# Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Islington | Sierra Recovery > Drug and alcohol rehab in Islington compared: free NHS and council support, AA and NA, private residential costs and treatment abroad, with sources. [Home](/) / [Local treatment guides](/local-treatment-guides/) / Islington Treatment options in Islington # Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Islington: the main options, compared The real routes to drug and alcohol rehab in Islington, from free NHS and council treatment and peer support to private residential rehab and treatment abroad, with indicative costs and how to access each. [See the options](#options)[+44 1202 653136](tel:+441202653136) Clinically reviewed by[Nerea Encinas Sánchez](/clinical-team/)Director of the centre, MSc General Health PsychologyRegistered psychologist, COPAO AO13857 Checked for accuracy on 28 July 2026. Next review due July 2027. This page is general information about our programme and is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. If you may be physically dependent, do not stop suddenlyStopping alcohol or benzodiazepines abruptly can be dangerous if you are physically dependent, severe withdrawal symptoms can include seizures. Get medical advice before you cut down or stop. In a life-threatening emergency call 999 (or 112), and for urgent non-emergency advice call NHS 111. You do not have to pay for drug and alcohol rehab in Islington. The borough’s NHS-commissioned community drug and alcohol service is free and is the right first step for most people, alongside free peer support through AA and NA. Private residential rehab is faster and more intensive but is not based in Islington itself, and treatment abroad can cost less than a private UK stay. Below are the main rehab services in Islington and beyond, side by side, so you can weigh Islington rehab options against UK-wide and overseas ones. People look for this in different ways: drug rehab, alcohol rehab centre, alcohol rehab Islington, drug and alcohol rehab Islington, drug rehab in Islington, or islington drug and alcohol rehab, and some simply want help for drug and alcohol problems or help for addiction affecting themselves or a loved one, whatever mix of alcohol and drug use is involved. Whatever term brought you here, the same options apply throughout Islington and near Islington in neighbouring boroughs, and services in London and services in the UK more widely follow a similar pattern: free NHS and council-commissioned drug and alcohol services first, then private rehab and addiction treatment such as medical detox, alcohol detox, or a full drug and alcohol detox and rehab programme, if you need more than the free options provide. Who publishes this, and why it matters. This guide is published by Sierra Recovery. We are not based in Islington, we are a residential centre in Humilladero, Málaga, Spain, and we are included below as one option among the local ones, clearly marked, for people who would consider treatment away from home. Unlike a directory, our list is not influenced by anyone paying for placement, and where a local option is better for you than we are, we say so. ## The picture in Islington Islington is an inner London borough, and it carries the same pressures around drug and alcohol addiction as the rest of the capital. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse and the wider mix of addiction and mental health needs are handled through commissioned treatment services rather than a single walk-in rehab centre. Treatment is commissioned by the local authority public health team and delivered in the community, so most people begin with a free assessment close to home rather than a residential admission. Prevalence and treatment figures for the borough are published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in its local drug and alcohol profiles, and the council keeps the current, definitive list of local services on its own website. We have not reproduced a headline statistic here because these numbers are revised regularly and are best read at source. ### Speak to a clinician about treatment from Islington Confidential, no obligation, and no referral fee is paid to anyone for sending you here. [Speak to a clinician](#talk)[+44 1202 653136](tel:+441202653136) ## Free drug and alcohol services in Islington Start here, before you consider paying for anything. These services are free, they are local, and for a great many people they are enough on their own. We publish them because a centre that only tells you about its own programme is not giving you the full picture. Where to go What they do, and how to reach them [Islington Council drugs and alcohol page](https://www.islington.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health-services-in-islington/drugs-and-alcohol) the commissioning authority Free drug and alcohol treatment for Islington is commissioned by Islington Council drugs and alcohol page. Their page lists the current provider, which changes when contracts are retendered, so we link the authority rather than a service name that may be out of date. Your GP, or NHS 111 The NHS advises starting with your GP, who can assess you, advise on safe options and refer you into local treatment. Call NHS 111 for urgent advice that is not an emergency. [Talk to FRANK](https://www.talktofrank.com/get-help/find-support-near-you) Free, confidential drugs advice 24 hours a day on 0300 123 6600, or text 82111. Its find-support tool lists local services for any postcode. Drinkline The free national alcohol helpline on 0300 123 1110, weekdays 9am to 8pm and weekends 11am to 4pm, for you or for someone you are worried about. [We Are With You](https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/) Free, confidential support for drug, alcohol and mental health problems, in person in many areas and by webchat everywhere. [Adfam](https://adfam.org.uk/) Support and information for families and friends affected by someone else’s drug or alcohol use. Checked 28 July 2026. Commissioned services are retendered periodically, so confirm the current provider with the authority before you travel to an appointment. ## AA and NA meetings in Islington Mutual aid meetings are free, they run most days, and there is no waiting list, no referral and no assessment. You can walk into one this week. They work alongside whatever else you choose rather than instead of it, and plenty of people use them and nothing else. Fellowship How to find a meeting near Islington Alcoholics Anonymous Search your town or postcode on the [AA Great Britain meeting finder](https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/find-a-meeting/) to see every meeting near Islington, in person and online, with days and times. The helpline is free on 0800 917 7650. Narcotics Anonymous If drugs are part of the picture, search the [UK Narcotics Anonymous meeting finder](https://meetings.ukna.org/) for meetings near Islington. The helpline is 0300 999 1212. Cocaine Anonymous For cocaine and crack specifically, in person and online, with a national helpline on 0800 612 0225. See [Cocaine Anonymous UK](https://www.cocaineanonymous.org.uk/). SMART Recovery A secular, CBT-based alternative to the twelve-step approach, free, in person and online. Some people much prefer it, and you are not required to choose one. See [SMART Recovery UK](https://smartrecovery.org.uk/). Al-Anon For the family and friends of someone drinking, which is its own burden and deserves its own support. See [Al-Anon UK](https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/). ### What actually happens at a first meeting You do not have to speak, and you do not have to give your surname. Most meetings open with a reading, someone shares for a while, and others speak if they want to. It lasts about an hour, and it is free, though a basket goes round for the room hire. Nobody takes a register and nobody will ask you to commit to anything. An open meeting can be attended by anyone, including family. A closed meeting is for people who think they may have a problem themselves. If the first group does not suit you, the next one along will feel different, because each has its own character. The usual advice is to try three before deciding it is not for you. We link the official finders rather than print a timetable, because meeting times and venues change and a stale listing sends someone to a locked door. Checked 28 July 2026. ## Private residential rehab for people in Islington There are no residential rehab centres based in Islington itself. Inner London boroughs have very few residential detox or rehab facilities, so residential care for Islington residents happens either by referral through the free community service above, or privately at rehab clinics and alcohol rehab centres elsewhere in England, since there are simply more rehabs outside inner London. In practice a residential stay, whichever rehab centre or length of stay you choose, almost always means travelling, which is worth knowing when you weigh up treatment abroad against rehab treatment centres closer to home. As a guide to cost, the recovery.com directory lists residential rehab in England from around £12,000 to £40,000 a month, with almost nothing credible under £10,000 a month. Sierra’s £9,900 for a 28-day treatment programme, private room included, is roughly a third of what a comparable UK stay costs, because the cost of running a clinic in the Spanish countryside is far lower, not because the care is. These are indicative published ranges, not quotations. Cost ranges checked 25 July 2026. Typical published UK figures and directory listings, not quotations. Every centre sets its own fees. Please verify before you decide. Services, waiting times and prices change, and every centre sets its own fees. The figures here are drawn from providers’ own published information and public directory listings, dated above. If you are considering a private UK centre, check its current rating and location on the [CQC (Care Quality Commission) register](https://www.cqc.org.uk/) first. Considering residential treatment abroad? ## Sierra Recovery, Málaga, Spain Most people who look abroad are not chasing sunshine. They are trying to get far enough away from the people, the places and the routine that keep the drinking or the using going, because they have already discovered that stopping while all of that is still fifteen minutes away does not hold. That distance is the whole point, and it is the one thing a clinic near Islington cannot give you. Sierra Recovery is a working farmhouse on forty hectares of olive groves in the Málaga countryside, about forty five minutes from the airport and roughly three hours from most UK airports. It is small, the team is English-speaking, and the same clinicians treat you from the first day to the last. What follows is what that actually buys, stated plainly enough that you can compare it with anything else you are considering. What matters when comparing Sierra Recovery Is it actually licensed A registered health centre entered in the Registro Andaluz de Centros, Servicios y Establecimientos Sanitarios (the Andalusian register of health centres, services and establishments) under N.I.C.A. 67331, authorised by the Junta de Andalucía. You can look it up yourself on the public register. What it costs, in full £9,900 for the 28-day residential programme, published on the site up front. All rooms are individual. You get an itemised written quotation before admission. Who pays whom No referral fees are paid or accepted, in either direction. Nobody earns a commission for sending you here, which is worth checking about any centre you are comparing. What the clinical work is Three group sessions a day five days a week, individual therapy three times a week, and a seventeen-module psychoeducation curriculum. The approach adapts the method of PROMIS Clinics, treating addiction in the United Kingdom since 1986. Where the limits are It is not a hospital and not a detox unit. Where a medically supervised detox is clinically needed it is completed in an appropriate medical setting before admission and billed separately. Qualified nurses are part of the team throughout the stay. Who you speak to first Our admissions team, all of them clinicians, working to the standards set by our clinical director. The assessment is free, and if a service closer to home suits you better, we will say so. What happens afterwards Aftercare is agreed before you leave: a session every week for a full year, online or in person at the PROMIS clinics in London, which is more than 48 sessions in the twelve months after discharge. A written handover goes to your GP so nothing has to be explained from scratch. Every figure above is published elsewhere on this site and can be checked. See [pricing](/pricing/), [regulation and licensing](/regulation-and-licensing/) and [the programme](/our-programme-at-sierra-recovery/). ## Which option is right for you Start with the free community service if you are unsure, if cost is the barrier, or if you want to stay near family and work. It is the right first step for most people, and it is the route to a funded residential referral if you need one. Private residential in the UK if you need detox and rehab together under one roof, are not fit to fly, or need to stay close to home. Treatment abroad only if a private UK stay is out of reach, distance from your usual surroundings would help, and you can travel and do not need an immediate hospital detox. Use AA or NA alongside whatever you choose, whether that is outpatient community treatment, a residential rehab centre, or a programme of therapy abroad. Most structured rehab treatment, wherever it is based, combines individual work with a counsellor, group therapy, and often cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and other holistic elements alongside medical support for withdrawal symptoms, aimed at treatment and recovery that lasts. If you would like to talk it through honestly, including whether a local Islington option would serve you better than we would, you can [read how admission to Sierra works](/admissions/) or call our team. + ### Talk to a clinician today You will speak to our admissions team, all of them clinicians. Confidential and no obligation. We will tell you honestly whether this is the right place, or whether a free local service in Islington would serve you better. [Speak to a clinician](/contact/) Or call us directly at [+44 1202 653136](tel:+441202653136) Registered health centre, N.I.C.A. 67331, entered in the Registro Andaluz de Centros, Servicios y Establecimientos Sanitarios. [Look us up](https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud/oficinavirtual/consulta/index.jsp). ## Sources and verification - [Islington Council](https://www.islington.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health-services-in-islington/drugs-and-alcohol), drugs and alcohol services, the definitive local directory and self-referral route - [NHS 111](https://111.nhs.uk/) and your GP, access routes to community treatment and urgent advice - [Alcoholics Anonymous Great Britain](https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/) · [UK Narcotics Anonymous](https://ukna.org/), free meeting finders - [FRANK](https://www.talktofrank.com/), national confidential drugs information and helpline · [Adfam](https://www.adfam.org.uk/) and [Al-Anon UK](https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/), family support - [CQC register](https://www.cqc.org.uk/), verify any private UK centre’s current rating and location - UK private residential price ranges, compiled from published provider and directory figures, not endorsements - [Junta de Andalucía register](https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud/oficinavirtual/consulta/index.jsp), Sierra Recovery, N.I.C.A. 67331 · [Sierra pricing](/pricing/) · [Sierra licensing](/regulation-and-licensing/) All figures dated 25 July 2026. Local provider names, phone numbers and prices change, so confirm each on the official page before you rely on it. ## Questions people ask Is there a drug and alcohol rehab in Islington? There is no residential rehab centre based in Islington itself. Free community treatment is provided through the borough's NHS-commissioned drug and alcohol service, and residential detox or rehab is arranged by referral to centres elsewhere in England. Check the current provider and self-referral route on the Islington Council drugs and alcohol page. How do I get free help for addiction in Islington? Start with Islington's NHS-commissioned community drug and alcohol service, which offers a free assessment, a keyworker and community detox where suitable. You can also go through your GP or NHS 111, and use free AA and NA meetings and the national FRANK helpline. The council keeps the current contact details on its website. How much does private rehab cost near Islington? Indicative published ranges for residential rehab in England run from around £12,000 to £40,000 a month. These are directory figures, not quotations, and every centre sets its own fees. Sierra Recovery's 28-day residential programme in Spain is £9,900, with hospital detox billed separately. Is it safe to detox from alcohol at home? Not if you are physically dependent. Stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines suddenly can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Get medical advice before you cut down or stop. In a life-threatening emergency call 999 or 112, and for urgent non-emergency advice call NHS 111. Is Sierra Recovery based in Islington? No. Sierra Recovery is a registered health centre in Humilladero, Malaga, Spain (Junta de Andalucía, N.I.C.A. 67331). We are not based in Islington and are included on this page only as one honest option for people who would consider residential treatment abroad, after the free and local options. ### From Islington, admission can happen within days Where no medical detox is needed first, the usual sequence is a free assessment, an itemised written quotation, and a flight. Málaga is around three hours from most UK airports. Where a detox is needed it is arranged first and that changes the timing, and we will tell you so at assessment, before you book anything. [How admission works](/admissions/) [Getting here from the UK](/travelling-to-spain-for-treatment/) ### Still not sure which option fits you in Islington? Tell a clinician what is going on and they will talk it through with you, including the free routes above, before anything is booked. [Speak to a clinician](#talk)[+44 1202 653136](tel:+441202653136) + ## Talk to a clinician today You will speak to our admissions team, English-speaking clinicians who know the programme and the people in it. Callback within 24 hours. Step 1 of 3 Confidential, and no obligation Registered health centre. Authorised by the Junta de Andalucía, N.I.C.A. 67331. ### Other areas we cover - [Redbridge](/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-in-redbridge/) - [East London](/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-in-east-london/) - [Barnet](/alcohol-rehab-barnet/) - [Ealing](/alcohol-rehab-ealing/) - [Hackney](/alcohol-rehab-hackney/) - [Hounslow](/alcohol-rehab-hounslow/) See every location in our [local treatment guides](/local-treatment-guides/), or compare what treatment costs in [the UK](/how-much-does-rehab-cost-in-the-uk/). Explore before you decide ## Useful pages on this site ### Related pages [Pricing](/pricing/)[Regulation & licensing](/regulation-and-licensing/)[Admissions](/admissions/)[Our programme](/our-programme-at-sierra-recovery/)[Rehab: UK vs Spain](/rehab-uk-vs-spain/)[Travelling to Spain](/travelling-to-spain-for-treatment/) --- Source: https://sierrarecoveryspain.com/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-in-islington/ Retrieved: 2026-08-27 Canonical HTML version of this page: https://sierrarecoveryspain.com/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-in-islington/