NIAAA's Alcohol Treatment Navigator

Key takeaway

The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator is a federal guide for adults seeking alcohol treatment for themselves or an adult loved one. It takes no ads and does not endorse a program. Search trusted sources, ask its ten questions, and compare five signs of quality care. More of those signs can raise the odds. None of them reserves a bed.

Last updated: Mon Oct 05 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

You are trying to find alcohol treatment for yourself, or for an adult you love, and the first results look like ads. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism built a different tool. The Alcohol Treatment Navigator is a federal education guide for that search. NIAAA says many of the calls that inspired it came from family and friends.

If someone is seizing, will not wake, or cannot breathe, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. If you have been drinking heavily for a long time, NIAAA's core resource says a sudden stop can be life-threatening. Finish the comparison after that medical plan exists.

What the tool will and will not do for you

NIAAA is the lead federal research agency on alcohol and health. The Navigator's about page says the site has no commercial ties. NIAAA does not endorse a particular clinician or a commercial treatment program, and advertisers do not shape the advice. The home page says the same thing more shortly: unlike many sites that promise help, the Navigator has no commercial sponsors.

The about page still prints a figure from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 15.1 million U.S. adults had alcohol use disorder that year, and only about 1 in 12 received treatment. That is the survey year the page cites. It is not a count of this year, and it is not a forecast for one person.

There is no single database of every addiction treatment provider in the country. The directories in step 1 are kept by organizations outside NIAAA. They cover the United States and list people with training to treat addiction. You use the Navigator's instructions to spot the credentials inside those directories. If a directory is stale, the call you make is the correction. A pin on a map is not an open bed. FindTreatment.gov is a separate federal locator. How to read a listing is on finding treatment near you.

Three steps, then a real phone call

Step 1 is to search trusted sources for programs, therapists, and doctors. The how-to page says thousands of providers offer evidence-based treatment and that the hard part is knowing where to start.

Step 2 is ten recommended questions. The FAQ says to ask them even when a trusted person already gave you a name, and to listen for higher-quality care in the answers. The questions stay on the Navigator, where each one includes what to listen for. Write the answers down the way questions for admissions says to write down a license number.

Step 3 is the choice. If one option is clearly stronger, the step-3 page says the choice may be obvious. If several look similar, it points to a choices chart in the toolkit. The chart is a comparison worksheet. It is not an admission letter.

Alcohol treatment can be in person, by telehealth, or through other online options. The FAQ describes professional phone or video care, fee-based self-guided programs, and online mutual-support groups. A self-guided program can sit inside a plan a clinician leads. An app does not replace that clinician. Ask the insurer what it actually pays.

Five signs you can check on the call

The FAQ names five signs of higher-quality care: credentials, a comprehensive assessment, a customized treatment plan, evidence-based treatments, and continuing recovery support. NIAAA says the list comes from a review of addiction health-services research and from expert consensus. These five fit both individual therapists and programs. They cover intake through later recovery. They look at the provider and at the care itself. Other quality signs exist. These are the ones the tool asks you to compare.

The factors are strongly correlated with treatment quality or outcomes. Providers with more of the signs are likely to offer higher-quality treatment, which should increase the likelihood of success. The same answer says there are no guarantees. A full set of signs is not a promise that this person will stop drinking.

On a call, a therapist's higher marks include addiction-specific certification or training, a current license in counseling, psychology, or social work, and an advanced degree. A program's higher marks include at least one medical doctor on staff or available to consult, counseling staff with advanced degrees and addiction certification, and a current license plus accreditation by an independent review board. The early assessment should cover drinking, other substance use, housing and transportation, and family and social support. The plan should be matched to the person. Different people need different care.

Evidence-based care, in the FAQ, means treatment grounded in research that links medications, behavioral therapies, or other components to better outcomes. Choosing treatment may matter more than the specific approach, as long as the approach uses empathy and motivational support, focuses on changing drinking, and avoids confrontation. The medicine section names three FDA-approved drugs: naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram. They are non-addictive. Not everyone responds. A doctor has to decide who is a candidate. Naltrexone is a poor fit for someone with a liver condition or someone taking opioid medicine. Do not start or stop a medicine from a comparison chart. When two conditions need care together, keep going in dual diagnosis.

License, certification, and accreditation

A license lets someone practice. The state that issued it sets the rules and the renewal. A treatment program's license usually comes from the state agency that oversees addiction or mental health services.

Certification is a specialty mark, often after extra coursework and an exam. The FAQ's examples include a physician board-certified in addiction medicine and a psychiatrist board-certified in addiction psychiatry. It names the American Board of Addiction Medicine and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as the issuers in that answer. Boards change names. Ask the state and the board.

Accreditation means an independent group reviewed a facility's procedures, records, staff, and buildings. It usually lasts three to five years and then has to be repeated. The agencies named as common reviewers are The Joint Commission, CARF, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The program table also lists the Council on Accreditation. Accreditation is not a personal recommendation, and it is not proof of a vacancy this week.

Nearly every provider will have a license. A license alone does not mean they have the expertise you need. If you are choosing among several, prefer the extra specialty credential.

Families, teenagers, and other drugs

For a look at risk, the FAQ points people who drink, and people worried about them, to NIAAA's Rethinking Drinking site. To help someone accept treatment, it says Community Reinforcement and Family Training has been shown to be more effective than confronting the person in an intervention. That model is on CRAFT for families. Once someone is in care, many providers offer family counseling, and families often use mutual-help groups. The FAQ names Al-Anon and SMART Recovery as examples. SMART Recovery is a separate mutual-help program.

The Navigator is for adults. Adolescents need providers with specific teen expertise. Counseling techniques differ, and no alcohol-treatment medication is approved for adolescents. Consent, including when a parent may see a record, is on care for teens and young adults.

If the person also has an opioid problem, the medicines, qualifications, and rules differ from alcohol treatment. A doctor board-certified in addiction medicine is, in the FAQ's words, the best person to treat opioid use disorder or to refer. An older sentence on that FAQ points to a buprenorphine practitioner locator. SAMHSA has removed the search for individual buprenorphine prescribers. Facility listings remain. Follow the current locator.

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help looking for a licensed program while you use the Navigator's questions on your own calls.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

Common Questions

Is the Alcohol Treatment Navigator a list of open beds?

No. NIAAA says it is an education tool, not a directory it maintains, and that a federal research agency does not endorse a clinician or a commercial program. Licenses lapse, so NIAAA does not keep a curated list of providers who meet every quality sign. You still have to search, call, and ask. A name on a third-party directory is not an admission.

What are the five signs of higher-quality care?

The Navigator names credentials, a comprehensive assessment, a customized treatment plan, evidence-based treatments, and continuing recovery support. NIAAA says it chose those five because they apply to therapists and to programs and cover intake, treatment, and later recovery. It says providers with more of the signs are likely to offer higher-quality care. It also says there are no guarantees.

Does a state license mean the provider specializes in alcohol treatment?

The FAQ says a license is permission to practice, issued by the state, and that it is the minimum. Certification is extra specialty training and an exam. Accreditation is an independent review of a facility, often for three to five years. The higher mark for doctors is board certification in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry. For programs, it names accreditation by The Joint Commission, CARF, the Council on Accreditation, or NCQA. Confirm the current credential. Licenses expire.

Can I use it to find treatment for a teenager?

The FAQ says the Navigator is built for adults. It says no alcohol-treatment medicine is approved for adolescents, and that teen counseling often puts more weight on family therapy. It points adolescent searches to resources named on the Navigator. Consent rules for minors are a separate question. Do not treat an adult directory as the answer to a minor's legal question.

What if withdrawal has already started while I am still comparing programs?

Stop the spreadsheet. If someone is seizing, will not wake, or cannot breathe, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. NIAAA says a sudden stop after long, heavy drinking can be life-threatening. Plan that stop with a clinician. A comparison chart is not a detox plan.