Cocaine Addiction Treatment: What Actually Works

I used cocaine every day. Alcohol and gambling too. I got out, and I have spent the years since doing this work with other people one-to-one. So when I say most people do not need to disappear into rehab to stop, that is not a sales line — it is what I did, and what I have watched hundreds of others do since.

This page is the honest version of what cocaine addiction treatment involves: the real options, what each one costs, how long it genuinely takes, and how to begin. Including the options that are not me.

What cocaine addiction treatment actually is

There is no medication that treats cocaine addiction. That matters, because it is the first thing people expect. With opiates or alcohol there are drugs that manage withdrawal and cravings. With cocaine there is nothing equivalent — medication-assisted treatment has almost no role here.

So effective treatment is psychological work. In practice that means cognitive behavioural therapy — changing the thinking and the triggers that sit underneath the using — paired with practical relapse prevention, and someone holding you to it. The drug is the symptom. The pattern is the problem.

Which is why a detox on its own does not fix cocaine addiction. Stopping is the easy part. Nearly everyone reading this has already stopped, several times.

Your options, honestly

There are four real routes. Only one of them is me, and it is not right for everyone.

1. Residential rehab

You go away for 28 days or more. It works, it is the safest option for some people, and it costs €8,000–€12,000 privately in Ireland while taking you out of your life entirely. Inpatient versus outpatient goes through the trade-off properly.

Choose this if: every attempt to stop collapses within a day or two despite real intent; your home environment makes stopping impossible; or there is a serious alcohol or benzodiazepine dependency alongside the cocaine. Those carry a genuine medical withdrawal risk that cocaine alone does not.

2. Public and free services

The HSE Drugs & Alcohol Helpline (1800 459 459, free and confidential) and Drugs.ie will point you to free counselling, community programmes and residential places near you. Waiting lists vary. Private versus public compares them without spin, and my where to turn page lists the lot.

Choose this if: cost is the barrier. Free help that you actually attend beats private help you cannot afford.

3. Free peer support

Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, SMART Recovery. Free, everywhere, and they work for a lot of people. They are not therapy, and if the twelve-step framing is not for you, there are other routes.

4. Private one-to-one treatment

Structured therapy with one person, online, around your job, with nobody needing to know. This is what I do. Can you recover without rehab? is the long answer; the short one is that most people can and do.

Choose this if: you are functioning on the outside and struggling in private, you cannot disappear for a month, and privacy matters.

What treatment with me looks like

Everything starts with a €100 assessment — a proper 30–45 minute session, not a sales call. You get an honest read on where you are and a written recovery plan you keep, whether or not you go further. If you do go on to a programme, the €100 comes off it.

After that the work runs in three phases over 90 or 180 days:

• Stabilise — stop the bleeding. Get the using down and under control, and get sleep, food and routine back.
• Rewire — the CBT work. The thinking, the triggers, the reason it got a grip in the first place.
• Bulletproof — build the life that makes relapse unlikely, and a written plan for when it gets hard.

Sessions are one-to-one and online, with WhatsApp support between them, with optional aftercare afterwards at €99/month. The full programme is set out here, and what to expect from the sessions themselves is worth reading before you book.

What it costs

• Assessment — €100. 30–45 minutes, written plan, credited against a programme.
• Bulletproof 90 — €2500. ~12 sessions over 90 days.
• Bulletproof 180 — €3900. ~18 sessions over 6 months.

For comparison: residential rehab privately in Ireland is €8,000–€12,000. And someone using €500–€1,000 a week is spending €26,000–€52,000 a year on the problem itself. The full cost breakdown is here. Payment plans are available.

How long it takes

Months, not weeks. I work in 90 and 180-day blocks because that is the honest span for stabilising, rewiring and building something that holds. Anything shorter tends to stop the using without touching what caused it — which is exactly the pattern most people reading this already know too well.

Starting

If you are not ready to book, read am I addicted to cocaine? or your first 7 days off cocaine first. If you are, the assessment is the door.

Book a €100 assessment →

Based in Ireland, working online with clients across Ireland, the UK, Europe and worldwide. CBT-trained therapist, ICPHAA accredited practitioner (member M6486), and a former addict in long-term recovery. Ask me anything first — I answer my own messages.

Go deeper

• Rehab or outpatient for cocaine — how to choose
• Inpatient vs outpatient rehab
• Private vs public addiction treatment (Ireland & UK)
• How much does addiction treatment cost?
• Cocaine therapy: what to actually expect
• What to expect from addiction therapy
• Can you recover without rehab?
• Outpatient addiction treatment explained
• Rehab vs therapy: which do you need?
• Medication-assisted treatment, explained

Frequently asked questions

What is cocaine addiction treatment?

Cocaine addiction treatment is structured psychological work that breaks the cycle of using. There is no medication that treats cocaine addiction the way there is for opiates or alcohol, so effective treatment is talking therapy — most often cognitive behavioural therapy — that changes the thinking and the triggers underneath the use, combined with practical relapse prevention. It can be delivered residentially or, far more commonly, one-to-one while you carry on with your life.

Do I need to go to rehab to stop using cocaine?

Usually not. Most people who use cocaine recover through structured one-to-one work without ever going to residential rehab. Residential care is the safer starting point if every attempt to stop collapses within a day or two despite real intent, if your home environment makes stopping impossible, or if there is a serious alcohol or benzodiazepine dependency alongside, because those carry a medical withdrawal risk that cocaine does not.

How long does cocaine addiction treatment take?

Meaningful change usually takes months, not weeks. Gary Clinton works in 90-day and 180-day programmes because that is the realistic span for stabilising, rewiring the patterns underneath, and building something that holds. Shorter bursts tend to stop the using without changing what caused it, which is why people relapse.

How much does cocaine addiction treatment cost?

Private residential rehab in Ireland typically runs €8,000–€12,000 and takes you out of your life for weeks. One-to-one programmes with Gary Clinton are €2500 for 90 days or €3900 for 180 days, done online around a normal job. Free and public options exist too — the HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline on 1800 459 459 and Drugs.ie list them.

Is treatment confidential? Will my employer find out?

It is private and confidential. Sessions are one-to-one and online, nothing is shared with your employer, family or GP unless you ask, and private self-referred therapy does not automatically appear on your medical record. The only exceptions are where the law requires disclosure or there is a serious risk to someone's life.

Does cocaine addiction treatment actually work?

It works when it is structured and stuck with. The strongest predictor is not which method you pick but whether the relationship is one you keep turning up to. Gary Clinton is a former addict himself — he used cocaine daily, along with alcohol and gambling — and has spent the years since working one-to-one with people doing the same.