If you and your partner both need help with substance use, one call to Enhance admissions in Tustin is enough to start, and you can talk about what each of you needs. Some programs treat partners in the same level of care, and others place each person where their own needs fit best. We'll walk you both through the options and check what your insurance may cover, so you aren't guessing.
How couples can go to rehab together at Enhance
Partners don't have to follow the same path, and most of the time they don't. At Enhance, each person gets their own assessment, and the care team recommends a level of care based on that person's substance use, mental health, and safety needs. Two people can end up in the same program, or one partner might start in a partial hospitalization program (PHP) while the other begins in an intensive outpatient program (IOP). Both programs meet at our Tustin center.
Couples often ask whether they'll be treated as one unit. They won't be. Each partner has individual therapy with a licensed clinician, and what you say in those sessions stays between you and that clinician. Some people find it easier to be honest when their partner isn't in the room, and the team plans for that.
If either of you needs detox or residential care, that happens at Embrace Treatment Center (embracetreatment.com), a sister facility owned and run by the same people as Enhance. You'd still start with Enhance admissions, who coordinate the next step.
Before the first call, it helps to have a few things ready:
- 1What each of you uses, how often, and for how long.
- 2Any mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, or trauma, since dual diagnosis care treats these alongside substance use.
- 3Current medications for both of you.
- 4Insurance cards, so admissions can verify benefits.
You can also follow along with updates on our Facebook page, but the fastest way to ask about two people at once is the phone. Our page on couples rehab describes how this works in more detail.
What changes when only one partner is ready for treatment
Your partner's answer doesn't decide whether you can start. If you're ready and they aren't, you can be assessed on your own by the Tustin admissions team, and the care team recommends a level of care based on your needs. Your plan doesn't have to wait for theirs.
Admissions can talk with you alone first. They'll ask about your substance use, your mental health, and what home looks like right now. If your partner still uses at home, tell them. That detail affects which level of care fits. Someone going home each evening from an outpatient program faces different pressures than someone who is living away from home during treatment.
Dual diagnosis care also matters here. When anxiety, depression, or trauma sits underneath the substance use, your clinicians treat those alongside it, and that work belongs to you no matter what your partner decides.
Your partner can come in later. Some people say yes after they watch a loved one begin treatment and see it's manageable. If that happens, call admissions again. They'll assess your partner separately, and you won't need to restart your own care.
Pushing doesn't tend to work, and ultimatums often make people dig in. A calmer approach is to describe what you're doing and why, then leave the door open. You might say, "I'm going to start treatment because I want things to be better for us. If you want to talk to someone, I'll sit with you while you call."
Family sessions are another option when they would help. A partner can join some sessions without being a patient, and the clinician decides with you when that makes sense.
Levels of care a couple can choose from at one provider
Enhance offers every step of the treatment ladder, so partners with different needs can both be placed correctly without splitting up between unrelated providers. Here's how the levels differ for two people sharing a household.
Detox is for someone whose body needs medical support to stop using safely. Residential care is for someone who needs to live in treatment for a time, away from the people and places tied to use. Both take place at Embrace Treatment Center, and Enhance admissions coordinates that step. Eden by Enhance (edenbyenhance.com) is where inpatient mental health care happens, if one partner's psychiatric symptoms need that level of attention.
The next two levels are at our Tustin center. PHP is the more structured of the two and suits someone who needs daily treatment but can sleep at home. IOP asks for less time each week, which makes it a fit for a partner who is working or caring for family. Outpatient therapy by video is available through virtualtreatmentcenter.com for someone who is stable and needs ongoing support.
Partners often move through these levels at different speeds. One might begin in PHP and step down to IOP while the other starts in IOP, and neither pace says anything about who is trying harder. Each person's clinicians reassess as treatment goes on, and the plan changes when your needs do.
Insurance can differ by level of care, so ask admissions to check each partner's benefits separately, especially if you're on different plans. Benefits vary by plan, and verification explains what your plan may cover for each level.
How to bring up treatment with your partner
Pick a time when neither of you is high, hungover, or in the middle of an argument, because a conversation that starts during a fight usually ends as one. Mornings after a bad night often feel like the right moment, but the guilt and exhaustion tend to turn the talk defensive. A quiet, ordinary hour works better.
Start with what you've noticed and how it affects you, not with a verdict on your partner. "I'm worried about how much we've both been using, and I want us to feel better" gets a different response than "You have a problem." Use specific examples, like missed work, fights that start after drinking, or a health scare. Then ask what your partner thinks, and let them answer before you respond.
Expect resistance the first time. Denial, anger, and bargaining ("I'll cut back on my own") are common, and none of them mean the conversation failed. You can say you'll come back to it in a few days. If your partner is open to it, offer to make the first call together to the Tustin admissions line at (714) 862-1907, or sit beside them while they ask their own questions.
Some couples find it easier to name the plan before the problem. These steps keep it concrete:
- 1Decide in advance what you're asking for, such as a phone call to admissions or an assessment for each of you.
- 2Share what you've learned about levels of care so the idea feels less like an all-or-nothing move.
- 3Agree on who handles the insurance cards and details, so the logistics don't stall the decision.
If the conversation turns heated or your partner may react with violence, don't force it. Talk to admissions on your own first, and they'll help you think through how to approach it safely.
What happens when you call admissions and check insurance
Someone from the Tustin admissions team picks up and starts with a few plain questions about who needs care, what each of you is using, and whether anyone has a safety concern right now. You don't need perfect answers. If you're calling for both of you, say so at the start, and they'll talk through each person's situation separately.
After that, admissions contacts your insurance company to verify benefits. They'll then explain your deductible, your copay, and which levels of care your plan may cover. Enhance works with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Optum, United Healthcare, Blue Shield of California, MHN, Health Net, Ambetter, Multiplan, CalPERS, and Covered California. Benefits vary by plan, and verification isn't a guarantee of coverage or admission. If you and your partner have different plans, each one gets checked on its own.
You can also submit the insurance form online if talking feels like too much tonight. Admissions follows up from there, and you can ask them to explain anything in the results that doesn't make sense.
Once you know what your plan may cover, you decide whether to go ahead. If you do, admissions sets up the assessments and coordinates the level of care each person needs, including a step at a sister facility if one of you needs detox or residential treatment. If you'd rather think it over first, that's fine, and you can call back with more questions. Updates and announcements from the team also appear on the Enhance Facebook page.
Call (714) 862-1907, or use the button below to verify your insurance, and tell admissions you're asking about two people.
Check your insurance or call admissions
Call (714) 862-1907. The Tustin team verifies benefits and explains what your plan may cover.
Common Questions
Can an unmarried couple go to rehab together?
Yes, being married isn't a requirement for either of you to seek treatment. Admissions assesses each person on their own needs, so your relationship status doesn't change how care is recommended. If you're dating, living together, or separated but still in contact, tell the team. That context helps them plan around the home situation each of you will return to.
What if one of us relapses during treatment?
Tell your clinician right away, because relapse is something the care team plans for and works through with you. Your clinicians review what happened, and they may adjust your level of care or add support. Your partner's treatment doesn't have to stop because of your relapse, and yours doesn't have to stop because of theirs.
Do we need to be in a relationship to start couples treatment?
You can each start treatment on your own, and a relationship isn't something you have to prove. Each partner is assessed separately, and your clinicians decide with you whether joint or family sessions would help. Some couples add those sessions later, once both people have some stability in their own recovery.
Will my employer or family find out we're in treatment?
Treatment is confidential, and clinicians don't share what you tell them without your permission, except in limited situations the law requires. Your employer isn't notified by Enhance. If you need time off work, ask admissions what you'd need to discuss with your employer, and they can explain what schedule your program may involve.
Should we stay together while we get sober?
That's a decision for the two of you, and your clinicians can help you think it through without pushing either way. If one partner keeps using at home, the other's recovery gets harder, and the care team will want to know about that early. Many people find it helps to focus on their own treatment first and revisit big relationship decisions as they stabilize.
