Substance Use · Houston
Outpatient substance use treatment that addresses the alcohol or drug use and what drives it. Master’s-level, trauma-informed care that treats co-occurring anxiety, depression, and trauma in the same plan, customized around your life. Private pay, with superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
01Master’s-Level Clinicians
02Trauma-Informed
03Dual Diagnosis-Forward
04Private Pay · Superbills
Treatable, Not a Character Flaw
Substance use disorder changes how the brain handles reward, stress, and self-control, which is why willpower alone so rarely holds. It is a recognized, chronic, treatable health condition, not a moral failing, and like other chronic conditions it responds to structured, evidence-based care. Our master’s-level clinicians look at the whole picture: the drinking or the use, and the anxiety, depression, or trauma that sits beneath it, then build one customized plan around you rather than fitting you into a fixed program.
What We Treat
Each substance carries its own pattern of dependence, its own withdrawal risks, and its own path out. These are the ones we treat every day, including when more than one is involved.
The Most Common
Alcohol use disorder rarely looks like the stereotype. It looks like drinking earlier, drinking alone, needing more for the same effect, and organizing the day around the next drink. Because alcohol withdrawal can be medically dangerous, we assess carefully and coordinate a detox referral first when needed, then continue your care.
Stimulants
Stimulant addiction runs on intense binge-and-crash cycles: days of use, followed by exhaustion, depression, and anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure, that drives the next binge. Treatment rebuilds the brain’s reward system while treating the crash-cycle depression underneath.
Opioids
Prescription painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl create profound physical dependence, and fentanyl has made the margin for error smaller than ever. We coordinate medical detox and medication support by referral when needed, and provide the therapy and relapse prevention that make recovery hold.
Sedatives
Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, and similar medications, often started legitimately for anxiety or sleep, create dependence quickly, and stopping abruptly can be dangerous. We coordinate a medically supervised taper or detox by referral, then treat the anxiety the medication was masking.
Cannabis
Cannabis dependence is real, and often dismissed: daily use to feel normal, irritability and sleeplessness without it, fading motivation, and anxiety that the cannabis was quietly making worse. Treatment addresses the habit and the anxiety or ADHD-related restlessness underneath it.
More Than One
Stimulants to get through the workday, alcohol or benzodiazepines to come down at night: polysubstance patterns are common, especially among high performers. We treat the whole pattern, not one substance at a time, in one integrated plan.
Understanding Addiction
Substance use disorder is diagnosed by pattern, not quantity: loss of control, continued use despite consequences, and a life that reorganizes itself around the substance. Recovery is just as real a process, and it is not white-knuckled abstinence. It is structured, staged, and supported.
How It Is Spotted
The Path Out
Real recovery moves in stages: stabilize first, with medical detox by referral when withdrawal is a risk; then treat the drivers, the trauma, anxiety, or depression the substance was managing; then rebuild the life, routines, relationships, and purpose that addiction hollowed out; and finally protect it, with relapse prevention, aftercare, and real-world mentoring. Relapse, if it happens, is information for the plan, not proof of failure. Support steps down as your footing strengthens, never all at once.
How We Treat It
Stopping is one thing. Staying stopped requires treating what the substance was managing. These are the layers we combine in individual therapy, group work, and every level of care.
Skills & Relapse Prevention
Practical, evidence-based skills to manage cravings, triggers, and high-risk moments, plus the distress tolerance to ride out an urge without acting on it, so recovery holds up in real life, not just in session.
Root Cause
Because untreated trauma so often drives substance use, we treat it directly with CPT, EMDR, and Somatic Experiencing rather than working around it, so sobriety stops requiring constant willpower.
Your Reasons
Change that lasts is anchored to your own reasons, not someone else’s ultimatum. Motivational work strengthens that anchor and meets ambivalence with curiosity instead of confrontation.
Connection
Clinician-led process and skills groups plus experiential work, equine, art, mindfulness, and trauma-informed yoga, that break the isolation addiction depends on.
The Household
Addiction affects everyone at the table. Family therapy, communication coaching, and our evening open family meetings help the whole system heal, and support without enabling.
Real-World Support
Through our sister practice Heights Mentoring, recovery mentoring and sober companioning extend care into daily life, with accountability between sessions and through high-risk windows.
Levels of Care · ASAM Criteria
After a comprehensive assessment guided by the ASAM Criteria, a licensed clinician recommends the level that fits across our full continuum of outpatient care. We do not provide medical detox; when detox is needed first, we coordinate a trusted referral and continue your care the moment you are ready.
Flagship
Three structured phases, fully customized, with recovery mentoring stepping up as clinical intensity steps down, built for a smooth handoff to everyday life.
Most Structured
Full-day clinical structure while living at home, for early recovery when the cycle needs serious containment.
Recovery Focused
Evidence-based intensive outpatient treatment for alcohol and drug use, with dual diagnosis care and relapse prevention built in.
After Hours
Full IOP intensity after work hours, built for professionals who need discretion and a protected career while getting sober.
Our Approach
We start with one thorough assessment, not a sales pitch. From there we build a single integrated plan: individual therapy, groups, family involvement when it helps, and recovery mentoring woven in so support does not end when the session does. Because our care is dual diagnosis-forward, the depression, anxiety, or trauma underneath the use is treated at the same time, by the same team, with complete discretion for the professionals and executives who make up much of our practice. We do not promise outcomes. We commit to individualized, evidence-based care and to being honest about cost and coverage at every step.
Guides and Resources
Plain-language articles on alcohol detox, emerging drugs, and how families can help someone take the first step.
Ketamine Misuse vs. Ketamine Therapy: Risks, Telehealth Concerns, and Treatment
Hemp THC in Texas: Delta-8, THCA, THC Drinks, and Cannabis Use Disorder
Chemsex: When Drugs and Sex Become Fused
Ready When You Are
You do not have to hit rock bottom, and you do not have to be sure. One confidential conversation with admissions tells you exactly what the next step looks like. No pressure, no obligation.
Start Confidentially
Tell us a little about what is going on and the best way to reach you. A member of our admissions team will follow up personally and walk you through next steps. Please do not include sensitive medical details in the form.
Common Questions
If you do not see your question here, call our admissions team at (877) 549-5102 and we will walk you through it.
Common signs include tolerance (needing more for the same effect), drinking or using earlier or alone, hiding amounts, failed attempts to cut back, irritability or shakiness without the substance, cravings, and continuing despite health, work, or relationship damage. It is diagnosed by pattern, not quantity.
We treat alcohol, stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine, opioids including fentanyl, benzodiazepines, cannabis, and prescription medication misuse, including polysubstance use.
No. We are an outpatient practice and do not provide medical detox. If detox is needed first, especially for alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opioids, we help coordinate a referral to a trusted provider and continue your care with us afterward.
No. Treatment works at any stage, and earlier is easier. If drinking or use is costing you more than it gives back, that is reason enough to reach out.
Yes. Our care is dual diagnosis-forward, so co-occurring anxiety, depression, trauma, and mood concerns are treated together with the substance use in one integrated plan.
Call (877) 549-5102 or send a confidential message. Admissions listens, answers your questions, and schedules a confidential ASAM-guided assessment, often within days. From there a licensed clinician recommends the right level of care and you begin.
In many cases, yes. Our evening IOP and virtual options are built for working professionals, and your plan is customized around your life and obligations.
Yes. Your privacy is protected by law and by our practice. Nothing is shared with an employer or family member without your written authorization.
It depends on the person. Care is not built around a fixed program length; after an ASAM-guided assessment we recommend an intensity and adjust it as you stabilize, stepping support down as your footing strengthens.
We are private pay and also work with out-of-network benefits. We provide detailed superbills to submit to your insurer, and we will explain costs and verify your specific benefits before you commit to anything.
Substance use disorder is a medical condition in which use of alcohol or drugs continues despite harm to health, relationships, work, or safety. It ranges from mild to severe and often includes cravings, loss of control, and needing more to get the same effect. It is treatable, and many people recover with outpatient care.
Our admissions team answers seven days a week, from 8:00 am to 7:30 pm Central Time. Call (877) 549-5102 to talk with a real person about what is going on, your schedule, and whether our programs are the right fit. If you reach out after hours, leave a message or send the consultation form and we will return your call as soon as we open. If this is an emergency, call 911. If you or someone you love is in a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Clinical Review
Written by Joni Ogle, LCSW, CSAT, CEO of Heights Behavioral Health, and clinically reviewed by Deborah Darnell-Drake, LCSW-S, ACSW, LMFT, Chief Clinical Officer. Heights Behavioral Health provides licensed outpatient behavioral health care for adults in Houston, Texas, delivered by master’s-level clinicians and licensed professionals. This page is intended to explain HBH services and does not replace an individualized clinical assessment. Last reviewed October 2026.
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Every program, condition, and specialty at Heights connects to one coordinated outpatient team in the Houston Heights. Start wherever fits your situation, or call admissions and we will point you to the right place.
Verified reviews from clients and families who have been through our programs. Read them in full on Google, or add your own.
“From my very first interaction, I felt welcomed, respected, and genuinely cared for. The staff took the time to listen, answer my questions, and create a treatment plan that fit my needs.”
“Heights offered treatment three evenings a week, which made it possible for them to work during the day and still get consistent support.”
“Our family was scared and unsure where to turn. From the first conversation with Jeff and Beckie to walking through the doors, we felt genuinely cared for.”
Contact Admissions
One confidential call connects you with admissions, a clinical assessment, and a clear next step.
Crisis Notice
Heights Behavioral Health provides scheduled outpatient care and is not an emergency or crisis service. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
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