motivational Enhancement Therapy.
Petry, N.M. (2011). Contingency management: what it is and why psychiatrists should want to use it. Psychiatrist,35(5), 161-163.
Malhotra, A. and Baker, J. (2021). Group Therapy. National Library of Medicine.
National Institute of Medicine (2016). Chapter 6: Family-Based Services. In Substance Abuse: Clinical Issues in Intensive Outpatient Treatment.
(2022). Preply names El Paso the most bilingual city in the US.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
2009 Texas Code, Health and Safety Code.
Chapter 464: Facilities Treating Alcoholics and Drug Dependent Persons.
California Legislative Information. SB 349, Ch. 15 (2021-2022).
Illinois Compiled Statute. 26. Act 301 – Substance Use Disorder Act.
Ohio Section 5119.21 | Support of community support system; powers and duties regarding programs and services.