Drug addiction therapy
Drug addiction therapy is the stage that follows withdrawal, and it deals with the psychological mechanisms that keep substance use in place. We run it as an inpatient programme under medical supervision, at a centre outside Warsaw that admits no more than ten patients at a time. Individual sessions are held in English.
10 km from central Warsaw
What drug addiction therapy involves
Stopping a substance clears the body. Drug addiction therapy begins at that point and deals with what led to the use, and with what makes a person return to it after a period of abstinence. These are two different things, and neither replaces the other.
Mechanisms of addiction
The patient learns to recognise the situations, emotions and thoughts that precede use, and to interrupt that chain earlier than at the point of deciding to use.
Emotional regulation
For many people a substance works as a regulator of tension, anxiety, insomnia or boredom. Removing it without putting something else in that role ends in relapse.
Environment and availability
In drug addiction, relapse is more often triggered by contact than by feeling: a number in a phone, a particular place, a particular person. Mapping that network and deciding what to do about it is part of the work.
Co-occurring disorders
Depression, anxiety, stimulant-related psychotic states and sleep disturbance accompany dependence very often. Left untreated they sustain use. See dual diagnosis treatment.
Drug addiction therapy and drug detox are not the same stage
Drug detox is a medical procedure and deals with physical withdrawal, which looks different for every class of substance: opioids bring muscle pain, diarrhoea and insomnia; stimulants bring a collapse in mood and exhaustion; sedatives bring the risk of seizures. Psychological work starts once acute symptoms settle, because it requires working memory, concentration and the ability to hold a conversation. What the symptoms look like substance by substance is set out in drug withdrawal symptoms.
We run both stages one after the other in the same building. The gap between finishing detox and starting therapy is the period of highest relapse risk, so there is no change of place and no change of team between them.
Urgent medical help is needed if withdrawal or intoxication produces:
- seizures or loss of consciousness
- severe confusion or signs of psychosis
- aggression out of keeping with the situation
- chest pain or difficulty breathing
- high fever with hallucinations
- suspected overdose
In these situations no one should attempt treatment alone or begin therapy. Where life or health is at risk, call emergency services immediately on 112, the emergency number in Poland and across the European Union.
How long is drug rehab
Length depends first on the form of treatment and only then on the individual. The ranges below are the ones in general clinical use, so that the options can be compared.
| Form of treatment | How long | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Inpatient drug rehab, core programme | 28 nights | residential, 24 hours a day |
| Inpatient drug rehab, extended programme | 6 to 12 weeks | residential, 24 hours a day |
| Therapeutic community | 6 to 24 months | long-stay residential, mostly public sector |
| Day programme | 6 to 8 weeks | several hours a day, sleeping at home |
| Outpatient therapy | several months to 2 years | 1 to 2 sessions a week |
We run drug addiction therapy in the inpatient form only. The core programme is 28 nights. The scope and duration are set after medical assessment, based on the substance, how long the dependence has lasted, how many treatment attempts came before, and any co-occurring conditions.
What they do in drug rehab, day to day
Inpatient drug addiction therapy is built on a fixed structure to the day, and the rhythm is itself part of the treatment: it restores sleep, appetite and the ability to plan, all of which are disrupted after prolonged use.
Health check
- blood pressure and vital signs
- review of sleep, appetite and mood
- medication as prescribed by the doctor
- anything outside the expected range reported to the doctor
Therapy session
- individual psychotherapy with an addiction therapist
- work on the task set the previous day
- review of high-risk situations and of people in the patient's circle
Own work and consultations
- therapeutic assignments to complete alone
- psychiatric consultation where indicated
- movement or relaxation sessions if recommended
End of day review
- conversation with a therapist or nurse
- entry in the recovery journal
- preparation for the night, sleep quality noted
An English-speaking patient has 6 individual sessions a week and can also join the group sessions and the Sunday meeting. Patients working in Polish have 5 individual sessions and 2 group sessions. We give these numbers before admission rather than after arrival, because the amount of individual time is the difference that patients travelling from abroad ask about first. Materials used during the stay are published in the daily and weekly rhythm section.
Therapy for drug addiction: the methods used
Psychotherapy is the core of drug addiction therapy here. It is delivered by certified addiction therapists, with the treating doctor and a psychiatrist supervising the clinical side. A nurse and a paramedic are on site around the clock.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Work on the links between situation, thought, emotion and behaviour. The patient maps their own chains leading to use and learns to break them earlier. This approach has the widest evidence base in substance dependence.
Motivational interviewing
A conversation without confrontation or judgement, aimed at strengthening the patient's own reasons for change. Particularly useful for people who arrive under pressure from family, an employer or a court.
Work on the mechanisms of addiction
Recognising denial, the illusion of control over use, and the beliefs that sustain it. This part decides whether a patient later recognises relapse at the stage of thinking about it rather than after using.
Psychiatric supervision and medication
Patients remain under psychiatric supervision throughout the stay. Treatment of co-occurring disorders, including stimulant-related states and anxiety symptoms, is selected individually and monitored.
Drug cravings and the relapse prevention plan
A craving is a sudden, strong urge to use that appears months, and for some people years, after stopping, and it does not answer to willpower. It is set off by specific cues: a place, music, a time of day, payday, an argument, exhaustion, and in some patients by positive emotions such as celebrating or relief.
Drug addiction therapy teaches three things in this order: recognise the craving before it builds, sit through it without acting, and have a prepared response for the times when sitting through it is not enough. Patients leave with a written relapse prevention plan covering high-risk situations, warning signs, decisions about contacts, and agreed people to call.
How the programme runs, step by step
The programme has four separate stages. Keeping them separate matters, because the order determines the result: psychological work started too early achieves nothing, and prolonged stabilisation without therapeutic work ends in relapse after discharge.
| Stage | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assessment | before admission | A call covering the substance and route of use, the severity of dependence, the history of earlier attempts, co-existing illness and current medication. This determines whether stabilisation is needed first. |
| 2. Stabilisation | first days of the stay | Tests, correction of deficiencies, sleep regulation, treatment of withdrawal symptoms. Sessions in this period are short and oriented to orientation rather than depth. |
| 3. Therapeutic work | the core of the programme | Individual sessions, work on the mechanisms of addiction, on emotions, on environment and on relapse. Psychiatric consultations where indicated. |
| 4. Exit plan | final week | A written relapse prevention plan, a list of warning signs, decisions about contacts, recommendations for outpatient therapy and medication. |
Inpatient drug rehab outside Warsaw, and coming from abroad
The centre is at ul. Wiślana 5 in Łomianki Dolne, 10 km from central Warsaw and 25 minutes from Chopin airport. We admit patients from Poland and from abroad. There are no branches in other cities, but an inpatient stay does not require living nearby: the patient comes for the whole programme.
The clinical team works in eleven languages, and individual therapy sessions are held in English. Patients stay in rooms from triple up to apartments, with the option of individual inpatient care. We also run behavioural addiction therapy and alcohol addiction therapy.
Programmes for specific substances are described separately, including cocaine addiction treatment and crack cocaine addiction treatment. The team is described on the our team page.
Drug rehab cost and rehab abroad
What drug rehab costs here
The 28 night programme is 9 900 EUR in a double room and 19 900 EUR in a single room, which is 11 500 and 23 100 USD. Other standards, and rates in other currencies, are on the pricing page.
What the price covers
Accommodation, medical supervision, round-the-clock nursing and paramedic cover, psychiatric consultations, psychotherapy sessions and meals. Detox beforehand, where it is needed, is billed separately.
Why patients choose rehab abroad
Distance is part of the treatment. Drug rehab abroad puts a border between the patient and the environment that supplies, which is the one change a programme at home cannot deliver. Warsaw has direct flights from most European capitals and the centre is 25 minutes from Chopin airport. No referral is needed and there is no waiting list.
Online therapy
We provide it as a continuation only, for patients who have completed the full inpatient programme. Remote sessions sustain the work started here. They do not replace medical supervision during withdrawal and are not a starting point for someone beginning treatment.
When inpatient drug addiction therapy is the right step
When drug addiction therapy is indicated
In diagnosed dependence on psychoactive substances. After medical stabilisation, when further work is needed. After relapse despite earlier treatment. With co-occurring depression or anxiety disorders. Where use threatens work, family or physical health. Where outpatient treatment has not been enough.
When therapy is not enough on its own
During acute withdrawal, before medical stabilisation. In emergencies requiring hospital admission. Where there is no readiness to take part in a conversation. As a one-off measure with no plan for continuing care. With acute psychotic symptoms requiring a psychiatric ward.
Every admission to drug addiction therapy is preceded by an individual clinical assessment, and the decision rests with the treating doctor.
How to help someone who will not accept treatment
More often than not it is a family member who calls, not the patient. Three things matter at that point: do not negotiate the terms of treatment while the person is using, do not announce consequences you do not intend to apply, and fix a date and a place in advance so the decision does not depend on the mood of the day.
What the programme includes
- clinical assessment and severity rating before admission
- an individual treatment plan, reviewed during the stay
- individual psychotherapy with a certified addiction therapist
- medical supervision of the treatment by the treating doctor
- nurse and paramedic on site around the clock
- psychiatric consultations and treatment of co-occurring disorders
- medication supporting abstinence where indicated
- work on cravings and recognising relapse
- laboratory testing and assessment of physical complications
- a continuing care plan and recommendations for after discharge
What treatment will not do for the patient
A mismatch of expectations is one of the more common reasons people break off treatment in the first week. A few things are worth knowing in advance.
- it does not remove the dependence permanently; it produces remission and the tools to hold it, not a return to controlled drinking
- it does not work without the patient; there is no procedure that can be carried out on a passive person
- it does not change the environment the patient returns to; decisions about contacts have to be made by the patient
- it does not cancel legal or professional consequences
- it does not replace treatment of physical illness, which needs separate follow-up after discharge
Questions about drug addiction therapy
How long is typical drug rehab?
The most common inpatient format is 28 nights, which is what we run as the core programme, with an extended version of 6 to 12 weeks. Therapeutic communities in the public sector run from 6 to 24 months, day programmes 6 to 8 weeks and outpatient therapy from several months to two years. The substance affects how long the first stage takes.
What do they do in drug rehab?
In inpatient drug addiction therapy the day is structured: a morning health check, an individual psychotherapy session, assignments and psychiatric consultations in the afternoon, and a review in the evening. The therapeutic work covers the mechanisms of addiction, emotional regulation, the environment the patient returns to, and a written relapse prevention plan. Medical and psychiatric supervision runs alongside it.
What is the hardest drug to quit?
Clinically there is no single answer, because difficulty has two separate components. Opioids and sedatives produce the hardest physical withdrawal and the one that carries medical risk. Stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine and mephedrone produce milder physical symptoms but stronger and longer-lasting cravings, which is why relapse rates after stimulants are high despite an easier detox. The substance a person finds hardest to stop is usually the one that most reliably solved a problem for them.
What to expect after rehab?
The first weeks after discharge carry the highest risk, because the structure of the day disappears at the same moment as the cues return. Patients leave with a relapse prevention plan, recommendations for outpatient therapy and agreed contacts. Tolerance falls during abstinence, so a dose taken routinely before treatment can be dangerous afterwards, particularly with opioids.
How much does drug rehab cost here?
The 28 night programme is 9 900 EUR in a double room and 19 900 EUR in a single room, or 11 500 and 23 100 USD. Detox beforehand, where needed, is billed separately. Full rates are on the pricing page.
Why choose drug rehab abroad?
Because distance removes access. In drug addiction, relapse is triggered by contact more often than by feeling, and a programme in the patient's own city leaves the supply network one phone call away. Treatment abroad also removes the risk of being recognised locally, which matters to patients whose work depends on it.
How many therapy sessions a week will I have?
6 individual sessions a week in English. Group sessions and the Sunday meeting are open to you as well. Patients working in Polish have 5 individual sessions and 2 group sessions a week.
How does therapy differ from drug detox?
Detox deals with physical withdrawal and is a medical procedure lasting from a few days to about two weeks, depending on the substance. Therapeutic work begins once acute symptoms settle and deals with psychological mechanisms. Detox without therapy does not treat the dependence, and therapy started before medical stabilisation is not safe.
Does the therapy depend on which substance it was?
The therapeutic work itself is largely common across substances, because the mechanisms of addiction are similar. The substance determines the earlier stage: how long stabilisation takes, which withdrawal symptoms appear and when the patient can realistically work. It also affects physical risk and the choice of medication.
Do I need a referral, and is there a waiting list?
No referral is needed and there is no waiting list. Admission follows a clinical call and an initial assessment of whether inpatient care is the right level. In practice this is usually a few days.
Is treatment confidential?
Yes. Every stage is covered by medical confidentiality. We give no information about a stay to anyone without the patient's written consent, including family and employers.
Drug addiction therapy does not end when the stay does
Inpatient drug addiction therapy is a stage, not the whole of treatment. The team prepares individual recommendations for outpatient therapy, group support, medication and relapse prevention.
Drug addiction treatmentThe whole process: assessment, stabilisation, therapy, continuing care
02
Drug detoxThe stage before therapy, where it is clinically indicated
03
Alcohol addiction therapyA separate programme for alcohol dependence
04
Dual diagnosisAddiction with a co-occurring psychiatric disorder
See the centre before you travel
Deciding on several weeks away is easier once you know what the place looks like, who delivers the treatment and what it costs. Four pages worth starting with.
Scope of treatment and clinical responsibility
The information on this page is general and educational. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Decisions on suitability, on the level of medical supervision and on further treatment are taken by doctors on the basis of a full clinical assessment.
The course, length and scope of drug addiction therapy vary with the substance, the history of use, physical health, co-existing conditions and the response to treatment. Supporting interventions play a complementary role, do not replace medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, and do not determine clinical outcomes. Published prices are list prices and may change; current rates are on the pricing page. The model of care described applies to clinical practice in Poland.
Content author
Content on this site is prepared by the interdisciplinary team at Zeus Detox & Rehab, working with doctors, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists and nursing staff, on the basis of current medical knowledge and experience in inpatient addiction treatment.
Clinical team
Zeus Detox & Rehab
Medical review
Review covers medical and pharmacological content and the organisation of clinical supervision. Diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are always taken on the basis of an individual assessment of the patient's health.
Dr Sławomir Rejowski
Lead doctor, Zeus Detox & Rehab
Clinical responsibility
Final responsibility for the consistency of this content with current treatment standards and clinical practice rests with the medical director of Zeus Detox & Rehab.
Andrzej Kulesza
Medical director, Zeus Detox & Rehab
Last medical update: 09/2026
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