SerD in Rome: free, confidential addiction treatment through your local health authority
Drugs, alcohol, gambling, tobacco: your local ASL SerD clinic helps you for free, no referral needed, and your identity is protected by law.
What it is, briefly
The SerD (Servizio per le Dipendenze — your local public addiction-treatment clinic, run by the ASL, Azienda Sanitaria Locale — your local public-health authority) gives you free support if you have a problem with drugs, alcohol, gambling, or tobacco. No GP referral is needed. Anonymity is guaranteed by law (art. 120 DPR 309/1990): the SerD cannot notify your employer, your family, or the police simply because you walked through the door.
At a glance
| Cost | Completely free: consultations, medication, therapeutic communities, psychological support — including for foreigners with an STP/ENI card. |
| Timeline | First appointment: same day or within 48 hours. Starting methadone/buprenorphine: 1–3 days. Community placement: 2–4 weeks after assessment. |
| Where in Rome | A SerD clinic in every district across all 6 ASL units covering Rome and its province. 24/7 emergency line: Villa Maraini CRI — Via Bernardino Ramazzini 31 — 06 5810804. |
| Documents | ID document (not required if you request full anonymity); health card or STP card. |
What the SerD offers
The SerD is a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, social workers, and educators. You can walk in if you have a problem with heroin, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines or other synthetic drugs; with alcohol; with pathological gambling (GAP) (Gioco d'Azzardo Patologico); with tobacco; or with other behavioural addictions.
Services available include: medical consultation and diagnosis, laboratory tests (including HIV, HCV, HBV), individual and group psychological counselling, psychotherapy, substitute pharmacotherapy (methadone or buprenorphine for heroin dependence; naltrexone and disulfiram for alcohol; NRT and varenicline for smoking), harm reduction with needle exchange and naloxone kits, placement in residential or semi-residential therapeutic communities, and support for family members.
If you specifically want to quit smoking, there are also dedicated hospital anti-smoking centres (Centri Antifumo): Umberto I (06 49972728), San Camillo-Forlanini (06 58702834), Gemelli (06 30154597), IFO (06 5266 5212), Sant'Andrea (06 33775856).
Your first visit
No appointment needed. Just show up at your nearest SerD during opening hours, or call ahead to schedule an initial meeting. A staff member will receive you and connect you with a doctor within 48 hours — the same day if it's urgent.
During that first meeting the doctor takes your history, assesses your clinical and toxicological situation, and orders blood and urine tests. Together you then build a personalised treatment plan (PTI — Piano Terapeutico Individualizzato): this may include medication, therapy groups, a community programme, or psychological support.
If you start methadone or buprenorphine, you will collect your medication at the SerD every day for the first few days. As your situation stabilises, you can move to weekly or even monthly home pick-up.
Who can access the SerD
Everyone, regardless of where you are registered:
- Italian, EU, and non-EU citizens with a valid residence permit
- Undocumented foreigners with an STP card (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente — a card giving undocumented migrants access to urgent and essential care; the SerD is legally barred from reporting them: art. 35 D.Lgs. 286/1998)
- Minors from age 12 (family involvement required, with some protective exceptions)
- Family members of people with addiction (free support groups)
- People in prison: the SerD also operates inside Regina Coeli and Rebibbia prisons
If someone in your household uses heroin, you can ask the SerD for free naloxone (Narcan) — the antidote used in the event of an overdose.
SerD locations in Rome
ASL Roma 1 (city centre, Trastevere, Aurelio, Cassia): SerD Borgo Santo Spirito 3 (06 68352711), Via di Boccea 271 (06 68354680), Via Mattia Battistini 44 (06 68352890), Via di Vigna Stelluti 41 (06 68352800), Lungotevere della Vittoria 3 (06 68352770).
ASL Roma 2 (Tuscolano, Tiburtino, Prenestino, EUR): Via Lampedusa 11 (06 51008530), Via di Centocelle 6 (06 51008720), Via Casilina 711 (06 51008760), Via di Tor Bella Monaca 1 (06 51008910), Via di Acqua Bullicante 4 (06 51008790).
ASL Roma 3 (Ostia, Acilia, Fiumicino, Marconi): Via Mar dei Caraibi 51, Ostia (06 56486420), Via Portuense 484 (06 56484630), Via Pellegrino Matteucci 106 (06 56487960).
For 24-hour emergencies: call 118 (Italy's general emergency number) or go directly to Villa Maraini Croce Rossa (Croce Rossa Italiana — Italian Red Cross) — Via Bernardino Ramazzini 31 — 06 5810804.
Mistakes to avoid
- Never pay anyone to access the SerD. The service is free by law. Private detox centres that charge fees are not a substitute for the SerD pathway — always check that any private facility carries ASL accreditation.
- Do not stop substitute therapy on your own. Stopping methadone or buprenorphine without medical supervision dramatically raises the risk of overdose if you relapse.
- Do not believe anyone who tells you your employer or family will be notified. Anonymity is a legal right: the SerD cannot report you, except in the specific case where you are already on an alternative-to-prison measure and the magistrate has explicitly included this in your programme.
Special cases
Currently facing criminal proceedings? If you have a sentence of up to 6 years, you can ask the court to be placed under SerD supervision as an alternative to prison (art. 94 DPR 309/1990), provided there is a certified treatment programme in place.
Have a psychiatric condition alongside addiction (dual diagnosis)? Treatment is integrated between the SerD and the Centro di Salute Mentale (community mental-health centre). Specialised communities include: CEIS Don Mario Picchi (Via Ambrosini 129, 06 5407164), Villa Maraini, and Comunità di Capodarco (Via Lungara 12, 06 6868069).
Are you a mother with an addiction? There are mother-and-child therapeutic communities that protect the child while supporting the parent's recovery: Casa Vagamondo, Comunità Sant'Egidio, and Magliana 80 (Via Pieve Fosciana 9, 06 5577005).
Problem gambling? Contact the SerD GAP unit at your ASL: psychological assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, family support, and help applying for self-exclusion from online gambling sites through ADM (Agenzia Dogane e Monopoli — Italy's customs and monopolies authority, which oversees gambling regulation).
Official sources
- Ministry of Health — Addictions
- Ministry of Health — Alcohol
- Ministry of Health — Smoking
- Ministry of Health — Pathological Gambling
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità — Addictions
- Salute Lazio
- ASL Roma 1 — SerD
- Croce Rossa Italiana — Villa Maraini
- Department for Anti-Drug Policies
Free anonymous helplines: Drug Helpline ISS 800 186 070 (Mon–Fri 10–16) · Alcohol ISS 800 632 000 · Gambling 800 558 822 · Smoking ISS 800 554 088.
Legal references: DPR 9/10/1990 n. 309 (artt. 75, 94, 120), Legge 18/02/1999 n. 45, Legge 30/03/2001 n. 125, Accordo Stato-Regioni 21/01/1999, Legge 8/11/2012 n. 189 (Decreto Balduzzi), DPCM 12/01/2017, D.Lgs. 286/1998 art. 35.