“Archangels gave me my life back. Their team is the most amazing, caring people I have ever met. The housing they sent me to was amazing, the groups are amazing, and this whole project is amazing. If you're tired of being sick and tired, reach out and save your life.”
“This facility is run by some of the best people you could ever ask for. They are extremely professional and truly dedicated to helping those struggling with mental health and addiction. They truly saved my life. I will be forever grateful for everything they did for me.”
“I had the honor of touring this facility, and it was absolutely beautiful, clean, and thoughtfully designed. But more than how it looked, you could feel the love in every detail. Watching the staff interact with clients genuinely touched my heart.”
Plain, fact-first answers about how care works here. Want to talk to a person? Call (888) 464-2144.
A 60-second walkthrough of the Tinton Falls clinic, the space where the program actually runs.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite negative consequences. It exists on a spectrum from mild to severe, and it affects tens of millions of adults in the United States. This guide explains what AUD is in clinical terms, how to recognize it in yourself or someone you care about, what the health risks look like over time, and what evidence-based treatment looks like across the continuum of care.
This page is informational. If you are looking for treatment, see the levels of care explained cluster, or call (888) 464-2144 to speak with admissions at The Archangel Centers.
In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association replaced the older "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence" categories with a single diagnosis: alcohol use disorder. A clinician makes the diagnosis based on whether the person meets at least two of eleven criteria within a twelve-month period.
The criteria fall into four broad themes:
1. Impaired control: drinking more or longer than intended, persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down, time spent obtaining and using alcohol, craving 2. Social impairment: failure to fulfill major obligations, continued use despite social or interpersonal problems, important activities given up or reduced 3. Risky use: drinking in physically hazardous situations, continued use despite physical or psychological problems 4. Pharmacological: tolerance (needing more to get the same effect), and withdrawal (symptoms when reducing or stopping)
Severity is graded by the number of criteria met: 2 to 3 is mild, 4 to 5 is moderate, and 6 or more is severe.
The clinical criteria above describe a diagnosis. In everyday life, what does AUD look like? Common signs include:
A single sign, in isolation, does not make a diagnosis. A clinician puts the pattern together. Free, confidential screening tools, including the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and the CAGE questionnaire, are available through SAMHSA and most primary care providers.
Group rooms, private therapy offices, the medical office, family programming rooms, and the wellness space, designed for clinical depth and nervous-system regulation.
Alcohol affects nearly every organ system. The risks accumulate over years, often silently, and many are reversible if drinking stops or is significantly reduced.
Fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis are a progression that can begin within years of sustained heavy drinking. Cirrhosis is irreversible, but earlier stages often improve with sustained abstinence.
Sustained heavy drinking raises blood pressure, increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, weakens heart muscle (alcoholic cardiomyopathy), and elevates stroke risk.
The National Cancer Institute identifies alcohol as a known human carcinogen. Risk is elevated for cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, colon, rectum, and (in women) breast.
Alcohol disrupts sleep architecture, depresses mood over time, contributes to memory and cognitive problems, and in severe long-term use can cause Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
The relationship between alcohol and mood is bidirectional. Heavy drinking worsens depression and anxiety, and depression and anxiety often drive heavier drinking. See depression and addiction and anxiety and addiction for how dual-diagnosis care addresses both at once.
Alcohol is one of the few substances whose withdrawal can be life-threatening. People who have been drinking heavily daily for an extended period should not stop suddenly without medical supervision. The withdrawal syndrome ranges from mild to severe:
Medically supervised detox uses benzodiazepine taper protocols, vitamin replacement (especially thiamine to prevent Wernicke-Korsakoff), and 24-hour monitoring. The Archangel Centers does not provide medical detox on-site; we coordinate placement with accredited partner facilities, then receive the client into outpatient care for step-down. See medical detox in Tinton Falls for how that works in practice.
Evidence-based treatment for alcohol use disorder is matched to severity. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) describes a continuum of care that scales from outpatient counseling to medically managed inpatient treatment. The most common levels:
Most clients move through the continuum: detox if needed, then partial care, then IOP, then outpatient, then alumni and aftercare. The continuum is not a ladder to climb once; many people cycle through it as life changes. For a deeper look at how the levels of care relate, see the addiction treatment continuum.
| Level | What it looks like | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Outpatient (OP) | Individual therapy, periodic groups | Mild AUD, or step-down from a higher level |
| Intensive Outpatient (IOP) | 3 or 5 days per week, 3 clinical hours each | Moderate AUD, or step-down from PHP |
| Partial Care / PHP | Full clinical day, 5 or 6 days per week | Severe AUD, dual-diagnosis presentations, or step-down from detox or inpatient |
| Medical Detox | 24-hour medical monitoring | Active withdrawal management |
| Inpatient / Residential | Live-in clinical setting | Severe AUD with limited home stability or high relapse risk |
Treatment integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, and trauma-informed care with EMDR available in individual therapy. The medical provider manages MAT (Suboxone, Vivitrol, Sublocade) and psychiatric medications when indicated.
Intake uses the full evidence-based battery: ASAM Criteria, LOCUS for mental health acuity, PHQ-9, GAD-7, the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, plus biopsychosocial, nutrition, and pain screens. The assessment drives the treatment plan from day one.
See Our ModalitiesThree medications are FDA-approved for the treatment of alcohol use disorder:
Medication is not a moral question. It is a clinical decision. Research consistently shows that medication-assisted treatment, combined with counseling, produces better outcomes than counseling alone for moderate and severe AUD.
A number of therapy modalities have well-documented effectiveness for alcohol use disorder. Most treatment programs combine several.
Most adults entering treatment for alcohol use disorder also meet criteria for at least one co-occurring mental health condition. Depression, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and bipolar disorder are the most common. The clinical evidence is clear: treating both at the same time, by the same team, produces better outcomes than treating them sequentially. Cluster pages:
There is no single picture of recovery. Some people stop drinking entirely and stay abstinent. Others reduce significantly. Most who recover do so over years, with setbacks along the way, and with support from a combination of professional treatment, peer community (Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Recovery Dharma, or others), family involvement, and ongoing self-care. Recovery is not the absence of work. It is the presence of a sustainable structure that makes the work possible.
What predicts a sustainable recovery:
“I came back from rock bottom. I'm here because I want to show others they can too. This isn't just a business. It's my mission.”- Mike Sorrentino, Founder
Mike and Lauren Sorrentino did not set out to build a generic treatment center. They wanted a recovery-grounded program that mixes lived experience, licensed clinical expertise, and family programming that actually moves the needle for the people who love someone in active addiction.
The clinic that resulted is small enough that each client knows their primary therapist by name, but resourced enough to deliver the full ASAM continuum from Partial Care through outpatient continuing care, with MAT and EMDR available when clinically indicated.
Read the Full StoryMost clients leave the first admissions call with a clinical assessment, an insurance verification, and a scheduled start date. Recovery starts with a decision, not a commitment. The admissions line is staffed around the clock.
Confidential, 24/7 admissions. Same-week placement is often available. Verify your insurance free of charge before any commitment.
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