Assessment
A conversation about substance use, physical and mental health, medicines, safety, housing and what the person wants to change. It should lead to an agreed plan, not a test someone has to pass.
Options, not a single path
Treatment and recovery
Treatment can reduce harm, support change and improve health. There is no one correct route, and recovery is rarely a straight line.
TD ConsultancyPublished 5 August 2026Reviewed 5 August 2026NHS · NICE · UK national guidance
What treatment can include
A menu of support
People may use several of these at the same time or at different points.
Community treatment
Support while living at home can include keyworking, prescribing, harm reduction, psychological interventions, groups and links to health and social support.
Residential treatment
A structured live-in setting can be useful for some people. Suitability, clinical needs, safeguarding, cost or commissioning and aftercare all need consideration.
Medically supported withdrawal
Withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines can be medically risky; opioid withdrawal can also need careful support. The appropriate setting and medicines are clinical decisions.
Opioid substitution treatment
Medicines such as methadone or buprenorphine can reduce illicit opioid use, mortality risk and instability when provided within appropriate clinical care.
Psychological approaches
Motivational interviewing, cognitive and behavioural approaches and other structured interventions can help people examine ambivalence, skills, cues and goals.
Care that fits the person
Trauma-informed support
Trauma-informed practice pays attention to safety, trust, choice, collaboration and the possibility that some environments or procedures may trigger threat responses. It should not turn every difficulty into a trauma diagnosis.
Co-occurring mental-health needs
Substance use and mental-health problems often overlap. Severe or urgent symptoms should not be dismissed as “just drugs”; coordinated assessment may be needed.
Neurodiversity and accessibility
Shorter appointments, concrete written information, predictable processes, sensory adjustments and executive-function support can make services easier to use. Adjustments should be individual rather than based on a diagnostic stereotype.
Families and peers
With consent and appropriate confidentiality, families, peer workers and mutual-aid communities can add practical and social support. No single fellowship or recovery identity should be presented as compulsory.
Find help in the UK
Four nations, different service systems
England
The NHS explains how to approach a GP or local drug treatment service and what treatment may involve.
NHS: drug addiction — getting help ↗Scotland
NHS inform provides support routes for people affected by drugs, including emergency and local help information.
NHS inform Scotland ↗Wales
DAN 24/7 is the Welsh Government’s drug and alcohol helpline and information service.
Welsh Government: DAN 24/7 ↗Northern Ireland
The Public Health Agency’s Drugs and Alcohol NI service finder lists support by area and service type.
PHA: services near you ↗01
Harm reduction within treatment
Naloxone, safer-use advice and support for reduced use can remain relevant whether a person is aiming for abstinence, reduction or another goal.
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Medication and prescribing
Prescribing decisions depend on diagnosis, substance, dependence, physical health and other medicines. Never stop prescribed medication solely on the basis of general web information.
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Motivational interviewing
A collaborative style that draws out a person’s own reasons and confidence for change. It is not confrontation, persuasion or a script.
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Recovery and brain change
Sleep, health, new routines, reduced exposure to cues and new sources of reward can support continued learning and adaptation.
Professional treatment resources
Explore practitioner publications, motivational interviewing learning and organisational training.
Evidence and governance
Outcomes vary and treatment plans require individual assessment. This page does not promise recovery outcomes or endorse one pathway for everybody.
Reviewed: 5 August 2026 · TD Training & Consultancy Ltd.