Alcohol Detox in Minnesota
For adults who need to stop drinking safely, NorthStar Regional provides detox (withdrawal management) in Eden Prairie. Our alcohol detox in Minnesota runs about 20 minutes from Minneapolis, with nurses on duty 24/7.
Alcohol withdrawal can be medically dangerous, so medication is managed to make the first days safer. A typical stay is 3 to 7 days, and most clients step straight into residential treatment with no referral. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and nobody has to go through withdrawal alone.
The program at a glance
Medical Detox
About 3 to 7 days
Level of Care
We treat alcohol and drug withdrawal with 24/7 nursing at our withdrawal management center in Eden Prairie. You also get a written plan for what comes next.
Call, and we’ll come pick you up
A direct move into rehab after detox
Medicaid accepted
Licensed Treatment Programs
Founded 2015
Addiction and mental health care in one system
Multiple Campuses
Across the Twin Cities metro
MN Department of Health: Licensed
MN Department of Human Services: Licensed
Don't Detox Alone
Why Alcohol Addiction Needs Medical Detox
Alcohol changes the brain’s chemistry so much that stopping all at once can be dangerous. Withdrawal can cause shaking and a racing heart. In severe cases, it can also cause seizures or delirium tremens (DTs), which brings on sudden, severe confusion. That is why “just stop drinking” fails people whose bodies depend on alcohol. It is also why alcoholism deserves medical care without judgment, and why medical detox exists.
At NorthStar Regional, nurses check on you around the clock during detox. They manage your medicine to keep withdrawal safe and bearable, and there is no rigid schedule to follow. The first days are hard, so we let you set the pace. Rest when you need to, eat when you are hungry, and join an afternoon group if you are up to it.
Levels of Care
Where Alcohol Detox Fits in the Full Addiction Treatment Continuum
Detox is only the first step in treatment. Every level of care is in one system, so most clients move straight from alcohol detox into high-intensity residential treatment. There is no waiting for a referral, and we write the plan for each next step.
About 3 to 7 days
Medical Detox
Safe drug and alcohol withdrawal with 24-hour nursing at the withdrawal management center in Eden Prairie, for alcohol, opioids, and benzodiazepines.
About 35 to 50 days
Inpatient Rehabilitation
The flagship program: 35 to 50 days of live-in treatment on separate men’s and women’s campuses.
85 to 105 connected days
Low-Intensity Residential
A home with recovery support while you build back your own life.
With or without lodging
Intensive Outpatient
Outpatient treatment that fits around work and family, with a place to stay if needed.
6 to 8 months or longer
Relapse Prevention
Weekly sessions and peer support through the months that matter most. We watch closely for early warning signs.
The rest of the way
Sober Living
Substance-free housing where recovery gets an address.
“It’s about the journey. You start at the bottom and by the time you leave here, you’re going to be ready to take care of yourself.”
Jason Vanderscoff, CEO, NorthStar Regional
What to expect
Alcohol Detox Program Day by Day
In detox, your care team plans each day around what your body needs.
Arrive and Rest
At intake, you can have a meal if you want one. We treat medical needs right away, start your nursing checks, and complete your comprehensive assessment and a plan for what comes next.
The Hardest Days
Nurses check on you every hour, often more, and the medical team manages your medication. You can eat and sleep when you can and join an afternoon group when you feel up to it.
What Happens After Detox
Once your body is stable, you meet with your counselor to start the next step. Then you move straight into high-intensity residential treatment or outpatient care, with no referral needed.
Addiction and dual diagnosis
Treating Substance Use and Mental Health Together
Heavy drinking rarely happens on its own. Anxiety, depression, and trauma are usually part of the problem too. That mix is a dual diagnosis: a mental health condition and a substance use problem at the same time. Treating only one of them rarely works. That is why co-occurring mental health care continues through every stage of care.
For Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Each substance we treat has its own page, from alcoholism to opioid use disorder. You can read about alcohol, opioids, meth, cocaine, benzodiazepines, marijuana, and club drugs.
For Mental Health Issues
At designated NorthStar Regional programs, we treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma and PTSD, ADHD, and other conditions alongside addiction in one co-occurring care plan. We also offer mental health treatment on its own at our outpatient center in Shakopee. You do not need a formal diagnosis to contact us.
Inside Treatment
Therapies and Services Inside This Program
Detox begins with medical care, and therapy starts as soon as you’re ready to participate. A comprehensive assessment helps your team build a personalized care plan with evidence-based therapies, adjusting as your needs change.
Comprehensive Assessment
Your care begins with a comprehensive assessment that guides your treatment plan. As your needs change, your team adjusts the plan with you.
Medical Care and Psychiatry
Nurses are available around the clock, with additional medical and psychiatric support from our medical partner. Your team can also discuss which medications for alcohol withdrawal management are right for you.
Alcohol and Drug Counseling
Daily treatment groups, mental health groups, and individual sessions with your licensed alcohol and drug counselor help you understand your substance use and build skills for recovery.
CBT and DBT-Informed Skills
Learn to recognize unhelpful thought patterns, respond differently, and manage difficult emotions. CBT- and DBT-informed skills give you practical ways to handle stress and work through distress.
Family Therapy
Family sessions help you and your loved ones improve communication, rebuild trust, and learn how to support recovery together.
What Comes After
High-intensity residential treatment, outpatient care, and relapse prevention, all inside one system. It is planned from your first assessment.
Where this program runs
Alcohol Detox Center: Eden Prairie Location
Medical detox · 24/7 nursing
Withdrawal Management Center | Eden Prairie
This is the only NorthStar Regional site with medical detox, and it is where many clients start. Hospitals, counties, and crisis teams send patients to us daily, because placement is fast. Wherever you start, you get care within the same connected system.
Corporate office
Shakopee Corporate Office
500 Marschall Road, Suite 300, Shakopee, MN 55379. Admissions and administration.
Life in Recovery
What Life Looks Like After Treatment
Recovery means being able to live a normal life again. You can hold a job, earn back your family’s trust, and get through a regular weekday without drinking running it.
Alcohol detox is where that starts, because it helps your body recover and get stable so the rest of treatment can begin. That matters for you, and it matters for the family who has watched drinking hurt you more each year. Minnesotans come to us from every county and every kind of life. They leave with the same thing: they can live with who they are, and they have a lasting recovery to build on.
Healing also involves the whole family, because every parent, spouse, and child has been worried and waiting too. That is why our program includes family work. Families can start using our resources even before their loved one says yes to help.
Before You Call
Signs You're Ready for Treatment
If you’re asking whether you have a problem, you probably already suspect the answer. Maybe you’ve hidden your drinking, counted every drink, promised to stop on Monday, or woken up trying to piece together last night. Maybe you’ve quit before and it didn’t last.
You don’t need to lose everything before you deserve help, and you don’t need to be certain to start. Being willing for even a minute is enough to make one phone call.
You can be ready and still feel afraid or unsure. Being ready simply means you make the decision and let us handle the details. All you need to do is agree to come, and we take care of everything else. Our treatment programs are for adults 18 and older, from first-time callers to people who have tried everything.
Reading this for someone you love? You can start the whole process for them, and when you call, we’ll coach you through that first conversation. Start with our guides for parents and for spouses and partners.
“The client has done the hard work by picking up the phone. We will carry them the rest of the way.”
Sarah Roy, Executive Vice President
How Admission Works
What Happens From Your First Call to Your First Night
You did the hard part when you picked up the phone. Here is exactly what happens next, so nothing about day one is a mystery.
You Call and a Real Person Answers
A real person answers, usually within seconds, and asks one short question: substance use, or mental health? There is no phone tree, and you don’t have to tell your life story. We ask only what we need and handle the rest.
We Help with the Details
Our team helps review your benefits, and a short screening covers withdrawal risk, medical needs, and mental health, so you land at the right level of care. Then we schedule you, same day or next day whenever possible.
We Pick You Up
You get reminder calls and texts. Before pickup, your admissions coordinator and your driver call you together, so you know the name, the car, and the timing before it’s in your driveway. In the car: water, Gatorade, snacks, and a bagged lunch. Your driver, most often someone in long-term recovery, helps with your bags.
A Real Person Meets You When You Arrive
Your driver walks you inside and hands you off by name to the team member waiting for you. Your intake team completes your application with you. If you’re hungry, there’s a meal waiting. Treatment starts, and you never carried the logistics.
“The client has done the hard work by picking up the phone. We will carry them the rest of the way.”
Sarah Roy, Executive Vice President
Paying for Care
Insurance and Payment Options
Our team helps review your benefits and handles the paperwork with you. If you have no insurance, we help walk you through enrolling for benefits. County case managers, probation officers, hospitals, and crisis teams send clients to us because, in their words, we just get it done.
Insurance and State Funding
Commercial plans, Medical Assistance (Medicaid), county placements, and private pay. We verify benefits and handle the paperwork with you.
We Are Here to Help
We help review your benefits, find your right starting point, and schedule you for the same day or the next whenever possible. Then we pick you up anywhere in the Twin Cities metro.
Reviews from Google
Why Clients Choose NorthStar Regional
Don’t just take our word for it. Here is what alumni say about their time in treatment.
Who's behind the work
About NorthStar Regional
NorthStar Regional is Minnesota’s treatment system built around access: alcohol and drug treatment centers and mental health care across multiple Twin Cities metro locations. Founded in 2015, we provide one connected continuum: detox (withdrawal management), residential, outpatient, mental health, and a sober housing pathway. Separate men’s and women’s campuses, co-occurring care at designated programs, and no faith requirement set us apart. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and if you are uninsured, our admissions team helps you through enrollment. A person can walk in with nothing and leave with everything they need to build a life.
Keep reading
Related Articles and Resources
Resources
Before You Call
How admissions works, guides for families, and the forms you can complete early. More resources are linked throughout the site, or contact admissions and we’ll send anything by email.
Questions we hear every day
Common Questions About Alcohol Detox
Is alcohol detox dangerous without medical care?
It can be. Alcohol is one of the few substances whose withdrawal can be medically dangerous. Severe cases can involve seizures or delirium tremens. That is why alcohol detox should happen with medical support, not alone on a couch (NIAAA). At NorthStar Regional, nursing checks on you around the clock. Medication is managed to keep withdrawal safe and as comfortable as possible.
How long does alcohol detox take?
Usually about 3 to 7 days. It depends on how much and how long you have been drinking, your health, and whether other substances are involved. Your comprehensive assessment sets the plan.
Where does alcohol detox happen?
At our withdrawal management center in Eden Prairie, the only NorthStar Regional site with medical detox. Nurses staff it 24 hours a day. It serves Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the whole Twin Cities metro. You call, and we pick you up.
What are the next steps after alcohol detox?
You step right into the next level of care inside the same system. That means high-intensity residential treatment on a men’s or women’s campus, then outpatient care and relapse prevention. Detox alone is rarely enough. It is the first step, not the whole treatment.
Can detox help if drug use is part of the picture too?
Yes. Many people come to us dependent on both alcohol and drugs. Our medical team plans your withdrawal management around all of it, without judgment, and cares for you as each substance clears your body.
Does detox treat substance abuse or just the withdrawal?
Both, in sequence. Detox stabilizes your body first. Then counseling, groups, and care for co-occurring disorders treat the addiction itself, not just the withdrawal symptoms.
Can you treat my anxiety or depression at the same time?
Yes. Most people who drink a lot are also dealing with something else, like anxiety, depression, or trauma. Designated NorthStar Regional programs include co-occurring mental health care, with mental health professionals on the team.
Will my insurance cover alcohol detox?
Coverage depends on your plan, the service, eligibility, and authorization requirements. Our team helps review your benefits and available payment options. Benefits verification is not a guarantee of payment.
What should I bring to detox?
Very little. Bring comfortable clothes, your medicines in their original bottles, and your ID and insurance card if you have them. If you come with nothing, we help with clothing and basics from day one.
What if I've tried to quit drinking before?
Then you’re in good company here. Most of our clients tried more than once, and many of our staff did too. A return to drinking is information about what the last plan was missing, not proof that you can’t recover.
Admissions
Make the First Call and We'll Take It from There
Confidential, no obligation, and answered by someone who knows what you’re facing and cares to listen.