Office of Behavioral Health – Addictive Disorders ServicesThe Office of Behavioral Health’s addictive disorders services provide treatment for people suffering from addictions to drugs, alcohol or gambling, as well as support for their families and friends.
As a legal condition of providing these services, OBH gives priority admission for treatment to intravenous (IV) drug users, addicted pregnant women and addicted women who have dependent children. For these groups, OBH aims to provide addictive disorders services with no or a minimal waiting period. If care is not available within 48 hours, the office will provide interim treatment services as appropriate.
Treatment Programs
Office of Behavioral Health has prevention and treatment services available in each region.
- Detox: These services are available as medical or social addictive disorders treatment. Medical services provide immediate, acute care to substance abusers at an extreme health risk, either because of a co-occurring medical condition, or because of a severe medical condition resulting from the substance abuse. Social detox services treat patients who need immediate care to treat addiction, but do not have any urgent health problems.
- Inpatient Care: This service provides non-emergency treatment and includes a planned, professionally implemented regime for people suffering from addiction problems. Inpatient facilities operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provide medical and psychiatric care as warranted.
- Outpatient Care: Outpatient services are either non-intensive or intensive, based on the level of services provided in that program. In non-intensive programs, treatment/recovery/aftercare or rehabilitation services are provided, but the client does not reside in a treatment facility while receiving these services. The client receives treatment services with or without medication, including counseling and supportive services. In intensive programs, services provided to a client last three or more hours per day for three or more days per week, with a minimum of nine treatment hours per week provided.
- Community-Based Services: These treatments can be administered through halfway houses, recovery homes, therapeutic community services or three-quarter-way house services. Each of these environments provides varying degrees of residential care and social support services for people seeking treatment for addictive disorders.
- Residential Services: These programs are based on a 12-step program model, and do not include medical or psychological treatment services.
- Services for Women with Dependent Children: These treatment services are specially designed for women who have dependent children, and occur in a residential environment. Services offered in these programs include comprehensive assessment and individualized treatment planning for women and children; intensive case management; individual, group and family therapy; parenting classes; life-skills training; exposure to substance abuse support groups (e.g. AA or NA); child care services; job readiness training; relapse prevention; family reunification; and advocacy. The goal of these programs is to assist clients in maintaining self sufficiency, employment and family stability.
- Opiate Treatment Programs: These services treat addiction to and physical dependence on opiates (either alone or combined with abuse of other substances) through detoxification and stabilization on methadone.
- Compulsive Gambling Treatment: OBH offers a variety of services to specifically treat gambling addiction. People who wish to access these services can call the Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline at 1-877-770-7867 or look for compulsive gambling treatment programs.
Prevention Services
OBH has regional prevention offices throughout the state, which offer various services to decrease and prevent addictive disorders.
