Drug Addiction Treatment in New Jersey

Drug addiction is a treatable medical condition in which a person keeps using a drug even as it damages their health, work, relationships or safety. Clinicians diagnose it as a substance use disorder (SUD), using criteria from the DSM-5, the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the American Society of Addiction Medicine both describe addiction as a chronic condition that changes how the brain handles reward, stress and self-control. That is why willpower alone so rarely works, and why addiction responds to treatment the way other chronic conditions do: with structure, skills, support and sometimes medication.

Drug abuse, dependence and addiction: what is the difference?

Dependence is physical. The body adapts to a drug, so stopping causes withdrawal. People taking prescribed pain or anxiety medication can be dependent without being addicted. Addiction is behavioral: craving, losing control over use and continuing despite harm. "Drug abuse" is an older term. The DSM-5 replaced "abuse" and "dependence" with a single diagnosis, substance use disorder, rated mild, moderate or severe.

Addiction rarely starts as addiction. Most people move through recognizable stages, and treatment can start at any of them. Earlier is easier.

The cycle of addiction

Once addiction sets in, the 2016 U.S. Surgeon General's report on addiction describes a repeating three-stage cycle, each tied to a different part of the brain:

1. Binge and intoxication. The drug floods the brain's reward system, and cues linked to use (people, places, paydays) start to trigger craving on their own.
2. Withdrawal and negative feelings. Without the drug, a person feels anxious, irritable, low or physically sick. Use shifts from chasing a high to escaping feeling bad.
3. Preoccupation and anticipation. Planning, craving and bargaining take over, and the brain's brakes on impulse weaken. The cycle restarts.

Treatment works on all three: therapy and relapse prevention for triggers and craving, coping skills for the low days, and medication where it fits.

No single sign proves someone is using drugs, and many have other explanations. What matters is a pattern of several signs together, especially changes that are new for that person.

If you are seeing these signs in someone you love, the section on getting a loved one into rehab below walks through what to do next.

Clinicians diagnose a substance use disorder when a person meets at least 2 of these 11 criteria within a 12-month period. Here they are in plain language:

Tolerance and withdrawal do not count toward the diagnosis when they happen only from a medication taken as prescribed under medical supervision.

How severity is rated

A self-check is not a diagnosis. Our clinicians use these criteria in a full assessment on your first visit, which also decides which level of care fits.

There is no single official ranking of the most addictive drugs. Risk depends on the drug, how it is taken, how often and the person using it. Opioids, stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine, and sedatives such as benzodiazepines are among the drugs most likely to cause addiction, and they are the most common drugs in our programs. Each has its own page with substance-specific detail.

Prescription drug addiction

Many people we treat started with a legitimate prescription: a painkiller after surgery, a benzodiazepine for anxiety, a stimulant for ADHD. Prescription drug addiction is treated the same way as any substance use disorder, with one extra step: coordinating with the prescriber so medication changes happen safely. Never stop a benzodiazepine abruptly on your own.

Alcohol is treated in the same programs and has its own page on alcohol addiction treatment.

Polysubstance use means using more than one drug, either at the same time or in the same period. It is the rule rather than the exception in addiction treatment, and it is one of the main reasons overdoses happen. Many people do not know they are using more than one drug at all, because fentanyl and other substances are pressed into counterfeit pills and mixed into powders.

The DSM-5 no longer uses a separate “polysubstance dependence” diagnosis. Instead, each substance is assessed and diagnosed on its own, which is how we build treatment plans: one plan, covering every substance involved.

Dangerous drug combinations

What is cocaethylene?

Cocaethylene is a compound the liver makes when cocaine and alcohol are used together. It lasts longer in the body than cocaine alone and puts more strain on the heart, which raises the risk of heart rhythm problems and sudden death. Many people use the two together precisely because alcohol softens the cocaine crash, which makes this one of the most common risky combinations we see.

What is xylazine?

Xylazine, sometimes called “tranq,” is an animal sedative that is not approved for people. It is increasingly found mixed into illicit fentanyl. It deepens sedation, can cause severe skin wounds, and does not respond to naloxone. Naloxone should still be given in any suspected overdose, because opioids are almost always present too.

Cross addiction

Cross addiction(also called addiction transfer) is when someone stops one substance and starts depending on another: quitting opioids and drinking more, or quitting cocaine and leaning on marijuana or pills. Treatment plans account for this by watching all substance use, not only the one that brought someone in.

Carry naloxone. Naloxone (Narcan) reverses opioid overdose and is sold over the counter. If anyone in your life uses drugs, keep it at home and in the car.

New Jersey reports every substance use treatment admission to the state. In 2024, Ocean County residents had 6,708 treatment admissions. Drugs other than alcohol were the primary substance in 52% of them, and opioids (heroin plus other opiates) alone accounted for 36%.

Primary drug at admission, 2024

Other findings from the 2024 Ocean County report

The pattern matters for treatment. Most people are not dealing with one drug in isolation, many are managing a mental health condition at the same time, and nearly a third are working. That is why outpatient care with evening options and integrated mental health treatment fits so many people here. See the full Ocean County treatment data.

Source: New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, New Jersey Drug and Alcohol Use Treatment Substance Use Overview 2024, Ocean County (January 2026; NJSAMS March 2025 download). Statewide figures: NJ DHS DMHAS, Substance Use Disorder Treatment State Performance Report, January 1 to December 31, 2024 (June 2026).

All of our drug rehab is outpatient: you come to the center for treatment and go home afterward. The level of care is matched to how much structure you need right now, and people move between levels as they stabilize. See the full overview of outpatient addiction treatment.

Individual counseling and case management are included at every level for every client. They are never billed on top.

Inpatient (residential) rehab means living at the facility. Outpatient rehab means living at home and coming in for treatment. Neither is better in general. The right one depends on medical risk, withdrawal, home environment and how much structure you need.

Treatment centers decide this using The ASAM Criteria, the national standard from the American Society of Addiction Medicine. It looks at six areas, including withdrawal risk, physical health, mental health, readiness, relapse risk and your living situation, and matches you to a level of care:

ASAM's fourth edition, published in 2023, refined some of these sub-levels. Whatever the version, the principle is the same: the least restrictive level that is safe and effective. If your assessment shows you need detox or residential care first, we will tell you and help arrange it.

Not always. Detox (withdrawal management) is needed when stopping a drug could be medically dangerous or too uncomfortable to get through safely at home. That is most often the case with heavy opioid or fentanyl use, benzodiazepines and alcohol. Many people using stimulants or marijuana can start outpatient treatment directly.

Renova Recovery does not provide medical detox. If your first call or assessment shows you need it, we help arrange detox with a partner program and plan your move into PHP or IOP afterward, so there is no gap between the two. In Ocean County, one in five treatment admissions in 2024 was an admission to residential detox, and the days right after detox are when continuing care matters most.

Our medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program uses Vivitrol(extended-release naltrexone), a once-a-month injection given on site. Vivitrol is non-opioid and non-narcotic. It blocks opioid receptors, so opioids do not produce a high, and it is also used to reduce alcohol cravings.

A few things to know:

• You must be fully off opioids, usually for 7 to 10 days, before the first Vivitrol shot. Starting too soon can cause sudden withdrawal.
• Renova Recovery does not prescribe Suboxone (buprenorphine) or methadone.
• If you are already stable on buprenorphine from your own prescriber, you can still attend our programs.
• After Vivitrol, tolerance to opioids drops. Using opioids during or after treatment carries a high overdose risk.

Starting rehab is the hardest part for most people, mostly because of not knowing what happens. Here is the sequence:

1. First call A short, confidential conversation about what is going on. We check your insurance benefits during the call.
2. Assessment A clinical assessment using the ASAM Criteria and DSM-5, covering substance use, physical health, mental health and life circumstances.
3. Your plan You are placed in PHP, IOP or OP, with a written treatment plan and goals you help set.
4. Day one You join your first group, meet your counselor and get your schedule. Most people start the same or next day.
5. Ongoing care Groups, individual counseling, case management and drug screening, adjusted as you progress.
6. Step-down As you stabilize, you move to a lighter level and build a continuing care plan.

Groups are mixed and led by licensed clinicians. Nobody is asked to share more than they are ready to. Treatment is confidential: federal law (42 CFR Part 2) gives substance use treatment records extra privacy protection.

Every client gets a mix of group and individual work. Our full addiction therapy hub explains each approach in depth. The therapies used most in drug treatment:

Anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD and mood disorders often travel with drug use. Sometimes the drug started as a way to cope, and sometimes the drug made the symptoms worse. In Ocean County, 61% of people discharged from treatment in 2024 had a co-occurring mental illness.

Treating only the drug use leaves the reason for it in place, which raises relapse risk. Our clinicians treat both at the same time in the same program. Learn more about dual diagnosis treatment.

There is no fixed length. Program length depends on your progress, not a calendar, and your plan is reviewed as you go. Most people spend time at more than one level, stepping down from PHP to IOP to OP as they stabilize.

Length does matter, though. The National Institute on Drug Abuse's research-based principles note that treatment lasting less than 90 days tends to have limited effectiveness, and that longer engagement is linked to better outcomes. Outpatient care makes that kind of time realistic, because you can stay in treatment while living your life.

Often, yes. IOP and OP run in morning, afternoon and evening blocks so many people keep working. PHP is a full-day commitment, so most people take time off for that stretch. These protections may apply:

This is general information, not legal advice. Eligibility depends on your employer, your hours and your situation. Check with HR or an employment attorney.

You cannot force an adult into outpatient treatment, but you have more influence than it feels like. What tends to help:

1. Pick a calm moment. Not while they are high, hungover or in a fight.
2. Talk about specifics, not character. “You missed three shifts this month and I am scared” lands better than “You are an addict.”
3. Have the next step ready. Call us first so you can say: “They can see you tomorrow, and insurance is already checked.”
4. Set boundaries you will keep. Stop covering for them, paying debts or making excuses, without cutting off contact.
5. Keep naloxone in the house if opioids may be involved.
6. Get support yourself. Our page for families worried about someone covers what to say and what to avoid.

Once someone is in treatment, family therapy for addiction helps rebuild trust and communication at home.

Most health plans cover drug rehab. Under the Affordable Care Act, substance use treatment is an essential health benefit, and federal parity law requires plans to cover it on terms comparable to medical care.

Renova Recovery is out of network with commercial PPO plans. Many PPO plans include out-of-network benefits for outpatient treatment. We check your benefits on the first call and explain what your plan is likely to cover before you start. You can also verify your insurance online.

What drives the cost of rehab

Read what past clients say in our client reviews.

Treatment is led by Rachele McGowan, LPC, LCADC, CCTP-II, Clinical Director, a licensed professional counselor and licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor with advanced certification in clinical trauma. She is joined by therapist Dana Giaimo, an LCADC intern, our admissions and office manager Shanna, and an affiliated physician who coordinates medication-assisted treatment. Meet our clinical team.

1. Call (908) 533-9808. Talk through what is going on. We check your insurance during the call.
2. Come in for your assessment. Usually the same or next day.
3. Start your program. Most people join their first group right after the assessment.

Read more about how admissions works.

Where we are

Renova Recovery, 35 Beaverson Blvd, Building 6A, Brick Township, NJ 08723. We treat adults from across Ocean and Monmouth County. See drug rehab serving Toms River and all the towns we serve. If getting here is a barrier, tell us on the first call. We do not want transportation to be the reason anyone misses treatment.

Recovery continues after the last group. Before you finish, you build a continuing care plan with your counselor: ongoing therapy, peer support groups, medication if it is part of your plan, and what to do if warning signs show up.

Our alumni program keeps in touch weekly, with follow-up calls, email check-ins and connections to community resources. If you slip, call. A relapse is a signal to adjust the plan, not proof that treatment failed, and you can return to a higher level of care quickly.