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Understand your options before you make a call
Treatment in New Jersey is organized into levels of care. Knowing what each one involves makes it easier to describe what you need and to compare programs fairly.
Levels of care
Withdrawal management and detox
Short-term medically supervised care that helps a person stop using a substance safely. It is a starting point, not a full course of treatment.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
Inpatient and residential treatment
Structured live-in care with daily programming, typically after withdrawal management or when outpatient care has not been enough.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
Outpatient, IOP, and PHP
Scheduled treatment while living at home, ranging from weekly counseling to day-long programming several times a week.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
Medication for addiction treatment
Medications such as buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone, prescribed and monitored by licensed clinicians alongside counseling and support.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
Mental health and co-occurring needs
Programs that address depression, anxiety, trauma, or other conditions together with substance use rather than separately.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
Recovery support and peer services
Non-clinical support including peer coaching, mutual-aid meetings, family groups, and recovery community centers.
Learn what this level of care can involve. A licensed provider determines clinical eligibility.
No level of care is automatically the right one. A licensed clinician assesses what fits a person's medical situation, history, and circumstances.
Questions to ask an admissions team
- Is your program licensed by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and can you confirm your license number?
- What level of care are you assessing me for, and what happens if I need something different?
- How soon can an assessment happen, and what does the waitlist look like today?
- Do you prescribe or coordinate buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone?
- Do you treat mental health conditions at the same time as substance use?
- Which insurance plans are you in network with, and what will I owe out of pocket?
- What language and accessibility support do you offer during treatment, not just intake?
- What happens after this level of care ends, and how is that transition planned?
If the situation is urgent
Overdose, severe withdrawal, or immediate danger is a medical emergency. Call 911.
Crisis resourcesIf cost is the barrier
NJ FamilyCare, commercial coverage, sliding-scale programs, and public options each work differently.
Insurance and paymentIf you are searching for someone else
Families can prepare, ask better questions, and get support without controlling the outcome.
For familiesIf location matters
Availability, travel time, and language access differ across Bergen County.
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