Outpatient Treatment for Adderall, Stimulant & Prescription Drug Addiction

Yes. Adderall is a Schedule II controlled substance — the same DEA classification as cocaine — and addiction can develop even with prescribed use, especially at higher doses or over many years. Prescribed doesn’t mean safe from dependence.

Taking more than prescribed, running out early, using to work longer hours rather than to treat ADHD, weight loss, insomnia, irritability or anxiety between doses, hard crashes when the medication wears off, or buying Adderall outside your prescription. If several of these feel familiar, it’s worth a conversation.

Stimulant use disorder is the DSM-5 diagnosis for problematic use of amphetamines, methamphetamine, or cocaine. Like all substance use disorders, it’s diagnosed on an 11-criteria basis and ranges from mild to severe. Our program treats it with evidence-based behavioral therapy.

That’s one of the most important questions to answer. For many people on unprescribed Adderall, undiagnosed or under-treated ADHD is the underlying driver — and treating the ADHD often ends the misuse. For others, anxiety, depression, or eating disorders are underneath. A comprehensive evaluation separates these.

Stimulant withdrawal is not medically dangerous like alcohol or benzo withdrawal — but it’s unpleasant. Extreme fatigue, depressed mood, increased appetite, sleep disruption, and anhedonia (difficulty feeling pleasure) are common for the first 1–2 weeks, tapering off over several weeks.

Yes. We coordinate tapering plans with your prescribing provider and provide the behavioral and psychiatric support you’ll need through the process — including for the depressive and fatigue symptoms that are common in early recovery.

All are prescription stimulants in the same pharmacological family as Adderall (methylphenidate or amphetamine-based). The treatment approach is the same: address the underlying condition, taper safely, build durable non-stimulant strategies.

Prescription sleep medication misuse is common alongside stimulant misuse — the stimulants keep you up, the sleep meds bring you down. We treat this pattern directly, including CBT for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is the most effective long-term fix for sleep problems without medication.

Not necessarily. For people with legitimate ADHD, the goal is safe, sustainable use — not abstinence from medication. Non-stimulant alternatives (atomoxetine, bupropion, guanfacine) or different dosing schedules are often the right next step. These decisions happen in partnership with your prescribing provider.

Those substances need a different approach because of their specific medical risks. If opioids are involved, please see our opioid addiction page. If benzodiazepines like Xanax or Klonopin are involved, please see our benzo page — and don’t stop those medications on your own.