Detox V Rehab: What’s the difference?

April 21, 2025

12:08 pm

Alcohol

The difference really is quite simple, yet not so simple: Not everyone who goes into treatment needs a detox, but everyone needs rehab. Detox refers to the physical process of detoxifying from the substance to which someone has become dependent. For some it essential to sustain life (alcohol) while for others, it may not necessarily be an absolute medical necessity, but the absence of a detox can put the person at very significant risk (i.e. opioids). Forget the Hollywood illusion that someone dependent on heroin can be locked in a room with a bucket and some toilet paper. Severe opioid withdrawal can lead to dehydration. Furthermore, this also leads to a loss of “tolerance” of opioids and craving thus putting the person at very significant risk as they are likely to use a large amount of opioids to counter the withdrawal leading to overdose and death.  

Here at Find me a rehab we provide drug misuse advice UK as well as alcohol rehab centres near me in addition to home detox services UK. Our advice is free, impartial and wholly confidential. Our clinicians are available to all.  

Can I go to a centre just for a detox?  

This is possible, but you would need to pay an exceptional amount of money as this is a bespoke treatment, usually offered on an individual basis in London and costs can exceed £30,000 a week. The overwhelming vast majority of centres won’t accept clients on this basis as, not only is it inadvisable, but it would damage the dynamic of the centre.  

Why detox is not enough 

“I don’t need rehab, I go to the gym, will have my family with me and have been to rehab before” This is something our clinicians hear every day. Clients often think that a detox is all that is required to resolve their addiction: It isn’t, and it won’t be sufficient. One example was the now redundant five-day opioid detox that was widely available up until the early 2000’s. Clients were heavily sedated and given high doses of opioid reversal agents over a five-day period. The logic being that, after five days they would be free of opioids and have a good amount of a chemical blocking agent in their system should they use opioids. As the programme lacked any element of psychosocial/therapeutic input, relapse rates were astronomical. No attempts were made to help clients address their addiction and clients would often leave treatment and ingest large quantities of opioids which caused overdose and, sometimes, fatalities.  

Some referral agents still advertise a five-day opioid detox though it is highly questionable as to whether they could arrange it: It is more likely they just want you to call them. A comprehensive treatment plan for opioids would consist of a minimum of 14 days, if not a minimum of 28 days. For alcohol clients, while a medicated detox may be possible with a 7-day admission (if the client is on the lower end of the alcohol dependency spectrum) this, again, would not address the underlying issues and certainly would not provide sufficient relapse prevention: A rapid relapse is inevitable. 

Call and speak to one of our clinicians for drug misuse advice UK or to find home detox services UK. We can help you to find an alcohol rehab centre near me.  

But I have been in rehab before: I know what I am doing!  

This is a statement regularly used by those who, while acknowledging that they need help, try and rationalise their relapse. The simple fact is this: If they knew what they were doing, they would not have relapsed. After all, if you broke your leg three times, would you try and treat it yourself at home on the fourth occasion? Keeping physically fit is a good thing, as is having family support. However, if this was a relapse preventer the client would not have relapsed.  

Quick “in and out” detox’s don’t work and are a false economy. It is not a matter of failure on the part of the client but a fact of life. Treatment doesn’t need to be expensive and there are many low-cost centres that provide the same treatment as more high-end ones.  

Kindling 

There is an ever-increasing body of evidence with regards to the dangers of repeated alcohol detox’s, especially when the frequency increases and the time in-between decreases. In essence, the more often someone attempts detox from alcohol, the more dangerous it becomes.  

So, the answer is quite simple: Detox alone will be very difficult to source and will, most likely fail. Combine the two, as all centres do, gives someone the best change of a meaningful active recovery.  

Our clinicians are here to give free, confidential and impartial advice. Whether you are looking at home detox services UK or an alcohol rehab centre near me. We can also provide drug misuse advice UK.