Medical detox, then a real plan.

Detox alone has a 70%+ relapse rate within 30 days. The reason: detox without a treatment-plan handoff is just managed withdrawal. RECO coordinates medical detox through trusted partner facilities, then your RECO primary therapist meets you in detox, your treatment plan is forming before you discharge, and the transition to PHP at RECO is a same-day handoff. For Boca, the geography works: detox locally, treat 20 minutes away.

If you live in Boca Raton and you have started typing “medical detox near me” at two in the morning, the geography is already in your favor: from Mizner Park or Royal Palm Place, RECO Intensive’s Delray campus is roughly eleven miles up Federal Highway, a drive most Boca residents make for dinner without thinking about it. That proximity matters clinically — it means detox and the step-down into PHP can be planned as one continuous episode of care rather than a relocation, and it means your family, your job at one of the offices off Glades Road, and your kids’ school pickup line in west Boca don’t have to disappear from the plan. The intake conversation with RECO usually starts by mapping your ASAM Dimension 1 (acute withdrawal risk) and Dimension 3 (emotional/behavioral/cognitive) needs against what your life in Boca actually looks like the week you walk in. The answer for someone calling from Highland Beach is not always the same as for someone calling from Boca West, and the point of the first call is to figure out which version of detox-to-PHP fits.

Why detox alone is not treatment

Medical detox manages acute withdrawal — the physiological process of clearing a substance from the body while minimizing dangerous complications. It does not address the behavioral, psychological, and social dimensions of addiction that drive continued use. Studies consistently show that detox without an immediate transition to structured treatment results in relapse rates above 70 percent within 30 days. For Boca Raton residents who call RECO Intensive asking about detox, the first clinical priority is making sure detox leads somewhere.

RECO coordinates medical detox through trusted partner facilities in the Delray Beach area. Your RECO primary therapist makes contact during detox — before discharge — and the transition to RECO’s PHP program is a planned same-day or next-day handoff, not a referral to a waiting list.

Withdrawal by substance: alcohol

Alcohol withdrawal is among the most medically serious withdrawal syndromes. The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) scale quantifies symptom severity across 10 domains — tremor, sweating, anxiety, agitation, perceptual disturbances, and others — and guides benzodiazepine dosing. The standard protocol uses long-acting benzodiazepines (diazepam or chlordiazepoxide) administered on a symptom-triggered or fixed-taper schedule, tapered over five to seven days. Withdrawal seizures occur most commonly between 24 and 72 hours after the last drink. Delirium tremens, if it occurs, typically peaks between 48 and 96 hours and requires ICU-level monitoring. Partner facilities managing alcohol detox for RECO clients are equipped for both presentations.

Withdrawal by substance: opioids

Opioid withdrawal is rarely life-threatening but is intensely uncomfortable and is one of the primary drivers of return to use. The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) quantifies symptom severity across 11 items including pulse rate, sweating, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, and tremor. Scores above 13 indicate moderate to severe withdrawal requiring medical management.

Detox protocols for opioids typically use buprenorphine (Suboxone), methadone, or clonidine-based comfort medication depending on opioid type, use history, and post-detox treatment plan. Buprenorphine induction in detox followed by continued buprenorphine maintenance during PHP is one pathway for clients with opioid use disorder who are candidates for medication-assisted treatment. For more on the opioid treatment program at RECO, visit that section of the site.

Withdrawal by substance: benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepine withdrawal, like alcohol withdrawal, carries significant medical risk including seizures and delirium. The mechanism is similar — both alcohol and benzodiazepines act primarily on GABA-A receptors, and abrupt discontinuation in a dependent individual produces CNS hyperexcitability. The standard management protocol involves conversion to a long-acting benzodiazepine (diazepam or clonazepam) and a slow, individualized taper that may extend over weeks or months depending on the duration and severity of dependence. Rapid benzodiazepine tapers are clinically contraindicated for most patients with significant dependence. For details, see the prescription sedatives treatment page.

Withdrawal by substance: cocaine and stimulants

Cocaine and stimulant withdrawal does not produce the physiological instability seen with alcohol or opioids, but the psychological withdrawal syndrome — dysphoria, fatigue, prolonged sleep, anhedonia, and intense craving — is clinically significant and represents a high-risk period for return to use. Medical management focuses on supportive care, sleep normalization, and psychiatric monitoring. The post-acute withdrawal syndrome from stimulants can persist for weeks. Moving from detox into residential or PHP immediately after stabilization reduces this risk substantially. For more on cocaine treatment, visit the dedicated page.

The coordinated transition to RECO from Boca Raton

For Boca residents, the detox-to-treatment corridor is straightforward. Partner detox facilities are located in or near Delray Beach, so the geographic transition to RECO PHP after discharge is a short drive rather than a transfer across the state. The admissions coordinator, primary therapist, and case manager are in communication before your detox discharge date. On the day you complete detox, your room in sober-living (if applicable), your first PHP appointment, and your primary therapist assignment are already in place.

To begin the admissions process, call (866) 396-2008. If you are calling about someone else who is currently in active use or withdrawal, the admissions team can help coordinate the detox referral and the subsequent RECO admission simultaneously.

Serving residents of: Mizner Park, Royal Palm Place, Boca West.