What to Expect at The Right Step Houston

The levels of care published for this campus are medical detox, residential treatment, a partial hospitalization program, an intensive outpatient program and aftercare planning [6]. It is at 12350 Wood Bayou Dr, Houston, TX 77013.

A page like this is only worth reading if it is honest about its own limits, so here is the boundary in advance. Everything below comes from what this campus states about itself, on its location page [6] and on its own what-to-expect page [7]. The rest comes from our facility roster, or from a federal document named where it is used. Anything else a reader might want — and there is a fair amount of it — is marked as a question for admissions rather than answered by inference. Our overview of The Right Step Houston carries the shorter version.

Where The Right Step Houston is and how people get there

12350 Wood Bayou Dr, Houston, TX 77013, on the east side of the city. The campus describes the setting itself: a quiet residential neighborhood offering a home-like setting, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that is comfortable for everyone [6]. Its what-to-expect page adds that this has been a traditional addiction treatment center at that address since 1994 [7]. Adult men and women receive care at the same location, with gender-specific housing and gender-specific treatment groups [7].

On travel the campus is specific, and the specificity cuts two ways. It states that it does not pay for travel to or from the facility, and that its representatives can help coordinate travel arrangements [6]. So the cost is yours and the organizing does not have to be. The what-to-expect page is more specific again. The facility can provide transportation for patients arriving by Greyhound bus [7]. Those patients should coordinate their arrival in advance and wait on the bench outside the front of the building for pickup [7].

Being inside a large metropolitan area changes the calculation for people who stay on for the partial hospitalization program. A campus in a city is a campus most of that city can reach on a weekday evening. That is the difference between a partial hospitalization program somebody attends and one somebody intends to attend. It also means acute hospital services are close, which is relevant to the next section. Sort out who is driving before admission day rather than on it — that single arrangement is the one most often missing when a planned admission slips.

Levels of care at The Right Step Houston

The published levels run from the most supervised to the least [6]. The campus cards its intensive outpatient program as virtual, and says those clients live off-site and attend scheduled appointments online [6].

Medical detox manages withdrawal under clinical supervision. Residential treatment is where somebody lives on site while the early therapeutic work happens. A partial hospitalization program fills most of a day without an overnight stay. An intensive outpatient program sits below that, and the campus’s what-to-expect page says its intensive outpatient treatment is provided virtually and is available to Texas residents [7]. Aftercare planning is not a tier but the work of arranging what follows the others [6].

Older SAMHSA guidance describes the same shape, running from inpatient hospitalization through residential treatment to intensive outpatient and then standard outpatient care [5]. That older SAMHSA document puts intensive outpatient treatment at a minimum of nine hours a week [5] — its own threshold rather than a Medicare condition of payment or a rule every payer uses. Our page on levels of care sets the ladder out in order, and our explainer on the lighter tiers describes what they ask of a week.

Why does having the whole continuum under one provider matter? Because the handover between tiers is where episodes of care fail. Somebody finishes detox, is referred elsewhere, waits two weeks and never arrives. Here the next tier is run by the same campus, so that handover is a change of schedule instead of a change of provider.

Medical detox at The Right Step Houston

Detox is the first level published here [6], and the word covers less than people assume. It is not treatment and it is not a cure; it is the managed part of getting a substance out of a body that has adapted to it. SAMHSA’s consensus panel breaks it into evaluation, stabilization, and fostering the person’s entry into treatment [1]. Most of the failures happen at the third.

Risk, not preference, decides where it happens. Hospitalization or some form of 24-hour medical care is generally the preferred setting for alcohol, sedative-hypnotic and opioid withdrawal syndromes, on grounds of safety and humanitarian concerns [2]. Where a hospital admission is not provided, the panel treats another setting as desirable [2]. That is one with a high level of nursing and medical backup around the clock, seven days a week [2].

The reason for that caution sits on the alcohol and sedative side. Delirium and seizures are the two most pathologic responses seen in alcohol withdrawal [2], and avoiding seizures is described as the major goal of medical management [2]. Prompt medication is called for where somebody has already had a withdrawal seizure or an episode of delirium tremens [2]. On placement the panel’s own phrasing is worth keeping intact. People with a history of severe withdrawals, multiple withdrawals, delirium tremens or seizures are not good candidates for social detoxification programs [2].

If someone is having a seizure, is unresponsive or has trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

Opioids are dangerous on a different timetable: the risk peaks after the symptoms have finished. Tolerance falls during withdrawal, so somebody who has just come through it can overdose on a much smaller dose than they used to take [4]. Most opioid overdose deaths occur in people who have just detoxed [4]. Every argument on this page about booking the next step early rests on that one finding. Methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone are described by NIDA as the standard of care for opioid use disorder [3]. Our page on medication-assisted treatment covers how they are prescribed, and our page on medical detox covers the mechanics of the level itself.

Residential treatment at The Right Step Houston

Residential treatment is the level published directly after detox [6]. It means living on site while the clinical work happens rather than fitting that work around everything else.

Two things are bought with an overnight stay, and they are worth naming because they are what a day program cannot supply. The first is distance: a stretch of time away from wherever the using was happening, and away from the people and the rooms attached to it. The second is continuity of observation, which matters most in the days immediately after withdrawal, when somebody is physically through the worst and psychologically at their least steady.

It is a poorer fit where a person cannot step away from work or caring responsibilities for a block of time. That is a real constraint rather than a failure of will, and it belongs in the assessment conversation rather than surfacing in week two. Our page on inpatient rehab describes what a residential week generally involves.

The reason the residential tier follows detox rather than replacing it is stated plainly in the protocol: detoxification is not substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation [1]. MedlinePlus makes the same point in a sentence anybody can act on — most people need long-term treatment after detox [4]. So ask when discharge planning begins. On a well-run stay it begins early, and aftercare planning being one of the published levels here suggests it is meant to [6].

The Right Step Houston campus: what its own page describes

The campus cards a fitness area, art therapy, music therapy, movement therapy and a ping pong table [6]. Its what-to-expect page lists more: a small fitness center, physical fitness activities, walking, tai chi, meditation, mindfulness activities, journaling, expressive therapy, art activities, music activities and group recreational outings [7]. It prints its own caveat with them — available activities depend on the treatment schedule, clinical appropriateness and facility programming [7].

Most of that list is therapies rather than facilities, which is more informative than it first appears. Art, music and movement therapy are structured clinical activities. A campus that cards them is telling you something about how its days are filled. The programming is not only talking, and people who struggle to put things into words have another route. The fitness area and the ping pong table are the ordinary half of it. The ordinary half matters too, because a treatment day has gaps in it and gaps are where people get restless.

On bedrooms the what-to-expect page is specific. The Right Step Houston offers gender-specific residential housing, and patients may stay in private or semi-private rooms [7]. Private rooms are not guaranteed and requests for them are not accepted, and patients share a restroom with one neighboring patient [7]. Washers and dryers are available for patient use with basic laundry supplies provided, and personal linens and pillows are not permitted [7]. Our working rule is that a facility specific appears on one of our pages only when that campus’s own page states it. Everything here is quoted from one of the campus’s two pages.

A day, phones, visiting and what to pack

The campus’s what-to-expect page covers all of them, and it is worth reading before the admission date is fixed [7].

On the day, treatment centers on structured substance use treatment and recovery programming [7]. A day may include group counseling, individual support and recovery education [7]. It may also include evidence-based therapies, 12-Step-oriented programming and activities focused on physical and emotional wellness, depending on the level of care and the treatment plan [7]. Free time may provide opportunities for approved phone calls, exercise, walking, journaling, mindfulness or other recreational activities [7].

On phones the rule is unusually specific, and the specific part is the part families want. Personal cell phones, smartwatches and other electronic devices are securely stored for the duration of treatment [7]. Facility landline phones are available during free time and after scheduled programming, with no initial blackout period [7]. Phone use is not permitted during scheduled treatment programming [7].

On visiting, in-person visitation is not currently offered, the campus says [7]. Family and friends may drop off necessary belongings, such as clothing or unopened permitted cigarettes, during designated times [7]. The campus asks that you contact the facility in advance to confirm when drop-offs are accepted [7]. It says plainly that a belongings drop-off does not include an opportunity to visit the patient [7]. Patients may take part in supervised group outings [7]. As they progress they may become eligible to request approved passes away from the facility [7]. The campus generally considers a four-hour pass during the second week of treatment and an eight-hour pass during the third, when clinically appropriate [7].

On packing, bring no more than two suitcases, because storage space at the facility is limited [7]. Bring a picture ID, an insurance card and a prescription or pharmacy benefits card [7]. Avoid large amounts of cash, because prepaid debit cards are preferred [7]. Keep personal care items alcohol-free and unopened or sealed [7].

Smoking has its own rules and one of them has a deadline attached. Standard cigarettes and new, unopened disposable vapes in their original packaging are permitted [7]. Cigars, clove cigarettes, refillable vapes, vape pods, hand-rolled cigarettes, cigarette papers and refillable lighters are not [7]. All nicotine use must occur outdoors in designated, gender-specific smoking areas [7]. Patients who smoke or vape should bring enough permitted products for at least the first 10 days following admission [7]. A staff member conducts a store run once per week [7]. Staff cannot buy tobacco products for patients under 21, so patients aged 18 to 20 are asked to plan accordingly before admission [7].

Insurance and cost

The campus says it is in network with most major insurance carriers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana and United [6]. That is the start of a coverage check rather than the end of one. Network status is a per-plan fact, and two policies carrying the same carrier’s name can land very differently.

Where coverage is limited or absent, the campus states that this should not prevent somebody accessing care and that private pay options are available [6]. It also runs an online verification system, which it describes as letting you verify your benefits in seconds [6]. The Verify your insurance form in our family is the working route to it.

On price the campus names the variables instead of a figure: whether somebody has health insurance, which level of care they need, and how long they stay [6]. It also says it works with many private health insurance companies to limit the out-of-pocket costs of rehab [6]. For a general figure rather than a quote, our own cost page puts basic residential treatment at $2,000 to $20,000 and detox at $250 to $800 a day. Those are our published ranges across levels of care, not a price this campus has quoted. Our page about what rehab costs sets them out. Our page about what insurance covers sets out Medicare’s four parts and what to ask about copayments, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

What this page cannot tell you, and who can

Almost everything a family asks about is on one of the campus’s two pages, and this page now carries it. The rooms, the day, the phones, the visiting rule and the packing limits are all here. What is left open is the one thing nobody can fix in advance for an individual, and filling that from imagination would make this page less useful rather than more.

Length of stay is the thing people most want fixed in advance and the thing least fixable for any one person. The campus does publish its model. The residential program follows a 30-day treatment model and the average stay is approximately 23 days [7]. Actual treatment length varies according to clinical needs and insurance coverage [7]. Beyond that it shifts with the tier, with how withdrawal actually goes, and with what the clinical record supports week to week. A number quoted before an assessment is a guess wearing a suit.

So take to the call the questions the campus’s pages do not answer: which tier the assessment points to, who arranges the step down and when, and what your own plan will actually pay. Our page on how to get into rehab covers the admissions sequence. Our page on what the rehab process is like covers the first stretch afterwards, and our list of treatment centers shows our campuses by state if this one is not the right fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Chapter 1: Overview, Essential Concepts, and Definitions in Detoxification. Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, TIP Series No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64119/
2. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Chapter 4: Physical Detoxification Services for Withdrawal From Specific Substances. Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, TIP Series No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64116/
3. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Treatment. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/treatment
4. National Library of Medicine. Opiate and Opioid Withdrawal. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, National Institutes of Health. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000949.htm
5. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (1997). Chapter 5: Specialized Substance Abuse Treatment Programs. A Guide to Substance Abuse Services for Primary Care Clinicians, TIP Series No. 24. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64815/
6. The Right Step Houston. The Right Step Houston: Drug and Alcohol Rehab in Houston, TX. The Recovery Village. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/locations/the-right-step-houston/
7. The Right Step Houston. What To Expect at The Right Step Houston. The Recovery Village. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/facilities/what-to-expect-the-right-step-houston/

This page is for general information and is not medical advice. Only a licensed clinician who knows your history can tell you what is right for you. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. For free, confidential support 24/7, call or text 988.

Author

Kevin Wandler, MD

Chief Medical Officer, The Recovery Village