Confidential help, 24/7 — outpatient care across Virginia
(571) 586-2883
Prescription drug addiction · Arlington, VA
Outpatient treatment for painkillers, benzodiazepines, stimulants, and sleep medications — with medication-assisted treatment, supervised tapers, PHP and IOP, and telehealth throughout Virginia.
Medically reviewed by the VABH Medical Team
When treatment helps
Prescription drug addiction almost never starts with a decision to misuse something. It starts with a bottle from a pharmacy, a real diagnosis, and a dose that slowly stops being enough.
The dose that worked six months ago barely takes the edge off now. You take an extra pill for a hard day, then another, and the bottle runs out earlier every cycle. Tolerance is one of the earliest and most reliable signs that use has shifted.
Calling for early refills, keeping prescriptions from more than one provider, or filling at multiple pharmacies. Virginia's prescription monitoring program makes this harder — and the scramble to stay ahead of it becomes its own full-time stress.
Sweating, aching, nausea, restless sleep, rebound anxiety, or tremor when a dose is late. With opioids it feels like flu; with benzodiazepines it can feel like panic and, at higher doses, become medically dangerous. Withdrawal is a medical issue, not a willpower issue.
Borrowing a friend's Adderall before a deadline, taking a family member's leftover Percocet, or buying pills online. Counterfeit pills pressed with fentanyl are now common throughout the DMV, which makes this the single most dangerous pattern we see.
Planning your day around when you can take the next dose, avoiding travel without enough supply, hiding bottles, or lying to your prescriber. When the medication starts organizing your schedule, the relationship has changed.
Many people started with a legitimate prescription after surgery, an injury, an anxiety diagnosis, or an ADHD evaluation. The underlying condition is real and still needs treatment — which is exactly why stopping abruptly on your own rarely holds.
What we treat
Each class of medication carries a different withdrawal profile and a different treatment path. Getting that right is the difference between a plan that holds and one that doesn't.
Oxycodone, hydrocodone, Percocet, Vicodin, morphine, tramadol, and fentanyl patches. We use medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine (Suboxone) or naltrexone (Vivitrol) alongside therapy, plus a real plan for the pain that started it.
Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, and Valium. Benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause seizures and should never be stopped cold turkey. We coordinate a medically supervised taper and treat the underlying anxiety or panic with CBT, DBT skills, and non-addictive medication options.
Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and Concerta. Misuse is common among students and high-performing professionals across Arlington and DC. We re-evaluate whether ADHD is actually present, treat it properly, and address the crash cycle, sleep disruption, and stimulant-induced anxiety.
Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata. Dependence builds quietly, and rebound insomnia makes stopping feel impossible. CBT for insomnia plus a structured taper resolves this for most people without trading one medication for another.
Soma, gabapentin, and pregabalin — often combined with opioids, which raises overdose risk substantially. We look at your full medication list, not just the one drug that brought you in.
Most prescription misuse we treat involves more than one substance, and frequently alcohol. We assess every combination for interaction and withdrawal risk before building your treatment plan.
How we treat it
Prescription dependence has a physical component and a psychological one. We treat both, in coordination with your existing prescriber wherever possible.
For opioid dependence, buprenorphine (Suboxone) or naltrexone (Vivitrol) reduces cravings and withdrawal so therapy can actually take hold. Prescribed and monitored by our medical team, with no arbitrary time limit on how long you stay on it.
For benzodiazepines, sedatives, and sleep medications, we build a gradual, monitored taper schedule in coordination with your prescriber rather than an abrupt stop that risks seizures or severe rebound symptoms.
Identify the thoughts, situations, and physical sensations that trigger use, then build responses that work under stress. CBT is also the most effective non-medication treatment for the chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia that often sit underneath.
Concrete tools for riding out cravings, regulating emotion, and getting through a bad night without reaching for a pill. Practiced weekly in group so the skills are available when it counts.
Depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and chronic pain are the most common drivers of prescription misuse. We treat them at the same time — treating one without the other is the most reliable way to relapse.
For clients who came in through a legitimate pain prescription, we coordinate non-opioid options with your physician: physical therapy referrals, non-addictive medication, yoga therapy, and mind-body approaches like sound bath and reiki.
Levels of care
Most people aren't sure which level of care they need. That's what the assessment is for — and you can step between levels as things change.
Our most intensive outpatient level, for early stabilization after a taper or MAT induction. Daily therapy, groups, and medical monitoring while you sleep at home. Common starting point when use has escalated or a previous attempt to stop failed.
Structured group and individual therapy with ongoing medication management, built to fit around a job. Evening tracks work well for Arlington and DC professionals who can't step away from work entirely.
Weekly therapy plus periodic medical follow-up for Suboxone, Vivitrol, or ongoing taper management. The maintenance level that protects the progress you built in PHP or IOP.
If you need medically managed detox first — especially with benzodiazepines, high-dose opioids, or alcohol in the mix — we connect you with trusted, vetted partners and take the guesswork out of the transition, then continue your care when you step down to us.
Common questions
Not necessarily. Physical dependence can develop on a correctly prescribed medication taken exactly as directed — that alone isn't addiction. What matters is whether use has become compulsive: taking more than prescribed, using to cope rather than to treat, continuing despite consequences, or being unable to stop. We help you sort out which is happening without judgment.
Please don't, especially with benzodiazepines like Xanax or Klonopin. Abrupt discontinuation can cause seizures and can be life-threatening. Opioid withdrawal is rarely fatal but is severe enough that most people relapse without support. A supervised taper or MAT induction is safer and far more likely to work.
Our goal is safety and function, not confiscation. Sometimes that means a taper, sometimes a switch to a lower-risk medication, sometimes MAT, and sometimes continuing a prescription with tighter monitoring. We coordinate with your prescriber rather than working around them.
It usually is. Chronic pain and opioid dependence coexist constantly, and pretending the pain isn't there guarantees relapse. We build a pain plan with non-opioid medication, physical therapy referrals, and body-based approaches so you aren't asked to choose between recovery and being able to function.
Yes. We re-evaluate whether ADHD is genuinely present, treat it properly if it is, and address the sleep disruption, crash cycle, and anxiety that stimulant misuse produces. See our ADHD treatment page for more on the diagnostic side.
Most commercial plans cover outpatient substance use treatment, including PHP, IOP, and MAT. We verify your benefits before you start and explain expected out-of-pocket costs up front. Self-pay options are available.
Yes, for Virginia residents — our clinicians are licensed in Virginia, so telehealth sessions are available statewide. In-person PHP and IOP at our Arlington center is available to Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC residents.
Insurance accepted
We work with the commercial plans families across Arlington, Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland actually carry — Anthem, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Sentara Health Plans, UMR, and Johns Hopkins Health Plans. Send us your card and we'll confirm your outpatient behavioral health benefits — usually within one business hour.
Don't see your plan? Call us — we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay.
Get help today
Whether you're calling for yourself or for someone you love, the first conversation is free and completely confidential.