Veterans Affairs Medical Center - Addiction Recovery Treatment Services

They are set up for 3 levels: outpatient, telemedicine and detox. Of the 8 centers within 14 miles of San Francisco, 4 offer a bed.

They handle detox for opioids, alcohol, benzodiazepines, cocaine and methamphetamines. Ask how many days theirs lasts, because that varies more between places than people expect and San Francisco has 8 other centers to compare.

They prescribe methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone, which means the medication side is handled here rather than referred out to somewhere else in San Francisco.

Their programs are for adults from 26 to 64 and young adults from 18 to 25. The group you sit in is usually built around the age band, which in San Francisco can mean one group rather than several.

They treat people in Sign language as well as English, which not every place around San Francisco does.

Some of what they do can happen remotely. Ask which parts, because it is rarely all of them and the 8 centers near San Francisco differ on it.

Being sent rather than choosing to go changes the paperwork more than it changes the treatment. Where child welfare is involved, the reporting is usually wider and the timelines are tighter. Ask who signs the completion document and how long it takes to issue.

They are the same treatment delivered at different intensities, and the intensity is what you are choosing. Intensive outpatient care at several hours a day is closer to a residential program than to a weekly appointment. Ask whether a center can carry out an assessment first rather than selling you a program.