Admissions at NDMH Rehab

Federal law protects substance use disorder records under 42 CFR Part 2, which is stricter than standard HIPAA. NDMH does not disclose your admission, your records, or any aspect of your treatment to your employer, your department, your command, or any third party without your written authorization. The medical-leave paperwork your employer receives identifies a serious health condition requiring inpatient care; it does not identify the diagnosis or the facility. This is the most common question we get from our first-responder and active-duty callers, and the legal answer is clear.

No. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone is supported by overwhelming clinical evidence to reduce opioid use, prevent overdose, and improve long-term outcomes. The medications stabilize the brain's opioid system, eliminate withdrawal-driven cravings, and allow the patient to do the therapeutic work that produces durable recovery. The "trading drugs" framing is a misconception that the addiction medicine field has been working to correct for two decades — the medications used in MAT do not produce the euphoria or impairment that defines substance use disorder. This is a myth worth busting clearly.

Detox runs 3 to 7 days. Residential runs 30 to 90 days, with 60 to 90 days the typical length for veteran and first-responder patients given the trauma-focused work involved. PHP runs 2 to 4 weeks. IOP runs 8 to 12 weeks. Length of stay is determined by clinical indication, not by insurance authorization windows.

Yes. NDMH maintains an active community-care relationship with VA Greater Los Angeles and accepts Tricare through that partnership. Veterans and active-duty service members should call our admissions line and ask for the veteran-intake protocol — the counselor will walk through the specific coverage and authorization process that applies to your service status.

This is the question we hear most often from our long-history patients. The honest answer is that prior programs likely did not address the trauma component that has been sustaining the substance use, did not match the patient to a peer cohort that shared their occupational background, or did not have the clinical depth on dual-diagnosis psychiatric care to address the underlying conditions. NDMH was built specifically for the population that has been through programs that did not work. We are not the right answer for every patient, but the alumni data on patients with three or more prior treatment episodes is the data we report most often — because that is the cohort we exist to serve.

Yes. PHP and morning IOP tracks accommodate employer-disclosed leave. Evening IOP at 6 PM Monday through Thursday is structured around continued full-time employment without required disclosure, including for shift workers and active-duty personnel. The admissions counselor can walk through FMLA, employer disclosure considerations, and department-specific protocols during the first call.

Phone contact with approved family members is limited during the first seven days to support detox stabilization. Scheduled phone calls begin day eight. In-person visiting is permitted on weekends after day fourteen, contingent on clinical clearance. Visitor lists are coordinated with the patient's primary therapist.