Alcohol Resources in Chicago and Illinois

A directory for people who are questioning their drinking, looking for treatment, or trying to help someone else — with the helplines, meetings, medical options and cost help that are actually worth your time.

Every listing here says who it's for, what to expect when you use it, and what it costs where that's known. Most of it is free. Nothing on this page is a paid placement, and I have no financial relationship with any organization listed.

If you are in a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988. If someone is having a seizure, is confused or hallucinating after stopping drinking, or can't be woken, call 911. For free, confidential treatment referral at any hour, call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

1. I'm not sure whether my drinking is a problem

Most people who end up on this page are here because something has started to nag at them, not because anything has fallen apart. That is the right time to look. If the drinking is mostly about taking the edge off after work or before a room full of people, alcohol and anxiety: when drinking to relax keeps you stuck looks at that pattern specifically. These four are for getting an honest read before you decide anything.

2. I want help finding treatment

"Treatment" covers a wide range, from one hour a week with a therapist to a month in a residential program. The right level depends on how much you drink, whether you can stop safely on your own, what else is going on, and what you can realistically do alongside work and family. Here is the short version. For a fuller walk-through of how therapy, IOP, PHP, residential treatment and detox differ, and how a clinician should decide between them, read choosing the right level of alcohol treatment in Chicago.

Level of care	What it looks like	Usually a fit when
Individual therapy	Weekly or biweekly sessions with a therapist, in person or online, while you live your normal life.	You're functioning, can stop or cut back without medical risk, and want to work on the pattern and what drives it. This is what I provide.
Intensive outpatient (IOP)	Structured, mostly group-based treatment several days a week, a few hours at a time, while you live at home and often keep working.	Weekly therapy hasn't been enough, or you need more structure and daily contact early on.
Residential treatment	Living at a treatment facility for a period of weeks with a full daily program.	Your home environment makes stopping unrealistic, or repeated outpatient attempts haven't held.
Medical withdrawal management (detox)	Medically supervised care through the first days after stopping, in a hospital or a dedicated unit, often followed by one of the levels above.	You drink heavily every day, have had withdrawal symptoms before, or your doctor says stopping without supervision isn't safe. See section 3.

3. I'm worried about withdrawal or stopping safely

If you drink heavily or regularly, don't abruptly stop without medical guidance, because alcohol withdrawal can sometimes be dangerous.

Talk to a medical provider before changing your drinking if any of these fit you: you drink most days and would find it hard to go a day without; you've had shaking, sweating or nausea in the morning or when you go too long between drinks; you've had withdrawal symptoms or a seizure when stopping before; or you have a significant health condition or take medications that could interact with alcohol. A doctor can tell you whether you can stop at home, need medication to make it safer, or should be in a supervised setting.

A therapy appointment is not medical care. I can help you decide what to change and stay changed, but I am not the right provider for the first few days after stopping if withdrawal is a risk. Start with your primary care doctor, an urgent care, or one of the treatment-navigation resources in section 2, and I'm glad to pick up afterwards.

The NIAAA Treatment Navigator explains withdrawal management as a level of care and how to find it, and the Illinois Helpline can refer you to programs that provide it.

4. I want a meeting or ongoing support

Peer support is free, available tonight, and for many people the thing that makes the isolation bearable. It is not a substitute for treatment if you need treatment, and it works well alongside therapy. You don't have to pick the right format on the first try.

What a first meeting is like. You can walk in, sit down and say nothing. Introducing yourself is optional at nearly every meeting, and "I'm just here to listen" is a complete sentence. AA meetings vary a lot — speaker meetings, discussion meetings, open meetings anyone can attend and closed meetings for people who think they have a problem — so if the first one doesn't fit, try a different one before deciding it isn't for you. SMART meetings are more structured and discussion-based, with a facilitator leading exercises. If the choice between them feels like a bet on a worldview, go to one of each in the same week and see which room you'd come back to.

5. Someone I love is drinking

You can get help whether or not they will. Most family members wait for the person drinking to be ready, and that wait can go on for years. The support below is for you, on your own timeline, and none of it requires the drinker's participation or permission. If it is your partner, start with my partner drinks too much: what can I do?

6. I want to ask about medication

Three medications are approved by the FDA for alcohol use disorder — naltrexone, acamprosate and disulfiram. None is addictive, they work best combined with counseling, and they are prescribed to a small fraction of the people who could benefit. NIAAA's plain-language guide, Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help, explains what each one does.

Who does what. I'm a therapist, not a prescriber. I can tell you whether medication is worth asking about, help you think through the question, and coordinate with your physician or psychiatrist. The prescribing decision — which medication, whether it's safe with your health history, and how to monitor it — belongs to a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Your primary care provider is a reasonable place to start; you do not need an addiction specialist to be prescribed these.

Questions to bring to that appointment:

• Could medication support my goals, whether that's stopping or cutting back?
• Which options fit my health history and the other medications I take?
• Do I need withdrawal care first, before starting any of these?
• What follow-up will I need, and what should I expect it to cost?
• How can medication and therapy work together, and will you coordinate with my therapist?

7. I'm worried about cost or insurance

Cost stops more people than readiness does. Here is what to know.

If you're uninsured or underinsured. Illinois funds substance use treatment for residents who can't pay for it, through licensed community providers. The Illinois Helpline (1-833-2FINDHELP) is the front door: tell them your situation and they will refer you to publicly funded or sliding-scale programs near you. FindTreatment.gov lets you filter directly for programs that accept Medicaid or offer sliding-scale fees.

What to ask a program or provider. Do you accept Medicaid, and which managed care plans? Do you offer a sliding-scale fee, and what documents do you need to set it? Are you funded by the state for people who can't pay? Is there a waitlist, and is there a lower level of care I can start in the meantime?

What to ask your insurer, or have the provider check. Is this provider or program in my network? What is my deductible, and how much of it have I met? What is my copay or coinsurance for outpatient behavioral health? Does this level of care require prior authorization, and who requests it? Under federal parity law, coverage for substance use treatment is supposed to be comparable to coverage for medical care; if a denial looks wrong, ask for the reason in writing.

Free options that don't depend on any of this. Every meeting in section 4 and section 5 is free, and so is the Illinois Helpline.

Working with me. I'm in-network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford through Headway, and I can provide superbills for out-of-network benefits. You can check your coverage and book through Headway, and the alcohol therapy page has the current cost and coverage details.

8. I'd like to talk with a therapist

I'm Chris Beerman, MSW, LCSW, CADC, an addiction therapist in Chicago. I work with adults who are questioning their drinking, who have tried to cut back and found it harder than expected, or who have already decided to stop — and with the partners and families around them. The work is practical: we start with the pattern rather than the label, look at what the drinking is doing for you, and change the environment and the plan, not just the intention. You don't have to call yourself an alcoholic, and you don't have to have decided between quitting and cutting back.

I see clients in person in Logan Square, Chicago, and online throughout Illinois and Minnesota. The first step is a free 15-minute conversation with no commitment on either side.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation Start with the Free Alcohol Test