Treatment Settings

There are a variety of settings available for the provision of substance abuse treatment. The type of setting chosen may depend on the client's physical, psychological, emotional, financial, and social needs and should be based on a thorough assessment and objective patient placement criteria. Each substance abuse treatment setting offers various programs and services designed to decrease substance misuse. In addition, the length of stay and the intensity of substance abuse treatment regimen can vary across treatment settings. The availability of various health care providers (e.g., certified drug abuse counselors, physicians, nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers, general practitioners) also differs across treatment settings. Treatment settings for substance use disorders typically include detoxification (pretreatment), long-term residential, short-term residential, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and support groups. This entry ...