Expertise provided by Javier Verdin, Clinical Director
You have probably already made more calls than you can count, and you may be bracing for one more round of questions that seem to go nowhere. When you call T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH in Murfreesboro and the admissions team asks about current substance use, withdrawal risk, and living situation, they are not stalling. They are starting a 90-minute biopsychosocial assessment. That assessment helps determine whether your loved one first needs medical detox with a trusted partner, may be appropriate for Partial Hospitalization, or might begin Intensive Outpatient while still living at home. That starting point shapes much of what follows. Insurance matters, and T.R.U.E. accepts a range of major carriers. But the most important question to ask is “Which level of care does my loved one need right now, and what happens in week one compared to week six?” This guide explains substance use disorder treatment in Tennessee the way it unfolds at T.R.U.E., from the first phone call to the day your loved one steps down into aftercare. It covers the hours, the weeks, the insurance steps, and the housing gap most families do not see coming.
What Does Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Tennessee Actually Mean?
Substance use disorder treatment in Tennessee is a series of levels of care, not one single program. Many people move from more support to less: medical detox if the body needs it, then Partial Hospitalization (PHP), then Intensive Outpatient (IOP), then outpatient aftercare.
Think of it like healing a broken leg. First comes the cast, then a brace, then physical therapy, then walking on your own. No doctor would remove a cast and send someone out to run a mile. Addiction care works the same way. Each level offers a little less structure than the one before it, so your loved one can practice new skills while support is still close by. This is called the step-down model.
Providers across the country use the ASAM Criteria, a framework from the American Society of Addiction Medicine, to match each person to a level of care for where they are right now. The idea behind it is simple: care should fit the person, not the other way around. The National Institute on Drug Abuse makes a similar point. No single approach works for everyone, and care may need to address a person’s medical, mental health, and social needs, not just the drug or alcohol use.
At T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH, the levels follow a clear and predictable schedule. PHP runs 5 hours a day, 6 days a week, which adds up to about 30 hours of programming each week. IOP runs 3 hours a day, either 3 or 5 days a week, for roughly 9 to 15 hours weekly. Outpatient (OP) aftercare follows, with fewer hours as your loved one rebuilds daily life. Knowing these numbers up front helps you plan for work, childcare, and rides before day one.
What Happens in the 90-Minute Biopsychosocial Assessment, and How Does It Help Determine Where Your Loved One Starts?
The 90-minute biopsychosocial assessment at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH helps identify your loved one’s safest starting point. It follows a short prescreen call, and it looks at the whole person: body, mind, history, and home life.
“Biopsychosocial” sounds clinical, but it simply means three things: biology (the body), psychology (the mind), and social life (relationships, home, and work). The admissions team at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH uses this conversation to look at six areas that come from the ASAM Criteria:
- Withdrawal risk: Is your loved one still using, and could stopping cause dangerous symptoms?
- Physical health: Are there medical conditions that need attention first?
- Mental and emotional health: Are depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, or borderline personality part of the picture?
- Readiness to change: How does your loved one feel about getting help right now?
- Relapse risk: What has happened after past attempts to stop?
- Recovery environment: Is home a safe place to return to each night?
Withdrawal risk often influences the first step. If your loved one is still actively using or could go into withdrawal, T.R.U.E. does not start PHP right away. Instead, the admissions team coordinates a referral to a trusted medical detox partner so your loved one can be medically stabilized first. Withdrawal from some substances, especially alcohol, can be medically serious, so this step aims to protect your loved one. Once they are stable, they may be able to move into PHP at T.R.U.E. in Murfreesboro.
You may worry that all these questions are a way to screen your loved one out. That fear makes sense, especially if you have been turned away before. The goal of the assessment is to help find the safest place to begin, even when that place is detox first. The assessment also matters because T.R.U.E. treats co-occurring mental health conditions and addiction together under one Tennessee provider. This is often called dual diagnosis care. If your loved one has been treated for drinking in one place and depression in another, this assessment is where both get looked at side by side.
Before you call, it helps to have a few things in front of you: the insurance card, a list of current medications, the substances used and how often, and any past treatment history.
What Will the First 90 Days Look Like, Week by Week, at T.R.U.E. in Murfreesboro?
Once the assessment helps set the starting point, the weeks ahead start to take shape. At T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH, many people spend 3 to 6 weeks in PHP and then 30 to 45 days in IOP. That means a full treatment episode often runs about 7 to 13 weeks before outpatient aftercare begins.
The exact length depends on progress, not the calendar. A client who stabilizes quickly may step down after 3 weeks of PHP. A patient with a more complex mix of substance use and mental health needs may stay closer to 6. The clinical team at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH makes that call together with your loved one, based on how they are doing in groups, in individual sessions, and in daily life.
What Happens During PHP: Weeks 1 Through 6
The first week of PHP at T.R.U.E. is about getting settled and getting placed in the right groups. Groups are separated by gender, which may help many people speak more openly. There is also a faith-based track for people who want their faith to be part of their recovery. It is one of the pathways to recovery T.R.U.E. offers, and it is a choice, not a requirement.
T.R.U.E. also keeps substance use disorder groups separate from groups for people whose main concern is a mental health condition such as depression, PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, or borderline personality. This matters more than it might seem. A person working through PTSD as their main issue has different needs in a group than a person in early recovery from opioid use. Keeping each group focused lets the conversations go deeper. For someone dealing with both, the treatment plan connects the two instead of treating them as separate problems. If your loved one has tried a program that only addressed the drinking or only addressed the depression, this is a real difference.
Psychoeducation groups teach how addiction and mental health conditions work, in plain language. At T.R.U.E., the CEO and the Chief Clinical Director lead some of these sessions themselves. If you are afraid your loved one will become a case number in a big chain, this detail speaks to that worry directly. Leadership is in the room teaching, not just signing off from an office.
PHP at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH is also when medication-assisted treatment (MAT) may come into the plan. MAT pairs FDA-approved medications for opioid or alcohol use disorder with counseling and behavioral support. Not everyone needs it, and your loved one decides together with their medical team. T.R.U.E. also offers family therapy and partner or couples therapy integration. Timing depends on the treatment plan, so ask the team when family sessions will happen and how you can take part. Trauma and PTSD are addressed within the mental health programming. Some specialized trauma therapies may be recommended for aftercare rather than during PHP and IOP, so it helps to plan for that ahead of time.
Stepping Down to IOP: Weeks 7 Through 13 and Beyond
When your loved one is ready for more independence, they may step down to IOP. IOP at T.R.U.E. runs 3 hours a day, 3 or 5 days a week, often for about 30 to 45 days. Your loved one keeps the same kind of support but has more free time to practice real life. That might mean returning to some work, reconnecting with family, and handling stress without the full PHP day around them.
This is when discharge planning gets serious. Case management works with your loved one on what comes next, including outpatient aftercare at T.R.U.E., local recovery supports, and housing after IOP ends. Starting this planning during IOP, instead of on the last day, gives your family time to make careful choices instead of rushed ones.
You may also be carrying a quieter fear: what if you get your loved one into treatment and it does not work, just like last time? That fear is real, and it deserves an honest answer. No provider can promise a result, and recovery looks different for every person. If any program offers you a single success percentage, ask how they measure it, who they count, and over what time frame. What you can judge is whether the structure makes sense: clear hours, a step-down plan, both conditions treated together, and a real plan for the weeks after treatment ends. Those pieces are often what was missing the last time.
Will Insurance Cover It? What Your Plan Pays For, and Where TennCare Fits
For many families, cost is the question that keeps them from calling at all. T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH accepts insurance carriers including Tricare, Cigna, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Anthem. A benefits check before admission shows what your specific plan may pay toward PHP and IOP and what you would owe.
If you are bracing for a bill you cannot pay, the benefits check is how you replace that fear with facts. It looks at four things:
- Deductible: what you pay before the plan starts paying
- Copay or coinsurance: your share after that
- Out-of-pocket maximum: the most you pay in a year
- Prior authorization: whether the plan must approve care first
Costs vary because plans vary, so the only real answer comes from checking your loved one’s actual plan.
Prior authorization means the insurance company has to approve care before or during treatment. Some plans approve the whole episode at once. Many approve a set number of days or a week at a time, then review progress before approving more. This is often called concurrent review. In plain terms, the clinical team sends updates, and the plan decides whether to keep paying. A review does not mean treatment will stop, but knowing how your plan works keeps it from catching you off guard.
TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, provides behavioral health benefits through the same managed care organizations that handle medical coverage. Prior authorization for higher levels of care goes through that managed care organization. TennCare is not one of the carriers T.R.U.E. accepts. If your loved one has TennCare, you can still call to talk through the situation, but you should not assume coverage at T.R.U.E. Being clear about this now protects you from a painful surprise later, and that honesty is part of what accessible care should mean.
Where Will Your Loved One Live After IOP? The Housing Gap Most Families Miss
Insurance is not the only surprise families face near the end of treatment. Once your loved one steps down to outpatient aftercare, they need to arrange their own supportive housing, because T.R.U.E. does not operate sober living.
Many families never hear about this gap until the last week. Your loved one has spent two or three months in a structured setting with support all around them. Then IOP ends, and the question becomes where they will sleep next week. Going straight back to the same house, the same friends, and the same stress can be hard on early recovery. That is why this decision deserves as much care as choosing the treatment program itself.
T.R.U.E.’s admissions and case management team provides sober living referrals. A referral is a starting point, not a guarantee of quality. Sober living homes in Tennessee are not held to one required statewide licensing standard the way treatment programs are, so they vary widely. Some are well run, with clear rules and steady support. Others are little more than a rented room. Your family will need to check each option yourselves.
When you visit or call a sober living home, ask a few direct questions:
- Does someone manage the home day to day?
- Are house rules and drug testing written down?
- What happens if a resident returns to use?
- Does the home accept residents who take MAT medications? Some homes do not, which matters if your loved one is on MAT.
- How close is it to their outpatient aftercare?
Ask these questions while your loved one is still in IOP, so the move happens on a plan, not in a panic.
Why Does It Matter That This Is Tennessee? TennCare, Recovery Courts, and Regional Peer Support
Housing is one part of the aftercare picture, and where you live in the state shapes the rest. Tennessee’s laws, Medicaid structure, and county-level resources affect which programs exist, who can get into them, and what support is waiting after discharge. Knowing this helps you plan aftercare that will actually be there when your loved one comes home.
Start with which programs can open. Tennessee uses certificate-of-need rules, which require state approval before certain types of health facilities can open or expand. Opioid treatment programs that dispense methadone have historically been among the facility types covered by these rules. The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability published a legislative brief on how Tennessee licenses, funds, and oversees addiction treatment. It is worth a read if you want the bigger picture of why options look different from one county to the next.
Aftercare support also varies a lot by region. Recovery courts, which offer some people with substance-related charges a treatment-focused path, work differently from county to county. Peer support, meaning people in recovery who are trained to support others, is stronger in some areas than others, and each part of the state has its own mix of resources. The University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service publishes substance abuse disorder county fact sheets that show how differently counties are affected. For state-level views of substance use and treatment, see the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services data resources and SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Barometer for Tennessee.
For your family, this means one practical thing. If your loved one will return home to a county outside Murfreesboro after treatment, start looking at local meetings, peer support, and outpatient options in that county during IOP. If they have an open court case, ask their attorney whether a local recovery court is an option. T.R.U.E.’s case management team can help you think through the plan, but the strongest aftercare is often close to home.
Who Is Not a Good Fit, and When Does T.R.U.E. Refer Elsewhere?
Good care sometimes means starting somewhere else first. T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH refers people elsewhere when PHP is not the safest place to begin. That includes active withdrawal, unstable medical conditions, acute psychiatric crises, and insurance or travel limits that would make daily attendance unworkable.
Some medical conditions need more monitoring than PHP at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH can provide. Unstable diabetes, an active seizure disorder, or acute psychosis may require inpatient medical stabilization before PHP is safe. This is not a judgment about your loved one. It is a matter of safety. PHP is a daytime program, not a hospital, and getting the order right may give your loved one a better chance to benefit once they arrive. In these cases, the admissions team helps coordinate the next step.
Distance is another real factor. Someone who lives an hour or more from Murfreesboro can still attend PHP at T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH, but the schedule is 6 days a week, 5 hours a day. That is a lot of driving, so talk with the admissions team about how to make attendance workable. Then plan for aftercare closer to home once your loved one steps down, since outpatient support works best when it fits into daily life.
Insurance can also limit fit. If your loved one’s plan is not one T.R.U.E. accepts, or if a plan will not approve PHP, the admissions team will tell you plainly. Hearing “this is not the right place to start” can feel crushing when you are already exhausted. Still, an honest answer on the first call is better than a promise that falls apart in week two. A referral is not a rejection. It is one more step on the path to the right care.
Frequently Asked Questions About Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Tennessee
These are the questions families ask most often before they call T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH in Murfreesboro.
How long does addiction treatment take at T.R.U.E. in Murfreesboro?
At T.R.U.E., PHP often runs 3 to 6 weeks at 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. IOP follows, often for 30 to 45 days at 3 hours a day, 3 or 5 days a week. A full episode often spans about 7 to 13 weeks before outpatient aftercare begins, though individual treatment timelines vary.
What insurance does T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH accept in Murfreesboro?
T.R.U.E.’s accepted carriers include Tricare, Cigna, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Anthem. A benefits check shows what your plan may pay toward PHP and IOP and whether prior authorization is needed.
Does my loved one need medical detox before starting PHP?
If your loved one is still actively using or at risk for withdrawal, medical detox may be recommended first. Based on the 90-minute biopsychosocial assessment, T.R.U.E.’s admissions team coordinates a referral to a trusted medical detox partner for stabilization before PHP begins.
Does T.R.U.E. provide housing?
No. T.R.U.E. does not operate sober living, so clients arrange their own supportive housing. Case management provides sober living referrals, and families should check each option carefully.
What is MAT, and does T.R.U.E. offer it?
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) combines FDA-approved medications for opioid or alcohol use disorder with counseling and behavioral support. T.R.U.E. offers MAT, and your loved one decides with the medical team whether it fits their plan.
Can my loved one attend T.R.U.E. if we live outside Murfreesboro?
Yes. You will need a plan for the 6-day-a-week T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH PHP schedule, such as reliable daily transportation. Plan local aftercare for when your loved one steps down to outpatient care.
What Should You Ask When You Call Today?
Ask one question before any other: “Which level of care does my loved one need right now, and what will week one look like compared to week six?” The answer tells you more about a program than any brochure.
That question moves the conversation past “do you have a bed” and into the details that help determine whether treatment fits. At T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH, the answer comes from the 90-minute biopsychosocial assessment, a clear PHP and IOP schedule, groups matched to your loved one’s needs, and comprehensive treatment that handles mental health and addiction together. You deserve to hear all of it before you decide, and you do not have to figure it out alone.
Call T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH in Murfreesboro at (615) 378-6159 to schedule the 90-minute biopsychosocial assessment, verify your insurance benefits, and find out which level of care may fit your situation right now. Keep the insurance card and a list of current medications in hand when you call. Those two things alone can turn a long, uncertain first call into a clear next step, often within a single conversation.
Ready to Learn What Your First Week Could Look Like?
If you or someone you care about is considering substance use disorder treatment in Murfreesboro, the unknowns can feel overwhelming. T.R.U.E. Addiction & BH walks alongside clients through every phase of recovery, from the first conversation through sustained healing. Reaching out today means you can ask questions, hear about the actual week-by-week process, and decide if this path feels right for you.
Individual experiences with treatment vary, and no program can guarantee specific results for any person.
