Stimulant recovery is treated with a different toolkit. Built around the evidence for stimulant use disorder specifically.
There’s a fundamental challenge with treating cocaine and methamphetamine addiction that doesn’t exist for opioids or alcohol: there’s no FDA-approved medication for stimulant use disorder. There’s no Suboxone equivalent, no naltrexone, no acamprosate. Pharmacology can support recovery from co-occurring conditions (depression, anxiety, ADHD) — but the central work has to happen through behavioral and therapeutic interventions.
Done right, this work succeeds. Done as a generic addiction program with no adaptation to stimulant pharmacology, it often doesn’t.
The interventions that work
Contingency management. This is the single most-studied, most-effective intervention for stimulant use disorder. It works by providing small, structured incentives for verified abstinence — typically a voucher or low-cost reward for each clean urine drug screen. The data on contingency management for cocaine and meth is the strongest behavioral data in addiction medicine. We integrate it into IOP and outpatient programs.
The Matrix Model. A structured, manualized 16-week outpatient program developed specifically for stimulant use disorder. Combines individual therapy, group, family education, and drug testing. Strong evidence base. Used as a backbone for our stimulant-focused IOP track.
Cognitive behavioral therapy. Adapted for stimulant recovery — focus on triggers, cravings, and the high-arousal cues that drive use. CBT for stimulants looks different than CBT for alcohol or anxiety.
Co-occurring mental health treatment. Stimulant users frequently have underlying ADHD, depression, or trauma. Treating these with the right (non-stimulant) medications and therapy is often the missing piece. We have on-staff psychiatry for this work.
What stimulant withdrawal looks like
Withdrawal isn’t usually medically dangerous, but it can be brutal psychologically. The post-acute phase — especially for methamphetamine — can include persistent depression, anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure), low motivation, and intense cravings for weeks to months. This is when most relapse happens, not in acute detox.
Our residential program is structured to support this period: structure, sleep, nutrition, gradual reintroduction of pleasure and meaning, and medication management for any underlying depression or sleep disturbance.
The crystal meth reality in Denver
Methamphetamine has become significantly more common in the Denver metro over the past several years, often as a stimulant of necessity for people who can no longer access prescription stimulants. We see a lot of meth-related admissions, and our protocols are calibrated for it — including longer residential stays when needed, more intensive psychiatric care for the depression that often follows the using, and slow reintroduction to high-arousal environments after discharge.
What it costs
For Health First Colorado (Medicaid) members, stimulant treatment is fully covered. Medicare and commercial insurance plans cover the full continuum of care. We verify benefits at no cost.