Do I need detox for meth?

Usually not a medical detox, meth withdrawal isn't typically dangerous the way alcohol or benzo withdrawal is. The crash (exhaustion, depression, intense cravings) is best managed with structure and support, which is exactly what PHP provides. If opioids, alcohol, or benzos are also involved, we'll assess medical detox with a trusted partner first.

Is there a medication for meth addiction?

No FDA-approved medication exists for methamphetamine use disorder. The strongest evidence supports behavioral treatment, contingency management and CBT. If opioids are also part of the picture, medication like Suboxone treats that side and dramatically lowers overdose risk.

How long does the depression after quitting meth last?

The acute crash usually lifts within one to two weeks. The flatter, lower-motivation period (post-acute withdrawal) can ebb and flow for weeks to months as dopamine systems recover. It does lift, and therapy, sleep repair, exercise, and structure measurably speed the process.

I use meth to function at work, not to party. Is that still addiction?

Using a drug to function, to work longer, focus, or keep up, is dependence wearing a productivity costume. If stopping means you can't get through a shift, and the cost is sleep, health, or your mood, that's a substance use disorder worth treating, whatever the original reason.

Does MaineCare cover meth addiction treatment?

Yes, in most cases. MaineCare and nearly all commercial plans cover outpatient treatment for stimulant use disorder, including PHP, IOP, and therapy. We verify your benefits for free, in minutes.

What's the difference between meth and cocaine treatment?

The core approach is the same, behavioral therapy, structure, dual diagnosis care. Meth's crash is longer and deeper, its psychosis risk is higher, and its grip on daily function is tighter, so the early weeks need more medical and psychiatric support. Both are treated in our stimulant program.

Aerial view of the Southern Maine coast, representing methamphetamine recovery

Meth Addiction Treatment · Biddeford & Portland, Maine

Meth takes everything fast. Recovery gives it back faster than you'd think.

Outpatient methamphetamine addiction treatment in Biddeford, twenty minutes from Portland. No medication exists for meth, but the behavioral therapies that do work are our specialty: CBT, contingency-informed counseling, and dual diagnosis care for the crash that follows. MaineCare accepted.

855-449-7674

No waitlist · MaineCare accepted · Answered 24/7

What the research says

Meth is surging in Maine and treatment actually works

Every figure below links to the federal or state source it comes from. Research describes averages across large groups, not a promise about any one person's outcome.

2.6 million

About 2.6 million Americans aged 12 or older used methamphetamine in the past year, and overdose deaths involving psychostimulants have risen sharply over the past decade.

Source: SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2023)

No FDA-approved medication

There is no approved medication for methamphetamine use disorder. Contingency management and cognitive behavioral therapy are the treatments with the strongest evidence, and they're behavioral, not pharmaceutical.

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

CM works best

Contingency management, structured, immediate reinforcement for drug-free tests, is the most effective treatment studied for methamphetamine use disorder, outperforming other behavioral approaches in trials.

Source: NIDA / SAMHSA evidence reviews

Rising in Maine

Methamphetamine involvement in Maine overdose deaths has climbed steadily, almost always alongside fentanyl. The stimulant-opioid combination is now the deadliest pattern in the state.

Source: Maine Drug Data Hub, Maine DHHS

Medically reviewed

Benjamin Crocker, MD

Psychiatrist · Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine · MD, The Ohio State University · Residency & fellowship training at the University of Michigan and LAC+USC Medical Center

Last reviewed August 2026. Read our editorial standards & clinical review process

Accredited & Licensed

LegitScript Certified
Joint Commission Accredited
Maine DHHS Licensed
Psychology Today Verified

When the energy becomes the engine

Meth use escalates fast , the signs

Meth doesn't stay recreational long. What starts as energy, confidence, or a way to keep up with work becomes days awake, weeks lost, and a brain that can't feel pleasure without it. If any of these sound familiar, the window for easier treatment is now.

Binges that run for days, followed by crashes you sleep through.
Using to work longer, focus harder, or keep up, not just to party.
Weight loss, skipped meals, and a body that's running on fumes.
Paranoia, agitation, or seeing and hearing things during or after use.
Mixing with opioids or fentanyl to come down, the deadliest combination in Maine right now.
Trying to quit and hitting a wall of exhaustion and depression that sends you back.

Fentanyl warning: the meth supply in Maine is increasingly contaminated with fentanyl, and many people use both intentionally. If you use meth, carry naloxone, never use alone, and tell us the full picture, medication can protect the opioid side while we treat the rest.

Group therapy for methamphetamine addiction treatment in Biddeford, Maine

Starting treatment in Portland?

We'll check your benefits free in minutes, MaineCare and most major plans accepted.

Call 855-449-7674

Our program

Structure for the crash, skills for the long haul

PHP

Partial hospitalization

Five days a week of structure through the post-meth crash, sleep repair, mood stabilization, medical oversight, and daily therapy while your brain chemistry recovers.

Learn about PHP

IOP

Intensive outpatient

Three hours a day in day or evening tracks, CBT and contingency-informed counseling while you rebuild work, routine, and relationships.

Learn about IOP

Outpatient

Weekly therapy through the months when motivation fades and anhedonia, the flatness after meth, tests everything you learned.

Learn about OP

How we treat meth addiction

Contingency-informed counseling

The best-evidenced approach for methamphetamine: treatment structured around immediate, meaningful reinforcement for progress. We build its principles into your plan.

CBT for stimulant use

Map the triggers, fatigue, certain people, certain apps, and build concrete responses that hold up when cravings hit at hour forty.

Healing the post-meth brain

Meth depletes dopamine. The flatness, depression, and no-pleasure weeks after quitting are chemistry, not character, and they lift. We help you survive them.

Dual diagnosis care

ADHD, trauma, and depression are common underneath meth use, and undiagnosed ADHD is often why stimulants felt like a solution. We treat both together.

Group therapy

The isolation and shame of meth addiction break fastest in a room of people from the same communities who understand it.

MAT when opioids are in the mix

If fentanyl or other opioids are part of your use, Suboxone protects you from the deadliest part of the combination while we work on the rest.

Our Spaces

Beautiful spaces built for comfort, community, and healing

Where you recover matters. Every room at Portland Treatment was designed to feel calm, open, and human, so you can focus on the work of getting well.

A Welcoming Front Door
The first room you walk into sets the tone. Warm light, real people, and a team that knows your name before you sit down.

Real People at the Front Desk
A friendly face, a calm lobby, and a team ready to help you take the first step without judgment.

Space to Reconnect
Our yoga therapy space is prepared with mats, bolsters, blocks, and room to practice mindful movement at your own pace.

Room to Breathe
Open, bright waiting areas designed to feel like a place you'd actually want to spend time, not a clinic hallway.

One-on-One Support
Private offices where honest conversations happen between clients and clinicians, safe, confidential, and focused on you.

Spaces Made for Connection
Comfortable group lounges where honest conversation happens and community starts to take hold.

Recovery Beyond the Session
Our community room hosts everything from movie nights to ping-pong tournaments, because healing needs joy, too.

Counseling session during methamphetamine addiction treatment near Portland, Maine

Meth treatment near you

The crash is chemistry. Recovery is a community.

Quitting meth is physically survivable, it's the weeks of gray exhaustion after that pull people back. Getting through that stretch takes daily structure and people around you who understand what your brain is doing. That's what a local, daily program provides.

We're in Biddeford, five minutes from Saco, twenty from downtown Portland down I-95, and an easy drive from Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook, Kennebunk, and Sanford. Day and evening tracks keep your life intact while the repair work happens.

Call 855-449-7674 Areas we serve

Insurance

In-network with almost every plan.

Portland Treatment is in-network with Anthem, UMR/UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, Martin's Point, TRICARE and MaineCare, Cigna is our only out-of-network plan. In-network means contracted rates, lower coinsurance and no balance bill. We verify your benefits free, in minutes, with no obligation.

Free, confidential, no obligation

Or read the coverage guide for your plan, Anthem rehab coverage, Cigna rehab coverage, MaineCare rehab coverage and other accepted insurance plans.

Meth treatment questions

Do I need detox for meth?: Usually not a medical detox, meth withdrawal isn't typically dangerous the way alcohol or benzo withdrawal is. The crash (exhaustion, depression, intense cravings) is best managed with structure and support, which is exactly what PHP provides. If opioids, alcohol, or benzos are also involved, we'll assess medical detox with a trusted partner first.
Is there a medication for meth addiction?: No FDA-approved medication exists for methamphetamine use disorder. The strongest evidence supports behavioral treatment, contingency management and CBT. If opioids are also part of the picture, medication like Suboxone treats that side and dramatically lowers overdose risk.
How long does the depression after quitting meth last?: The acute crash usually lifts within one to two weeks. The flatter, lower-motivation period (post-acute withdrawal) can ebb and flow for weeks to months as dopamine systems recover. It does lift, and therapy, sleep repair, exercise, and structure measurably speed the process.
I use meth to function at work, not to party. Is that still addiction?: Using a drug to function, to work longer, focus, or keep up, is dependence wearing a productivity costume. If stopping means you can't get through a shift, and the cost is sleep, health, or your mood, that's a substance use disorder worth treating, whatever the original reason.
Does MaineCare cover meth addiction treatment?: Yes, in most cases. MaineCare and nearly all commercial plans cover outpatient treatment for stimulant use disorder, including PHP, IOP, and therapy. We verify your benefits for free, in minutes.
What's the difference between meth and cocaine treatment?: The core approach is the same, behavioral therapy, structure, dual diagnosis care. Meth's crash is longer and deeper, its psychosis risk is higher, and its grip on daily function is tighter, so the early weeks need more medical and psychiatric support. Both are treated in our stimulant program.

Sources & references

This page is educational and is not medical advice. Research findings describe group averages; individual results vary. If you use methamphetamine, be aware it may contain fentanyl, carry naloxone and never use alone. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or dial 911 for an emergency.

Keep exploring

Related care at Portland Treatment

Other conditions we treat

Alcohol rehab in Biddeford and Portland
Outpatient alcohol treatment with detox coordination.
Opioid addiction treatment
Therapy, groups and MAT coordination for opioid use.
Fentanyl rehab in Maine
What fentanyl and xylazine change about treatment here.
Benzodiazepine addiction treatment
Safe tapers, medical oversight and outpatient support.

Programs that treat it

Partial hospitalization program (PHP) in Biddeford
Our most structured day treatment, five days a week, home each night.
Intensive outpatient program (IOP) in Southern Maine
Nine-plus clinical hours a week with day and evening tracks.
Outpatient program (OP) for ongoing recovery
One to two sessions a week that fit around work and family.
MAT coordination with local prescribers
We partner with local Suboxone, methadone and Vivitrol prescribers.

Serving Southern Maine

Addiction treatment for Portland, Maine
A 20-minute drive down I-95 from the Portland peninsula.
Addiction treatment in Biddeford, Maine
Our home clinic, in the mill district off Route 111.
Addiction treatment for Saco, Maine
Minutes across the river from our Biddeford clinic.
All Southern Maine areas we serve
Every city and town within driving distance of Biddeford.

The crash always ends the same way.
The next call can end differently.