Rehab-Clinic provides free advice and referral services through their website at www.rehab-clinic.com. They help addicts and their families find appropriate treatments through private rehab centres, the NHS, and other service providers in the UK. The length of time needed for outpatient recovery is a bit more difficult to determine. The primary reason for this is the open-ended nature of outpatient programmes. Without a definitive end point, it is really up to the individual to decide when recovery is complete. This is one of the primary criticisms of outpatient treatment. This inherent weakness can be observed with NHS programmes that attempt to treat opiate addicts with methadone. By substituting methadone for the illegal substance of choice, outpatient programmes are enabling the addict to continue in recovery for months or years. Is this truly recovery, or is it just substituting one addiction for another? It is a question NHS rehab clinics have been wrestling with for the last several years. It is easy to say how long a recovery programme at a residential clinic will take. It might also be easy to put a time limit on some outpatient treatments. However, in the end, recovery takes as long as necessary for the individual to completely put drug or alcohol addiction behind him. It is different for every person.