Structured group and individual therapy several days a week for alcohol use, with medication support when it helps. You live at home throughout and keep up with work and family.
What we treat
Alcohol
treatment in Houston.
When drinking has taken on a life of its own, stopping is rarely as simple as deciding to quit. Quitting alcohol abruptly, without the right clinical care, can be dangerous, even deadly. Alcohol use disorder is a treatable medical condition, not a failure of willpower. With the right care, you can get your footing back, and you do not have to do it alone.
Outpatient care in Montrose, Houston. Most major insurance accepted.
Understanding alcohol use disorder
What alcohol use
disorder is.
Alcohol use disorder, sometimes called alcoholism, means a person keeps drinking despite real harm, and finds it hard to control how much or how often. It is a medical condition that ranges from mild to severe, and it responds to treatment.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism describes alcohol use disorder as a medical condition in which a person cannot stop or cut down on drinking despite negative consequences for their health, work, or relationships. Over time, regular heavy drinking changes the way the brain works, which is part of why willpower alone so often is not enough.
It affects people of every age and background, and it rarely looks the same from one person to the next. What it shares is a loss of control that builds quietly, until alcohol is steering more of life than anyone intended. Naming it for what it is, a condition with real treatment, is the first step toward getting out from under it.
What it looks like
Common signs
and symptoms.
Alcohol use disorder shows up differently for everyone, but a few patterns tend to recur. Noticing them early, in yourself or someone you love, makes treatment more effective.
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Losing control over drinking
Drinking more, or longer, than you meant to. Wanting to cut down and not being able to. Needing more to feel the same effect, and feeling restless, shaky, or anxious when you stop.
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Physical and cognitive signs
Slurred speech, unsteady coordination, mood swings, and trouble with attention or memory. Some people have blackouts, stretches of time they cannot remember afterward.
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Life organized around alcohol
Drinking takes priority over work, relationships, and the things you used to care about, and it continues even after it starts causing real harm at home, at work, or to your health.
When to reach out
When it may be time
for more support.
Alcohol use disorder exists on a spectrum, and the right level of care shifts with it. These are signs it is worth reaching out, and signs that need medical help first.
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Cutting back on your own has stopped working
You have tried to slow down or quit and it has not held, or alcohol has become the thing that gets you through ordinary days. That is a sign this is worth treating, not willpower you are missing.
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Stopping makes you feel physically unwell
If going without a drink brings on shaking, sweating, nausea, a racing heart, or anxiety, your body has come to depend on alcohol. Heavy-drinking withdrawal can be medically dangerous, so it should be done with medical supervision rather than alone. We help you arrange that safely first.
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Daily life is coming apart
Work, health, money, or relationships are slipping, or the people close to you are worried. When drinking is affecting more than one part of your life, more structured care usually helps more than weekly sessions alone.
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It is an emergency
Signs of severe withdrawal such as confusion, hallucinations, or a seizure are a medical emergency. Any thought of harming yourself is too. Call or text 988, or call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Once you are safe, outpatient care can take over the ongoing work.
Our approach
How Lovett treats
alcohol use disorder.
At The Lovett Center, alcohol use disorder is treated as a whole-person condition, not just a drinking habit to break. Care begins with a thorough assessment, then we match the therapy, the medication, and the level of structure to what you actually need.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that many people with alcohol problems are treated effectively through flexible outpatient care rather than a residential stay. That is the kind of care we provide. You receive structured treatment during the day or week and go home each night, so recovery is built into your real life rather than apart from it.
When alcohol dependence has reached the point where medically supervised detox or residential care needs to come first, that is not something we provide on site. We will tell you plainly and help you arrange it through Prairie Recovery Center, our residential partner in Round Top, Texas, then take over the outpatient work when you are ready.
Care is led by clinicians who work in addiction every day. Michael Sprintz, DO, our medical director in addiction medicine, and our physicians oversee medication-assisted treatment when it fits, while our therapists carry the underlying work with CBT and group therapy. When alcohol use sits alongside depression, anxiety, or trauma, we treat both together rather than one at a time.
- A thorough assessment of your drinking and your mental health
- Medication support to ease cravings, when it fits
- Therapy that addresses what sits underneath the drinking
- Outpatient levels that flex as you stabilize
Treatment options
Where alcohol treatment
can start.
Alcohol use disorder is treated successfully on an outpatient basis, with the intensity matched to the moment. More structure during a hard stretch, a steadier pace once things settle. If you are not sure where to begin, we will help you figure it out.
A steadier weekly pace of individual and group therapy, a good fit once drinking is more stable or for milder alcohol problems, and a place to step down to as you settle.
When alcohol use sits alongside depression, anxiety, or trauma, our dual diagnosis track treats both at once, by one coordinated team, so neither keeps pulling you back.
How we work
Therapies we use
for alcohol use disorder.
No single approach does all the work. These are the ones we most often combine for alcohol use, matched to what fits you.
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Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
For alcohol use, FDA-approved medications such as naltrexone and acamprosate, and in some cases disulfiram, can ease cravings and support staying off alcohol. They are not addictive, and our physicians prescribe and monitor what fits you, alongside therapy.
About medication-assisted treatment -
Psychodynamic therapy
Depth-oriented work that looks beneath the drinking to the patterns and pain underneath, the foundation the rest of your care builds on.
About psychodynamic therapy -
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Practical, well-studied work that helps you recognize the thoughts, triggers, and situations that lead to drinking, and build steadier ways to respond to them.
CBT for alcohol use -
Group therapy
A place to be understood by people working on the same thing, practice new skills, and rebuild the connection and support that drinking tends to erode over time.
Explore group therapy -
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Concrete skills for riding out cravings, distress, and intense emotions without reaching for a drink, which matters when feelings and alcohol use have become tangled together.
Explore DBT -
Family therapy
Alcohol use reverberates through a household. Family sessions rebuild communication, trust, and the support that recovery leans on.
About family therapy -
Couples therapy
A steady, non-judgmental space to repair trust and communication when drinking has strained the relationship closest to you.
About couples therapy
Common questions
Alcohol use disorder,
answered.
Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition in which a person keeps drinking even though it is causing harm, and has trouble controlling how much or how often. It ranges from mild to severe, it is not a matter of willpower, and it responds to treatment. Many people get better, especially when care is matched to where they are.
Not always. Many people are treated successfully on an outpatient basis, getting care during the day or week and going home each night. If you are physically dependent on alcohol, stopping can trigger medically risky withdrawal, so a short period of medically supervised detox may be needed first. The Lovett Center does not provide detox or inpatient care on site, but when it is needed we help you arrange it through Prairie Recovery Center, our residential partner in Round Top, Texas, then take over the ongoing outpatient treatment.
Three medications are FDA-approved to treat alcohol use disorder: naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram. They are not addictive, and they work best alongside therapy rather than on their own. At Lovett, our physicians decide with you whether medication-assisted treatment fits, then prescribe and monitor it as part of your plan.
About medication-assisted treatmentYes, for many people. Outpatient treatment is built to fit around real life: you receive structured therapy and medication support on a schedule that lets you keep working and stay with your family. Our intensive outpatient program runs several days a week, and our outpatient program is a steadier weekly pace.
See our IOPYes. Alcohol use very commonly occurs together with a mental health condition, and treating only one side usually lets the other pull a person back. Our dual diagnosis care addresses the drinking and the mental health condition at the same time, in one coordinated plan.
About dual diagnosisWe most often combine psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy skills, along with couples and family therapy when they help, and we add medication-assisted treatment when it fits. The mix is matched to you rather than applied from a template, and it changes as your needs change.
See how we workIn many cases, yes. The Lovett Center is in network with major insurers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Magellan, and TriWest, and we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay. Coverage varies by plan, so the surest way to know is to verify your benefits with us.
Verify your insuranceYou are not alone
Getting your footing
back is possible.
Alcohol use disorder is treatable, and reaching out is the hardest part.
When you are ready, a real person at The Lovett Center will listen and help you find the next step. No pressure, no commitment, just a conversation.
Every conversation is confidential. In a crisis, call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.