Best Rehab Centers in San Diego, CA - Free Options

If you’re looking for comfortable and comprehensive addiction treatment without a luxury price tag, Pacific Bay Recovery is your best option in San Diego. Their treatment center (which offers care along the entire continuum, from detox to residential to outpatient treatment) is located right in the heart of the Mission District, and while the accommodations aren’t super-luxurious, residents are kept very comfortable in private or semi-private rooms.

What makes Pacific Bay Recovery special is that they offer a wide range of alternative treatment methods, including many that aren’t typically offered in rehab centers. Of course, they have yoga classes - which isn’t that uncommon these days - but they also have treatments like cupping therapy (an ancient Chinese medicine practice which is thought by some to reduce pain) and acupuncture. This is the best overall option for addiction rehab in San Diego.

Although “soledad” means solitude in Spanish, you’ll be anything but lonely at Soledad House. You will, however, achieve that peaceful solitude that you’ve been longing for; Soledad House is located on serene Mount Soledad looking over La Jolla Bay, and women in recovery can focus on treatment here without being distracted by the business of San Diego city life. Plus, Soledad House offers faith-based treatment, so spiritually-minded people in particular will find solace here.

Soledad House is one of the best options for inpatient or outpatient addiction care in the San Diego area; the only downside to this rehab is that they only serve women. However, that’s also one of the best things about Soledad House; if you are a woman; gender-specific care can be very effective when treating addiction, especially for women who’ve gone through traumatic experiences that have led to their addiction. If you’re a woman looking for a rehab center in San Diego, Soledad House should be the first place you call.

Any San Diego local could tell you that La Jolla Beach is one of the most beautiful beach settings in the world; now imagine attending rehab there. La Jolla Recovery makes that possible, with its serene beach location where you can walk away from your addiction while basking in the sun. They even have a pet-friendly unit, if you can’t bear to leave your furbaby behind.

A unique treatment that’s offered at La Jolla Recovery is something called NAD therapy, or Nicotine Adenine Dinucleotide Therapy. The theory goes that people who are suffering from addiction (or other co-occurring mental health disorders like depression and anxiety) have a lack of NAD, a coenzyme that helps with mood regulation. NAD therapy, administered through an IV, can help people who are getting clean to experience less withdrawal symptoms. The staff at La Jolla Recovery also offer other medication-assisted treatment using more common medications like Suboxone.

If luxury is what you’re looking for, then you'll find it at Apex Recovery, a treatment center that provides a wide range of services from medically-supervised detox to various outpatient levels of care. In their inpatient program, Apex offers 5-star amenities like a swimming pool and an on-site private chef to prepare delicious and nutritious meals. Keep in mind that this comes with a hefty economic cost.

Apex isn’t just a luxury hotel, however; their clinical services are also top-rated. It’s one of the only rehabs in San Diego which is both owned and operated by clinicians (rehabs often employ clinicians, of course, but are owned by private citizens who are not trained in addiction medicine). This means that their services, particularly their mental health services for dual diagnosis patients, are excellent; they use a variety of evidence-based clinical practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Interestingly, they also offer alternative treatment methods like sound bath therapy and pet therapy, if that’s something that interests you.

Hope Canyon is a small residential detox and rehab center for people struggling with addiction. Small is the keyword here, as their intimate setting allows the staff to focus their attention and energy on each individual patient that comes through their doors. They reject a “one-size-fits-all” approach to addiction treatment, and since many of the staff members have gone through recovery themselves, they are able to empathize with the difficulties of breaking an addiction.

Even after you leave their inpatient program, your counselor can help set you up with whatever you need to succeed in your life, including outpatient programs and life skills courses. Best of all, this recovery center is a low-cost treatment option. You’ll have to call them for the details of their fee structure, but you can rest assured that you won’t have to empty your life savings to get help here.

If you’re a part of the LGBTQ+ community and are struggling with addiction, it’s imperative that you find a treatment practitioner that is not only “tolerant” of LGBTQ+ issues but is affirmative of your identity. At Healthy Life Recovery, you will find exactly that: the staff there is dedicated to serving people who identify as LGBTQ+ and guarantee that you’ll feel free to be who you are. Everyone is welcome to attend treatment here, however you identify.

Healthy Life Recovery doesn’t have an inpatient program, and provides all of their treatment on an outpatient basis. If you’re struggling with withdrawal symptoms and are interested in medication-assisted treatment, then they can provide that on an outpatient basis as well, although it’s important to note that they don’t offer Methadone for those trying to break an opioid addiction.

Soledad House is the best faith-based treatment program for women, but what about for Christian men? Your answer is found at Genesis Recovery. This inpatient treatment program uses a combination of faith-based interventions with evidence-based practices to help people recover from a wide variety of addictions and co-occurring mental health disorders.

It’s important to be aware of the fact that Genesis is strongly based on the Christian faith, rather than just overall spirituality. A large part of the residents’ days are spent in prayer, meditation, and Bible study; if you don’t identify as a Christian, you may find that you feel a bit out of place here. If you’re a man who’s looking for non-Christian inpatient care, try Pacific Bay Recovery.

Sadly, the LGBTQ+ community has been found to be more likely to struggle with substance abuse than the general population due to the trauma and discrimination they face in society. Because of this, it’s important to have dedicated services for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and are trying to take steps towards their recovery.

Stepping Stone of San Diego, a non-profit organization, has been serving the local LGBTQ+ community for decades; although they primarily focus on this population, they’ve never turned anyone away who needs treatment. They have both inpatient and outpatient care for those struggling with addiction, and a specialized program for patients who are HIV+. Especially if you are part of the LGBTQ+ community and you need affordable treatment, you will find a welcoming place with quality care at Stepping Stone.

If outpatient care is what you’re interested in, then Lasting Recovery may be the best rehab for you. Rather than a residential program, Lasting Recovery offers different levels of outpatient care, from a partial hospitalization program to a regular outpatient program. Whether you want to spend all day, every day in their clinic or just attend counseling once a week, Lasting Recovery has got you covered.

Not only does Lasting Recovery offer treatment for addiction recovery, they also specialize in mental health symptoms that may be interconnected with addiction. For example, they have specialized treatment for trauma, depression, and grief - all very important factors to consider when recovering from addiction. Other unique services offered by Lasting Recovery include yoga therapy, poetry groups, occupational therapy, and chronic pain management. Lasting Recovery is a fantastic place to receive well-rounded care for your entire life.

Akua’s overall philosophy of care is “East meets West”. As you can probably guess, this means that they incorporate many traditional Eastern practices into their addiction care alongside top-notch Western medicine. Their San Diego location only offers detox and inpatient care, but they have many more clinics in nearby Orange County, CA.

For example, they have yoga classes and acupuncture, which in this day and age isn’t too unique, especially in San Diego. Something more unusual that you’ll find at Akua is laughter therapy, which uses humor and laughter to help heal pain and stress. It’s hard not to feel good while you’re laughing, even if you’re in recovery.

You might not be looking for an intensive treatment program; maybe you just need a supportive living environment where you can stay for a while as you practice applying all of the skills you learned in rehab to your everyday life. For people in this situation, transitional living (also known as sober living or halfway homes) may be the best option for you, and Shoreline Sober Living is the best transitional living unit in San Diego.

The price tag for these accommodations may be a little high, but for good reason: Shoreline’s homes are gorgeous, and they offer full-day scheduling that includes outings and meetings with your sponsor. They’re associated with Shoreline Recovery Center, which offers detox services in the area; you can head straight to their Sober Living facilities as soon as you complete the detoxification process.

Not everyone has the financial resources to attend rehab, even if it’s partially covered by insurance. However, just because you’re struggling economically doesn’t mean that help isn’t available to you. Many treatment centers operate as non-profit organizations, including Community Resources and Self Help, otherwise known as CRASH.

CRASH is a well-established non-profit organization in the San Diego area who have been providing affordable addiction treatment services for many years. Their recovery houses are gender-specific, and their fees are offered on a sliding scale basis; this means that you won’t ever be turned away for an inability to pay. If you’re ready to kick your addiction to the curb, don’t let finances get in your way. CRASH is a fantastic place to start looking for help.

Teens struggle with substance abuse too; most high school juniors in California reported using alcohol, and more than one-third have used marijuana. Shockingly, less than 10% of teens in California who need treatment for substance use disorder actually receive it. It’s clear that there is a dire need for specialized treatment for adolescents living in California.

In comes Evolve Teen Rehab Centers. Their outpatient rehab center in San Diego is designed specifically for adolescents between 12 and 18 years old. Although they don’t have an inpatient unit in San Diego, their day treatment programs are intensive, ranging from partial hospitalization to intensive outpatient. (If you’re looking for inpatient care for teens, Evolve does have residential centers in other parts of California.) Teens will continue their schooling while they’re in treatment here, and will still live at home (which means that this may not be a feasible option for you if you’re coming from out-of-state). If you’re looking for quality addiction treatment for your child, then Evolve Teen Rehab is where you should go first.

Paradise Detox is associated with Hope Canyon, which we also have included on our list. Much like Hope Canyon, Paradise Detox’s main attractive draw is its small and intimate size; because of their low occupancy rate, they’re able to focus much more of their attention on you as an individual, as compared with rehabs in larger, more hospital-like settings.

Paradise starts working with you in the detoxification period, as you’re getting the substances out of your system. After that, you can choose to continue on to their residential treatment program, where you’ll receive individual and group therapy from qualified staff. Bonni Cardoza, LMFT is the Clinical Director at both facilities, and leads a group of excellent clinicians and counselors to work with you on beating your addiction.

Although Boardwalk Recovery Center doesn’t have a residential unit, their intensive outpatient program is impressively well-designed. Patients go through 3 phases of outpatient treatment, each a bit less intensive than the last. In the first phase, patients attend treatment for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, and gradually lessen the amount of time they spend in rehab until they reach phase 3, in which they are only attending weekly sessions with their therapist. This helps patients learn how to manage their own goals and lives slowly, as they learn the skills they need to be successful.

On top of evidence-based practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Boardwalk Recovery Center also offers a wide range of experiential therapies. One unique method they use is Ecopsychology; they run outdoor group therapy and mindfulness meditation out in nature to help patients connect to the serenity within themselves.

The McAlister Institute is a giant non-profit organization with a whopping 24 programs for addiction treatment in the San Diego area. Being a non-profit organization, they accept patients with Medi-Cal and who are Medi-Cal eligible, and are one of the best options for affordable recovery care in San Diego. They have inpatient, outpatient, and sober living programs available, as well as detoxification units.

Although most programs are for all genders, some are specifically designed for women only, like the SAFE supportive housing unit. They even have an inpatient treatment program for women with children; this is fantastic news if you happen to be a woman in recovery with children, because it can be extraordinarily difficult to find a treatment program that you can enter into without leaving your children with a relative. The McAlister Institute is a reputable local organization that can help you to take the first step towards sobriety without breaking the bank.

This small outpatient clinic in San Diego is a great option if you’re looking for an intimate setting in which to get treatment - plus, they are privately owned, so their clinicians can do what’s best for each individual patient without worrying about outside stakeholders. They use a combination of 12-step practices with science-based treatment methods, and have a deep understanding that 12-step programs are not for everyone (although they encourage attendance).

The clinicians at San Diego Treatment and Recovery Center are highly experienced at treating co-occurring mental health disorders like PTSD and depression, so if you’re finding yourself struggling with your mood, then this may be a good option for treatment. They also have a specialized young adult program; call them for details. In general, this clinic is simple and doesn’t boast of any extraordinary and unique programs, but their clinicians are effective and warm.

Have you gone through rehab time and time again, only to relapse after you leave treatment? If you’ve struggled with maintaining sobriety even after attending rehab before, then The Bridges San Diego may be the best option for treatment for you. They have a specialized Chronic Relapse program for people who have tried to get sober before with no success. Even if you’ve taken some steps back in your recovery, don’t lose hope. The staff at The Bridges have experience helping with your exact situation.

Their programs are all outpatient, and they can help you with financing options. The only thing to watch out for with this organization is that they’re fairly new in the community, which means they’re not well-established yet. However, if you’ve given other rehabs a try without any success, then it’d be worth it to give The Bridges a call.

Perhaps what you’re struggling with isn’t substance abuse but another behavioral disorder that mimics addiction in many ways: an eating disorder. The extremely reputable University of California San Diego’s Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research is hands-down the best and most trustworthy place to receive quality care for eating disorders, whether it’s for yourself or for a child (their pediatric program works with children under 13 years old, and they have an adolescent program as well).

This clinic at UCSD is world-renowned; not only do they provide treatment for patients struggling with eating disorders, but they also are conducting world-class research here; for example, they’re currently conducting a study on the neurobiology of eating disorders. San Diego residents are lucky to have this option available to them, and out-of-state patients should consider traveling to attend the exceptional program here as well.

We understand completely if the other sober living facility on our list is out of your budget, as they come with a fairly high price tag. Another option for more affordable transitional housing is found at Fairmont Park Recovery in East San Diego County. These serene and comfortable homes are located on 1 ½ acres of land with a mountain view, and a ranch style of living with vegetable gardens and free-range chickens.

The housing units even come with recovery coaching for extra support as you transition into your life after rehab. The only thing to be aware of about this sober living facility is its location; it’s located a bit farther out from the city of San Diego than most other options on our list. However, it’s only a 10-mile drive, and the serenity of the surroundings make it worth considering.