Alcohol Rehab
Abbington House provides abstinence-based residential treatment for alcohol addiction at our centre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, including medically supervised detox where needed, therapy, family support and aftercare.
Last updated by:
Michael Williams
What alcohol rehab at Abbington House involves
Alcohol rehab at Abbington House means living at the centre while receiving treatment for alcohol addiction.
The purpose is not simply to separate somebody from alcohol for a few weeks. Treatment looks at physical dependence where this is present, the pattern of drinking that has developed, what repeatedly leads somebody back to alcohol, and what needs to change for recovery to continue after the residential stay.
Treatment can include:
- assessment before and on admission
- medically supervised alcohol detox where clinically required
- individual therapeutic work
- group therapy and recovery-focused work
- support with co-occurring mental-health difficulties where appropriate
- a structured residential environment
- family support
- relapse-prevention and recovery planning
- one year of structured aftercare
- continued connection through the Abbington Community
Abbington House is a CQC-regulated private residential drug and alcohol rehab centre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. We accommodate up to 21 people at a time, allowing the team to get to know the people staying here.
Our Residential Rehab page explains more about what living and receiving treatment at Abbington House is like from day to day.
When alcohol has become difficult to control
Alcohol addiction does not look the same in everyone.
Some people drink every evening and gradually find that the amount has increased. What began as one or two drinks after work becomes an established routine, and taking a few nights off becomes increasingly difficult.
Others may go days or even weeks without alcohol but find that once they start drinking they struggle to stop. There may be repeated plans to drink less next time, followed by the same pattern again.
Drinking can also become secretive. Bottles are hidden, the amount being consumed is played down, or drinks are timed around other people so that family members do not realise how much alcohol is involved.
Some people remain highly functional from the outside. They continue working, manage a household, look after children and meet their responsibilities. That does not necessarily mean alcohol is under control. A serious drinking problem can exist for a long time behind a life that still appears organised.
Physical dependence is another important sign. Someone may experience shaking, sweating, nausea, anxiety or other symptoms when alcohol wears off, or need a drink in the morning to feel steady. When this is happening, medical advice is important before attempting to stop.
Many people who come into treatment have also stopped drinking before. They may have managed several days, a few months or sometimes much longer before alcohol returned. Previous attempts are useful information. They help us understand what worked, what did not, and what was happening when drinking began again.
You do not need to reach somebody else’s idea of rock bottom before asking for help. What matters is what alcohol is doing in your life and whether you are becoming unable to change the pattern without additional support.
Mikey, our Treatment Manager, has his own experience of addiction and recovery:
Mikey Williams - Treatment Manager
I was drinking by 11 years old and by the time I was 14, I was smoking heroin up until my custodial sentence. I have been in recovery since 2011, and my aim is to ensure everyone leaves treatment feeling better about themselves, with the tools to live a life free from addiction.
His experience is his own. Nobody coming to Abbington House is expected to have the same history or to identify with somebody else’s version of addiction. What lived experience does bring to the team is an understanding that people can arrive frightened, uncertain, ashamed or still questioning whether treatment is really necessary.
If you are still trying to understand whether your drinking has become a problem, our Alcohol Addiction section goes further into signs of dependence and the different ways a problem can develop.
Assessment: where treatment starts
Treatment begins by understanding the individual rather than making assumptions based simply on how much somebody drinks.
During assessment we ask about what you drink, roughly how much and how often, when you normally begin drinking, whether you experience withdrawal symptoms, when you last drank and whether you have tried to stop before.
We also need to understand previous detoxification or treatment, physical-health conditions, medication, other drug use, mental health and what is happening at home. Just as importantly, we want to know what has made you seek treatment now and what you hope will change.
This helps us assess whether medically supervised detox is needed, whether there are physical or psychiatric issues that require further consideration, and whether Abbington House is the right treatment setting.
Two people drinking similar amounts can still have very different treatment needs. One may have significant physical dependence and withdrawal risk. Another may not require medical detox but may have repeatedly returned to drinking despite serious attempts to change.
There is no GP referral requirement before making an enquiry. A partner or family member can also make the first call if they are trying to understand what treatment might involve.
Our Admissions page explains what happens from the first conversation through to arriving at Abbington House.
Medically supervised alcohol detox
For somebody who has become physically dependent on alcohol, stopping drinking can require medical support.
Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous in a dependent drinker. Serious complications can include seizures and, in severe cases, delirium tremens. This is why somebody who is drinking dependently should not suddenly stop on their own simply because they are preparing to enter rehab.
Tell us honestly what you are drinking, approximately how much and when you last drank. Accurate information allows withdrawal risk to be assessed properly and treatment to be planned safely.
Where medically assisted withdrawal is needed at Abbington House, the detox plan is based on the person’s drinking history, previous withdrawal, physical health, medication and clinical assessment. Medication may be prescribed to manage withdrawal safely, with the person monitored while symptoms settle. Vitamin support such as thiamine may also be used where clinically indicated.
The prescribing plan is overseen by the appropriate medical professional working with the wider treatment team.
How long withdrawal management takes varies from person to person. Therapy and the wider residential programme are introduced as somebody becomes physically able to take part.
Detox is an important part of alcohol treatment where physical dependence is present, but detox on its own does not address the wider addiction.
It deals with the immediate question of how somebody stops drinking safely. Rehab then continues with the behaviour around alcohol, what repeatedly leads back to drinking, and how recovery will be maintained once the person returns home.
For detailed information about symptoms, withdrawal risks and timelines, see our Alcohol Withdrawal page.
You can also read more about how medically supervised detox is provided as part of treatment at Abbington House.
Settling into residential treatment
People arrive at Abbington House in different states of mind. Some are relieved to have finally made a decision. Others are anxious, physically unwell, unsure what treatment will be like or worried about being away from home.
Nobody is expected to arrive already knowing how rehab works. The first days are about getting settled, completing the necessary assessment and clinical work, meeting the team and beginning to take part at a pace that is realistic for the individual.
Residential treatment gives structure to the day. There are meals, group sessions, individual therapeutic work, recovery-focused activities, time alongside other people in treatment and quieter periods. If somebody is going through detox, the early part of their stay is also shaped around their physical health and what they are able to manage.
Living at Abbington House creates some distance from routines that have become closely connected with alcohol. For one person that may be drinking immediately after work. For another it may be a particular shop, pub, friendship group or evening routine at home.
The purpose is not to avoid those situations forever. It is to create enough distance to understand them and begin developing different responses before returning to everyday life.
Our Residential Rehab page explains the accommodation, food, daily routine, activities and wider experience of living at Abbington House in more detail.
Therapy: understanding the role alcohol has played
For many people, alcohol becomes useful before it becomes destructive.
It may help somebody switch off after work, feel more comfortable around other people, avoid difficult thoughts, cope with grief, manage loneliness or simply mark the end of the day.
Over time, drinking can become the main response to situations that were once handled in other ways.
Therapy looks at these patterns alongside the addiction itself. The aim is not to find one simple reason why somebody drinks. Addiction is rarely that simple.
Instead, treatment helps somebody understand what tends to happen before they drink, what alcohol provides in the short term, what it has begun to cost them, and what other ways of coping need to be developed.
Treatment at Abbington House includes individual and group therapeutic work.
Some people are particularly worried about group therapy before they arrive. They may not be used to discussing personal issues openly and may have spent years making sure other people do not know how much they are drinking.
Group work is not about forcing somebody to tell their whole story immediately. People can listen as well as speak. Over time, hearing other people describe familiar behaviours and experiences can make it easier to talk honestly without feeling that everything needs to be explained or defended.
Costa - Senior Therapist at Abbington House
As someone who has struggled with addiction myself, I know how difficult it can be for people to seek help. I take the time to understand and welcome everyone with the love and support they deserve.
As the effects of alcohol and withdrawal begin to settle, people are generally better able to concentrate and engage with treatment. This happens at different speeds, which is why we do not divide somebody’s recovery into a rigid week-by-week formula.
Our Therapy page explains more about therapeutic work at Abbington House.
Alcohol addiction and mental health
Alcohol problems often exist alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and other mental-health difficulties.
The relationship can work in both directions. Somebody may begin using alcohol because it temporarily changes how they feel, while regular or dependent drinking can also worsen sleep, mood, anxiety, relationships and general wellbeing.
If treatment focuses only on removing alcohol while ignoring a significant mental-health difficulty that repeatedly contributes to drinking, an important part of the picture can be missed.
Assessment therefore considers mental health alongside addiction. Where a co-occurring mental-health difficulty can safely and appropriately be supported within Abbington House, it is included in treatment planning.
There are also circumstances where somebody requires specialist psychiatric or hospital care before residential addiction treatment would be appropriate. We will say so if we believe another setting is needed.
Our Dual Diagnosis page explains more about treating addiction alongside co-occurring mental-health difficulties.
For partners and families
Alcohol addiction often affects the household long before the person drinking decides to seek treatment.
Partners and relatives can find themselves constantly monitoring what has been drunk, looking for hidden bottles, trying to work out whether somebody has been drinking from their behaviour, cancelling plans, covering for them or repeatedly having the same conversations about alcohol.
Over time, the family’s routine can begin to revolve around the drinking as well.
A partner, parent, adult child or another relative can contact Abbington House before the person drinking has agreed to treatment. We can explain how residential treatment works, what admission would involve and what information we would need if the person decides to come.
A family member cannot generally make a capable adult enter voluntary treatment against their wishes. What families can do is become clearer about the help available and about the boundaries they may need around the situation themselves.
Family support forms part of treatment at Abbington House. The programme is designed to help relatives understand addiction and recovery, improve communication and think about how family relationships may need to change as the person moves through treatment and returns home.
The purpose is not to blame family members or make them responsible for keeping somebody sober.
Our current programme includes structured online family support alongside and beyond the residential stay.
You can read more about family support during treatment at Abbington House.
Relapse prevention and preparing to leave
Leaving residential treatment means returning to ordinary life, including many of the situations that were previously connected with drinking.
Preparation for this starts during treatment rather than being left until the final few days.
Recovery planning looks at somebody’s actual circumstances. That may include work stress, weekends, family conflict, social events, particular friendships, loneliness, boredom or simply having an unstructured evening when drinking used to provide the routine.
Treatment works on practical responses as well as awareness. That includes who somebody can contact, where support will come from, what routines need to change and how they will respond if they notice themselves beginning to withdraw from recovery.
No responsible rehab can guarantee that somebody will never drink again.
Residential treatment is part of a longer recovery process. The aim is for somebody to leave with a clearer understanding of their addiction, practical ways of responding differently, relationships they can use for support and a plan that continues beyond Abbington House.
Life after alcohol
A lot of people worry about what life will be like without drinking.
That concern is understandable when alcohol has been part of everyday life for years. It may be connected with relaxing, celebrating, socialising, holidays, meals, relationships or simply the end of the working day.
Recovery therefore involves more than avoiding alcohol. Someone has to build routines, relationships and ways of dealing with life that do not depend on drinking.
This usually takes time.
Some situations may feel unfamiliar at first. Social occasions can need to be approached differently. Certain relationships may change. Evenings can feel unusually long when the routine that previously filled them has disappeared.
These are normal recovery issues and part of the reason support should not finish when somebody leaves residential treatment.
Abbington House includes one year of structured aftercare following completion of treatment. People can also remain connected through the Abbington Community, including community events and relationships with others at different stages of recovery.
Aftercare provides somewhere to discuss the situations that only become clear once somebody is back in everyday life.
Our Aftercare page explains how support continues following residential treatment.
When residential alcohol rehab may be appropriate
Residential treatment is not automatically necessary for everybody experiencing problems with alcohol.
Some people can be treated effectively through community or outpatient services, particularly where dependence and withdrawal risk are lower, the home environment is supportive and treatment can be followed safely without somebody living away.
Residential treatment may become more appropriate when:
- drinking repeatedly returns despite genuine attempts to stop
- physical dependence means medically supervised withdrawal is needed
- there is a history of difficult or complicated withdrawal
- previous community treatment has not led to sustained change
- other substance use is complicating the picture
- co-occurring mental-health difficulties need to be considered alongside addiction
- the home environment makes abstinence particularly difficult
- somebody needs a period of structure and distance from an established drinking routine
The home environment also matters. For some people, remaining in the same setting where drinking happens every day makes it extremely difficult to interrupt the pattern. A period away can create the structure and distance needed to concentrate properly on treatment.
A history of complicated withdrawal, including seizures or delirium tremens, is particularly important and needs to be considered clinically.
Abbington House will not be appropriate in every situation. Somebody may require hospital treatment because of an acute physical-health problem or psychiatric presentation. Another person may not require a residential level of care at all.
Abbington House is also abstinence-based. If somebody is looking for a treatment model with a different goal, another service may be more appropriate.
Being uncertain is different from refusing treatment. Many people arrive ambivalent about recovery or unsure whether they can imagine life without alcohol.
What matters is that the person can consent to voluntary treatment and is willing to begin participating in it.
Assessment is designed to work this out honestly. If we do not believe Abbington House is the right treatment setting, we will tell you.
Cost, length of stay and admission
A typical 28-day residential stay at Abbington House costs £13,950.
The fee is fixed for the agreed stay and includes accommodation, meals, treatment and medically supervised detox where clinically required rather than adding detox later as a separate package.
Twenty-eight days is a common length of stay at Abbington House, but treatment duration is considered individually. Drinking history, withdrawal needs, physical health, mental health, previous treatment and what somebody will be returning to after treatment can all affect that discussion.
Our Rehab Costs page explains exactly what the fee includes.
Our Length of Stay page explains how treatment duration is considered.
If you want to understand what happens from the first enquiry through to arriving at Abbington House, see Admissions.
Common questions about alcohol rehab
Do I need to stop drinking before I arrive?
No. If you are drinking dependently, do not suddenly stop drinking on your own simply because you are preparing for rehab.
Tell the admissions team honestly what you are drinking, approximately how much and when you last drank. This allows withdrawal risk to be assessed and medically supervised detox to be planned where it is needed.
How do I know whether I am “bad enough” for rehab?
There is no useful threshold based on whether your life looks bad enough from the outside.
Assessment looks at the pattern and severity of drinking, dependence, withdrawal risk, physical and mental health, previous attempts to stop, the home environment and whether residential treatment is likely to offer something that a less intensive setting cannot.
Some people who contact us will be better suited to community or outpatient treatment. Others have reached a point where residential treatment is a reasonable next step.
What if I have tried to stop before?
That is very common.
Previous attempts can tell us a lot about what has and has not worked. It is useful to know how long you stopped for, what support you had and what was happening when drinking began again.
Returning to alcohol after a previous attempt does not mean that recovery is impossible.
Will I be judged for how much I drink?
No.
We need accurate information because it affects withdrawal risk, assessment and treatment planning. Understating how much you drink makes it harder for the clinical team to plan safely.
The amount is clinical information, not a judgement about you.
Can I use my phone or stay in contact with work?
Phone access is possible within the boundaries of the residential programme.
If you have work or family responsibilities that require particular contact arrangements, discuss them before admission so that expectations are clear.
Treatment works best when somebody is able to give proper attention to being here rather than trying to continue their normal working life from rehab.
Will my employer be told that I am in treatment?
Treatment is confidential.
If employment is a concern, talk to the admissions team before treatment so that practical questions around work, communication and confidentiality can be discussed clearly.
Can my family be involved?
Yes. Family support forms part of treatment where appropriate.
A family member can also make the first enquiry even if the person drinking has not yet decided whether they will enter treatment.
What if I cannot afford private alcohol rehab?
Private residential treatment is not the only route into alcohol treatment.
Publicly funded and community alcohol services are available, although the way treatment is organised differs across the UK.
If private treatment is not financially realistic, accessing appropriate community support is better than postponing help because residential rehab is out of reach.
Can Abbington House treat alcohol addiction alongside depression or anxiety?
Where co-occurring mental-health difficulties can safely and appropriately be supported within Abbington House, they are considered alongside addiction.
Some acute or severe psychiatric presentations require specialist psychiatric or hospital treatment before residential addiction treatment would be appropriate.
You can read more about this on our Dual Diagnosis page.
Is Abbington House regulated?
Yes. Abbington House is regulated by the Care Quality Commission as a residential service providing treatment for substance misuse.
You can view the CQC record for Abbington House.
Starting alcohol rehab at Abbington House
- To understand the practical steps, read how admission works.
- To discuss your own situation or somebody you are worried about, speak to our admissions team.
- Or call us today on Call 01438 583222 to talk to someone.
