Plain guides to getting treatment

If you are deciding whether you need treatment

You do not have to be sure before you read on. Many people sit somewhere between “maybe” and “yes”. Does rehab work? gives an honest answer, including what relapse means. How long does rehab take? helps if your first worry is your job or your kids. You can read in any order, and you can come back later. Nothing here asks you to call anyone.

When you are ready to look at options, how to choose a program walks through the order to do things in. Types of care explains each level in plain words.

If you are looking for someone else

Start with helping a family member. It covers how to open the conversation, and what federal guides suggest. You can make calls for someone else, and you can read every guide here on their behalf.

Families can also call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. It serves people and family members, it is free, and it is open all day and night. SAMHSA says it will not ask for personal information, though it may ask for a ZIP code to find local services.

Before you pick up the phone

Two guides save time on calls. Questions to ask gives you a short list to use with any program. Check a Texas license shows how to confirm that the state knows about a program. Listing a program on this site does not mean we have confirmed its license.

Then see the list of Dallas programs, where each one shows its own phone number and website. You can also look by part of town under treatment across Dallas. Your first day explains what intake is often like, which may ease some fear of the unknown.

What these guides are, and what they are not

We wrote these guides to explain your options. They are general information, so they cannot tell you what is right for your body or your family. Talk to a doctor about medical choices, especially before stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines, since withdrawal from either can be dangerous.

Medical and legal facts link back to public sources such as SAMHSA, the federal agency for substance use and mental health, and NIDA, the federal institute that studies drug use. If we could not confirm something, we left it out.