LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2006--Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM), a healthcare services management company that licenses the PROMETA(TM) physiological protocols designed to treat substance dependence, announced today that Naples, Florida based AAR Counseling Services has entered into an agreement to license the PROMETA(TM) protocols for alcoholism and stimulant dependence to its network of five intensive, outpatient addiction counseling locations. Treatments for the network will be performed at AAR's Naples location under the direction of Medical Director Dr. Vladimir Mathieu.

"We are excited by the opportunity to provide this innovative medical treatment option to the patients we counsel for addiction," said Theresa Finer, Executive Director of AAR Counseling Services. "PROMETA allows us to expand our services to our patient base and may increase our ability to seek better outcomes. The combination of medical treatment with our psychosocial approach should help towards better outcomes for us and a sustained recovery for those whom we treat."

AAR is Hythiam's most recent licensee in Florida. Last month, the Company entered into a licensing agreement with two of Compass Health Systems' seven behavioral health care sites in the South Florida region. AAR increases the total number of Hythiam licensed sites in Florida to six, including The Village South in Miami, Recovery from Addictions in Naples, and Life Works in Fort Meyers. "AAR Counseling Services has a compelling opportunity to leverage its network of counselors and approximately 700 patients per month in order to generate referrals for treatment with PROMETA," said Terren S. Peizer, Hythiam's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This license continues our strategy of targeting major metropolitan service areas, especially in key markets such as Florida, where we can scale our marketing efforts on a cost-effective basis to drive patient volumes where we have established capacity. We look forward to their contribution in our mutual effort to provide better care for those afflicted with substance dependence, and we welcome them to the family of PROMETA licensees."

About AAR Counseling Services

In business for over 10 years, AAR Counseling Services has five locations providing outpatient counseling and aftercare services for substance dependence, in three Florida counties. AAR provides ambulatory detox and a range of counseling options including individual, couples, family, group, and intensive outpatient programs. AAR is also certified by the State of Florida to provide education and credentialing for addiction professionals, under direction of Ms. Finer, Executive Director of AAR Counseling Services in Naples, Florida and the president of the Southwest Florida Rehabilitation Association. Ms. Finer has worked in the addictions counseling field for over 18 years. She is a Board Certified Addictions Counselor and a Board Certified Domestic Violence Counselor and Board Certified Forensic Specialist. Before relocating to Florida, she conducted a private practice in Reading, Pennsylvania. She has designed group programs for treating people with codependency, ACOA addictive disorders, and other disorders. Ms. Finer is co-author of a book titled "The Group Counseling Handbook." She has been a presenter at National State Conferences, and has written articles for a number of organizations.

About PROMETA(TM)

Hythiam's PROMETA(TM) treatment protocols are designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamines, as well as combinations of these drugs. The PROMETA(TM) protocols include medically supervised procedures designed to address both the neurochemical imbalances in the brain and some of the nutritional deficits caused or worsened by substance dependence. Changes in brain chemistry and function play an important role in the physical and behavioral symptoms of substance dependence, including tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, craving and relapse. The PROMETA(TM) protocols also provide for one-month of prescription medication and nutritional supplements, combined with psychosocial or other recovery-oriented therapy chosen by the patient in conjunction with their treatment provider. As a result, PROMETA(TM) represents an innovative approach to managing alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine dependence that is designed to address physiological, nutritional and psychosocial aspects of the disease, and is thereby intended to offer patients an opportunity to achieve sustained recovery.

About Hythiam, Inc.

Hythiam(R) is a healthcare services management company, focused on delivering solutions for those suffering from alcoholism and other substance dependencies. Hythiam researches, develops, licenses and commercializes innovative physiological treatment protocols that seek to address substance dependence. Additionally, Hythiam provides proprietary administrative services to assist physicians and facilities with staff education, marketing and sales support, and outcomes tracking for data analysis. For further information, please visit www.hythiam.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of statistically significant formal research studies, the risk that treatment protocols might not be effective, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and substantial regulation in the healthcare industry; and additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at http://www.sec.gov.