Alcohol use disorder treatment at Kolmac: From detox to ongoing care

Alcohol use disorder is one of the most common and most treatable substance use conditions — and one of the most difficult to address without structured clinical support.

Prolonged alcohol use can affect your health, your relationships, your work, and your sense of stability in ways that are hard to reverse on your own.

At Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health, outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder combines medically supervised detox, medication-assisted treatment, and evidence-based therapy, designed to fit around your life rather than require you to step away from it.

Whether you are drinking daily, concerned about dependence, or looking for support after a previous attempt to stop, care is available, and getting started is more straightforward than most people expect.
A women sitting upright in bed, holding a glass of water, nursing a hangover

50+ years treating alcohol use disorder: Experience matters

Alcohol use disorder is the most common substance use problem we treat at Kolmac. Supporting patients with AUD is in our DNA. We set out to develop an intensive outpatient treatment program for people with AUD in 1973. Millions of people have benefited from that innovative idea: offer intensive, immersive treatment without the need for a stay in a residential rehab center.

What is alcohol use disorder?

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the clinical diagnosis professionals use to describe the medical condition known for decades as alcoholism or alcohol dependence. There are three levels of AUD: mild, moderate, and severe. The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 defines AUD as a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress.

To determine which category matches your alcohol use, answer the following questions about your drinking over the past 12 months:

  • Did you ever drink more than planned, or for longer than planned?
  • Have you tried to quit or cut back without success?
  • Have you dealt with hangovers or other negative consequences of drinking?
  • Did you have powerful cravings for alcohol?
  • Has alcohol caused problems at work, school, or home?
  • If you answered yes to the question above, did you keep drinking anyway?
  • Did drinking make you quit doing things you love?
  • Did you engage in dangerous behavior because of drinking, such as driving while intoxicated?
  • If you know alcohol causes emotional, mental, or physical pain, do you drink anyway?
  • Do you have to drink more and more alcohol to feel the effect you want?
  • Have you ever had a drink to manage withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, trembling, or irritability?

Answering yes to 2-3 of these questions shows you may meet the criteria for mild AUD. Answering yes to 4-5 questions indicates you could meet the definition of moderate AUD. Answering yes to 6 or more means you may meet the criteria for severe AUD.

This questionnaire is here to help you understand where you fall on the continuum and how professionals arrive at a diagnosis for AUD. It does not take the place of a formal assessment administered by an experienced clinician.

Signs of alcohol use disorder

AUD often develops gradually, making it difficult to recognize. Some signs are behavioral, others are physical, and many overlap with stress or other health conditions. Common warning signs include:

  • Drinking more, or more often, than intended
  • Feeling unable to cut back despite wanting to
  • Spending significant time obtaining alcohol, drinking, or dealing with its effects
  • Continued drinking despite problems at work, at home, or in relationships
  • Giving up activities or interests because of drinking
  • Drinking in situations where it’s physically dangerous
  • Needing more alcohol to feel the same effect
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, sweating, or anxiety when not drinking

These signs exist across the mild-to-severe spectrum. If several of these apply, a clinical evaluation is a reasonable next step.

Why alcohol withdrawal requires medical supervision

Stopping alcohol after a period of heavy or prolonged use carries real physical risks. When someone who drinks heavily stops suddenly, the central nervous system can become overactive, triggering a withdrawal syndrome that ranges from mild to life-threatening.

Symptoms can include anxiety, tremors, and insomnia at the milder end, and seizures or delirium tremens (DTs) at the severe end. Withdrawal seizures can occur within hours of stopping. DTs can develop anywhere from three to eight days after the last drink.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), about 50% of people with AUD will experience withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking abruptly.

Medical supervision during withdrawal allows for monitoring, medication management, and a safer transition into structured treatment. Kolmac’s virtual detox program provides medically supervised withdrawal management from home, making it possible to begin the process safely without requiring inpatient admission.

How Kolmac treats alcohol use disorder

Kolmac offers a full outpatient continuum for individuals with AUD. They design individualized treatment plans to fit around work, family, and daily life. Most patients move through some combination of:

Medically supervised virtual detox

For many patients, the first clinical priority is safely managing withdrawal. Kolmac’s virtual detox program supervises medical detox services, which patients can complete at home. A clinical team monitors symptoms and manages medications throughout the process, without requiring an inpatient stay.

Medication-assisted treatment

FDA-approved medications can support AUD treatment by reducing cravings and helping patients sustain progress. Kolmac’s medication-assisted treatment program includes naltrexone, Vivitrol (injectable naltrexone), and Antabuse (disulfiram), prescribed and managed as part of a coordinated treatment plan.

Substance use IOP

Substance use IOP is the core of treatment for most patients with AUD. It provides structured group and individual therapy several days per week, using evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

It’s structured enough to create clinical momentum and flexible enough to work alongside daily responsibilities.

Partial hospitalization and outpatient care

For patients who need more structure than IOP, Kolmac’s partial hospitalization program (PHP) provides intensive daytime programming while allowing you to return home each evening.

After IOP or PHP, patients step down to outpatient care and continuing care programming to maintain their progress.

What you should know about AUD

In 2023, in the United States:

  • 28.1 million adults had AUD
  • Only 2.2 million people received treatment for AUD
  • 92.2% of people with AUD received no treatment at all
  • 98.1% of people with AUD did not receive medication-assisted treatment

At Kolmac, our goal is to close that treatment gap by offering effective, accessible outpatient programs tailored to your schedule and needs.

Continuing care

Treatment is the first step. The skills you build in treatment are meant to support you long after the program ends.

To support that transition, Kolmac provides ongoing access to:

  • 50+ support groups
  • Services at convenient locations
  • Day and evening support
  • Organized feedback for referral sources

Frequently asked questions

Start alcohol use disorder treatment at Kolmac

Reaching out is often the most uncertain step. The process is straightforward, with clear next steps from the first conversation. Kolmac offers same-day evaluations and rapid access to the full outpatient continuum, from virtual detox through IOP, MAT, and continuing care.

Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health provides outpatient alcohol use disorder treatment at locations across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., with virtual access available throughout all four states.

Call: (888) 331-5251

You don’t need to have everything figured out before contacting us. Request an appointment today.