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The starting point
This guide is part of the main page for a psychiatrist in Marbella.
Addiction is a medical problem — and it is treated like one
This is not a rehab sales funnel. It is a private psychiatric practice, led by one doctor with more than 25 years of clinical experience, where addiction is evaluated and treated the way any serious medical problem is: a thorough assessment first, an honest diagnosis, and a plan that fits your case — not a bed that needs filling.
- One psychiatrist throughout: the doctor who assesses you is the doctor who follows you up.
- Outpatient first: most addictions are treated while you live at home and keep working. Admission adds containment, not better treatment, and is reserved for the cases that truly need it.
- Dual diagnosis built in: the depression, anxiety, ADHD or trauma underneath the substance is assessed from day one — it is the piece most treatment programmes leave out.
- In English or Spanish, in Marbella or online across Spain.
What is treated
Alcohol, cocaine, prescription drugs — and the addictions without a substance
The most frequent consultations in this practice:
- Alcohol — including the functional drinker whose life still works on the outside. Alcohol withdrawal is one of the few that can be medically dangerous: it is planned, never improvised.
- Cocaine and stimulants — the crash, the paranoia, the Monday consultations. There is a dedicated guide in English: cocaine addiction.
- Prescription medication — sleeping pills, benzodiazepines (lorazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam), pregabalin, painkillers. Often it began legitimately; the way out is gradual, medical deprescription, not willpower.
- Cannabis — the withdrawal is real, and so is the amotivational syndrome behind many failed attempts.
- Gambling, pornography, screens and other behavioural addictions — same mechanism, no substance.
- Chemsex and polysubstance use — treated without judgement, with the medical seriousness each combination requires.
The full clinical library behind this page — over seventy in-depth guides on every substance, withdrawal and family situation — is published in Spanish in the addictions guide.
How it works
From first contact to a working plan
The first assessment takes about 90 minutes: what is being used, since when, what it has cost, what is underneath it, and the physical health that needs checking. You leave with a diagnosis — or an honest working hypothesis — and a concrete plan.
Then, frequency. In addiction treatment, frequency is the treatment: scheduled follow-up appointments, in person or by video consultation, with the same psychiatrist. Anti-craving medication is used where it exists and is indicated — for alcohol, opioids and nicotine — and prescribing is never automatic: every prescription is a medical act that follows evaluation.
And honesty about levels of care. If your case needs more containment than an outpatient practice can give — a medically risky withdrawal, repeated failed attempts — you will be told openly, and the referral will be organised. The evaluation comes first; the resource comes second.
For families
If the person who needs help is your partner, your son or your daughter
Change the goal: you do not need them to admit they are an addict. You need them to accept one assessment. That is a far smaller step, and it is the one that works.
Families are seen in their own right — in English — for the questions that keep them awake: how to set limits that hold, how to stop financing the addiction without abandoning the person, what never to say, and how to protect yourself while you help. The Spanish-language family guide develops all of it in depth.
When it cannot wait: in an emergency call 112 — operators handle calls in English. If there are thoughts of self-harm, call 024, the national suicide-prevention line, available 24 hours with telephone interpreting.
For urgent-but-not-emergency situations there is a priority assessment service in English — seen subject to clinical suitability and availability.
Discretion
Confidentiality, in a town where everyone knows everyone
Many patients here are professionals, business owners or well-known residents of the Costa del Sol whose greatest fear is not the treatment — it is being seen. Medical confidentiality is the rule, with only the narrow legal limits that bind any doctor in Spain, and using substances is not one of them.
Appointments are scheduled to protect privacy, follow-up can be done entirely by video consultation, and nothing reaches employers, insurers or family members without your consent. You can read how the practice works — the 90-60-30 method — or check verified patient reviews: Google 4.9★ and Doctoralia 5,0★ · patient reviews.
The consulting room is in the centre of Marbella — Calle María Auxiliadora 1, 1.º A, 29602 Marbella (Málaga) — and the doctor behind this page is the same Psiquiatra en Marbella who has practised here for over two decades. (La versión en español de esta página es la consulta de adicciones en Marbella.)
Questions English-speaking patients ask
Do you see patients in English?
Yes. Consultations are held in English or Spanish, whichever you prefer — including the first assessment, follow-up and any contact with the secretary's office. Reports can be issued in English if you need them for a doctor abroad.
Is treatment confidential?
Yes. Medical confidentiality is the rule, with only the narrow legal exceptions that apply to any doctor in Spain — and using substances is not one of them. Nothing is shared with employers, family members or anyone else without your consent. Many patients are professionals whose main fear is being seen; discretion is part of the service.
Do I need residential rehab, or can this be treated as an outpatient?
Most addictions can be treated ambulatory — living at home, working, with frequent scheduled appointments. Admission to a clinic adds containment, not better treatment, and it is reserved for specific situations: medically risky withdrawal, failed structured outpatient attempts, or an environment that makes recovery impossible. The starting point is always a proper evaluation, not a sales pitch for a bed.
Which withdrawals are actually dangerous?
Three can be medically serious: alcohol, benzodiazepines and GHB. Substances that depress the nervous system are the ones that can be dangerous to stop abruptly — those withdrawals need medical planning, sometimes urgently. Stimulants such as cocaine produce a hard crash, but it is not usually a medical emergency.
Is there medication that reduces craving?
For some substances, yes. There are established anti-craving medications for alcohol, opioids and nicotine; for cocaine and cannabis there is currently no equivalent, and treatment relies on structure, follow-up and psychotherapy. Any prescription follows a medical evaluation — issuing a prescription is never automatic.
My partner or son will not admit there is a problem. Can you still help?
Yes — and the goal is worth reframing: you do not need them to admit they are an addict; you need them to accept one assessment. That is a much smaller step, and it is often achievable. Families are also seen in their own right: how to set limits, how to stop financing the addiction, and how to protect yourself while you help.
Can the treatment be done online?
Follow-up works very well by video consultation, and in addiction treatment frequency is the treatment — an online session that happens is worth more than an in-person one that does not. The first assessment can be presential in Marbella or online across Spain, depending on the case.
What does it cost?
Fees are published on the fees page and are the same whether you attend in English or Spanish. This is a private practice; treatment is not billed through insurance companies.
What if the situation is urgent?
If withdrawal is becoming dangerous, or the situation is escalating fast, there is a priority assessment service — seen within 24 hours where clinically possible, in Marbella or online. In an emergency call 112 (operators handle calls in English); if there are thoughts of self-harm, the 024 suicide-prevention line is available 24 hours with telephone interpreting.
One conversation can change the direction of this
Write or call and tell us, in English, what is happening and since when. The secretary's office will offer you the first available assessment — in Marbella, or online from anywhere in Spain.