Frequently Asked Questions About Treatment at York Addiction & Mental Health

York Addiction & Mental Health has gone through an intensive, independent evaluation of our clinical practices, safety standards, and operations by Accreditation Canada. The result led us to have Exemplary Standing, the highest designation available, and relatively few addiction treatment centres in Canada hold it. See our full Accreditation page for what this involves.

We treat individuals from all walks of life, of all genders, and who are 18+. We take clients who come to us privately, or clients who are referred through organizations and workplaces. Sometimes someone reaches out for themselves, sometimes a family member reaches out on a loved one's behalf, and sometimes an employer or union initiates contact. Recovery looks different for every client who comes through our doors.

No. While our medical and clinical standards meet hospital-level rigor, the environment itself is intentionally warm and residential, closer to a home than an institution. Clients describe it as joining a community, not checking into a facility. The facility is also supported by a high staff-to-client ratio throughout their stay.

Yes. We work with employers, unions, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to support employees who need treatment, with the goal of helping them return to work life once they're ready. However, this depends on your insurance plans, unions, or benefits. Please call or email our admissions team to find out.

Our medical team includes certified addiction and mental health counsellors, master's level psychotherapists, registered nurses, and psychiatrists. Our organization houses a highly experienced multidisciplinary team that specializes in addiction and mental health healing.

Yes. Counselling is delivered by individuals who have been certified with the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF).

Often the same day. We don't operate a waitlist, and we know that timing matters enormously once someone is ready. The best time to start the process is now, not whenever it becomes convenient.

You'll go through a full clinical assessment covering your health, substance use history, and any previous treatment experience, so your plan is built around you specifically rather than assigned from a template. If detox is needed, that begins right away, on-site. If it isn't, you'll move directly into orientation and your first sessions.

Comfortable clothing for the duration of your stay, any current medications in their original packaging, and basic toiletries. Our admissions team will walk you through a complete, specific list when you call, so you're not guessing what to pack.

Yes, we offer financing options, since our clients come from a wide range of financial situations and access to borrowing options matters for many families. Speak with our admissions team directly to understand what's available for your situation.

Our residential program is designed for adult clients. Our facility will accept individuals over 18 years of age.

We offer 30, 45, 60, and 90-day programs. Every client is different, and length and structure are tailored after your initial assessment rather than fixed in advance. Many clients start with a 30-day program then extend once they've been in treatment long enough to discuss ongoing needs with our clinical team.

Entirely on-site. Our program is residential, meaning you stay with us throughout the treatment. Full immersion in the right environment, away from the people, places, and routines tied to addiction, gives clients the strongest foundation for both short-term stabilization and long-term recovery.

Our core program is residential. However, as a component of lifetime aftercare, we offer virtual services to help clients continue their healing journeys.

Our program is built around complete abstinence, excluding medication to support individuals with their detox, recovery, and sobriety. Each client's path to sustained sobriety is shaped by a personalized treatment plan. Medication is used where clinically appropriate during detox and withdrawal management to keep that process safe and manageable, rather than as an ongoing, indefinite treatment strategy. If you have specific questions about how this applies to opioid use disorder treatment or an existing methadone or Suboxone prescription, please raise this directly with our clinical team, since your specific situation and history will shape what's appropriate for you.

Yes. Addiction very often exists alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, or other mental health conditions, and treating only the addiction while ignoring what's underneath it is often unsuccessful. Our clinical team, including psychiatric support, addresses both together as part of a single coordinated plan.

Detox is the necessary first step for many clients, the process of medically supervised withdrawal that allows your body to stabilize before the rest of treatment begins. For long-term or severe substance use, withdrawal symptoms can be serious, and in some cases, particularly with alcohol, detoxing without proper medical supervision can be fatal. See our full Medical Detox page for what this involves

Detox happens entirely on-site, right next to our nursing station, with medical and counselling staff immediately available at all times. If detox is determined to be necessary during your assessment, you won't need to pack up and move to a separate facility once it's complete. The transition from detox into your regular program happens seamlessly, in the same building, with the same team.

A few honest questions worth asking yourself: Does it take more alcohol than it used for you to feel the same effect? Once you start drinking, do you lose the ability to stop at a planned point? Have you tried to cut back and failed? Does your drinking continue despite causing real problems in your life? If several of these sound familiar, it's worth a real conversation, not something to wait out.

See our full Alcohol Addiction Treatment page for more detail →

Tell us directly during your assessment. A previous treatment attempt that didn't work isn't a sign that treatment doesn't work for you. It's information that helps our clinical team understand what needs to be different this time, whether that's a different combination of therapies, more time, or addressing something that wasn't identified previously.

Yes, and we actively encourage it. Addiction affects the whole family, not just the person in treatment. See our Family Care page for what ongoing family support looks like.

Yes. What you share with your counsellor, therapist, and medical team stays private.

That's a common and difficult starting point, and a planned intervention can help. See our full Interventions page for guidance on planning one

After treatment, you'll return to your regular daily life but with the skills, knowledge, and healing to live a better life. Treatment will continue directly into ongoing aftercare support, for as long as it's useful to you. See our Lifetime Aftercare page for details

We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Treatment doesn't wait for convenient business hours, and neither do we. Call whenever you're ready, including nights, weekends, and holidays.