Private rehab in Spain

Two different things people mean by private

Readers arrive at this page meaning one of two things, and both deserve an answer.

Privately funded, as opposed to the NHS. If that is you, the relevant fact is that the NHS does not fund private rehab abroad, and neither the EHIC nor the GHIC covers planned private treatment. Those cover state-provided necessary care while you are travelling. Most UK private medical insurance also excludes treatment outside the UK, though wording varies and it is worth reading your own policy rather than taking anyone's summary of it. In practice, treatment in Spain is self-funded or family-funded. We cover the logistics in more detail on going to rehab abroad from the UK.

Private in the sense of discreet. If that is you, the honest position is that treating abroad genuinely does buy distance from your own social circle, your workplace and anyone who might recognise you in a waiting room. That is a real benefit and it is one of the main reasons people choose Spain. It is also the benefit most heavily marketed at inflated prices, so be clear about how much you are paying for it.

What authorised actually means, and how to check it anywhere in Spain

Spanish healthcare is devolved, so each autonomous community keeps its own register of authorised health centres. A residential centre providing addiction care has to be on the register for its region, and the entry states what the centre is authorised to do.

The practical version, in order:

1. Ask for the registration number and the exact registered name. A centre that is registered will give you both without hesitation. Any reluctance here is the answer to your question.
2. Check the region matches. A centre in Andalusia should be on the Andalusian register with an N.I.C.A. number. One in the Balearics or Catalonia will be on that region's equivalent. A registration from a different region than the one the beds are in is a red flag.
3. Read what the entry authorises, not just that it exists. This is the step almost everyone skips, and it is the important one. Registration as an outpatient addiction service is not registration as a hospital, and neither authorises medical detoxification unless it says so.
4. Ask who provides medical cover and where. If the answer is vague, or if it is a doctor who visits, ask specifically what happens at three in the morning if someone has a seizure.

Ours is N.I.C.A. 67331, entered for atención sanitaria a drogodependientes (healthcare for drug dependency, authorised care unit U.71), authorised by the Junta de Andalucía (the regional government of Andalusia). That makes us a registered health centre with a supervised treatment residence, and it expressly does not make us a hospital or a detox unit. You can look the entry up yourself, and we set out what it covers and what it does not on our regulation and licensing page, including the parts that are not flattering.

Two things to look for, whichever region you are searching:

• The registration should be in the name of the centre itself, at the address where you would actually be staying, not a visiting clinician or an associated company.
• The care unit should be the one that authorises addiction care. In Andalucía that is U.71, Atención Sanitaria a Drogodependientes. A psychology-practice entry such as U.900.1 is a genuine registration for outpatient consultations, not for a residential addiction programme.

Ours is N.I.C.A. 67331, care unit U.71, held by Sierra Recovery Services S.L. Check it, and then spend the same two minutes on everyone else on your list.

What a licence does not cover

This is where a lot of people get misled, so it is worth being blunt.

A registration to provide addiction care in a residential setting is not a hospital licence. It does not authorise medically supervised detoxification. Where a centre holds the same class of registration we do and still offers an on-site withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines, it is offering something outside what that registration permits.

That distinction is not bureaucratic. Withdrawal from alcohol, benzodiazepines and some other drugs can cause seizures and, at worst, delirium tremens, which is a medical emergency with a real mortality rate. It belongs in a hospital with medical staff on site, not in a villa with a nurse who visits.

So our model is the one the licence describes. Where a supervised withdrawal is clinically needed, it happens in a hospital before admission and is billed separately. Where that hospital is in Málaga province, one of our therapists attends the ward and starts therapy before discharge. Then the residential programme runs here. See alcohol detox and medical assessment and detox.

What treatment involves

Twenty eight days residential, with a fourteen-day minimum and longer stays available. Three structured group sessions a day plus an afternoon group activity, three one-to-one sessions a week, and a seventeen-module curriculum covering relapse, trauma, family patterns and the practical business of living without the substance. The clinical method is adapted from PROMIS Clinics, who have been treating addiction in the United Kingdom since 1986; our founder is a partner here and Managing Director there. Groups are small.

We treat substance dependency, behavioural addictions including gambling and gaming, and co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and burnout. We do not treat standalone eating disorders, and we do not take under-eighteens other than by exception. Full detail is on the programme page.

The therapeutic approach is evidence-based rather than proprietary: cognitive behavioural therapy as the core, with dialectical behaviour therapy, EMDR and somatic experiencing where trauma sits underneath the using, family therapy where the household is affected, and a written relapse prevention plan before discharge. Where there is a co-occurring mental health condition alongside the alcohol addiction or drug addiction, the two are treated together in one plan. That combination, dual diagnosis handled properly rather than referred out, is worth asking about specifically when you compare residential rehab options, because it is where a lot of programmes quietly stop.

What it costs, and what changes it

£9,900 for twenty eight days, private room included, published on the site rather than quoted on request.

What sits outside that figure: hospital detox where it is needed, and medical, psychiatric and laboratory costs. You get an itemised written quotation before committing, so the number you agree is the number you pay.

What moves the price at other centres, and it is worth knowing why quotes vary so much: length of stay, whether the room is private, staff-to-client ratio, whether detox is bundled, and how much of the fee is the building. In the luxury segment, a single-client villa programme can run several times our figure, and a substantial share of that is the property rather than the clinical hours. We publish a full teardown of what a month costs to run if you want the working.

One more thing to ask anyone: whether they pay or accept referral fees. A large part of the international rehab market runs on commissions of twenty to thirty per cent paid to directories and consultants who send clients. That money comes out of your fee and buys you nothing clinical. We neither pay nor accept them.

Spain compared with the UK

Private residential rehab in the UK is generally more expensive for a comparable standard, which is the main reason people look abroad. Spain also offers distance from your own environment, which does genuine clinical work, and a climate that makes the outdoor part of a programme possible for most of the year.

The honest costs of treating abroad are that your family is further away during the month, and that your aftercare has to be deliberately arranged rather than assumed. We handle the second by running continuing care for a full year, one session a week online or in person at the PROMIS clinics in London, more than 48 sessions in the twelve months after discharge, agreed before you leave. The first is real and there is no clever answer to it, beyond the fact that Málaga is under three hours from most UK airports and one hour of time difference, so family sessions are practical in a way they are not from Thailand or South Africa.

If you want that comparison in detail, it is on rehab in the UK versus Spain.

Frequently asked questions

What does private rehab in Spain mean?

Privately funded residential addiction treatment, as opposed to state-provided care. It also carries the everyday sense of discretion, which is one of the main reasons people treat away from home. Any centre providing it must be entered on the health register of the Spanish region it operates in.

How do I check a Spanish rehab is licensed?

Ask for its registration number and exact registered name, confirm the register belongs to the region the centre is actually in, and read what the entry authorises rather than only that it exists. Registration as an addiction care service is not a hospital licence.

Will the NHS or my insurance pay for rehab in Spain?

The NHS does not fund private rehab abroad, and the GHIC and EHIC cover state-provided necessary care rather than planned private treatment. Most UK private medical insurance excludes treatment outside the UK, but policy wording varies, so check your own.

Can a Spanish rehab detox me on site?

Only if it holds the appropriate authorisation, and most residential addiction centres do not. We do not. Where a supervised withdrawal is needed we arrange it in a hospital before admission, because alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause seizures and needs medical staff on site.

How much does private rehab in Spain cost?

Ours is £9,900 for twenty eight days with a private room, published in full, with hospital detox and medical costs billed separately. Across the wider Spanish market a month ranges from figures near ours to several times more at the luxury end, where much of the difference is the property rather than the treatment.

Is treatment available in English?

At our centre, yes, throughout. Across Spain it varies considerably, and it is worth confirming that the clinical sessions themselves are in English rather than only the admissions call.