Benefits of an Intensive Outpatient Program

The Difference Between Intensive Outpatient Programs And An Inpatient Program

Drug addiction is a complex mental health condition involving compulsive drug and alcohol abuse that interferes with someone’s ability to live a responsible, healthy, and satisfying life. During the most intense periods of an addiction, many patients lose interest in everything but their substance addiction, prioritizing getting high over their family, their professional life, and even basic daily routines like keeping up with personal hygiene. However, with time and treatment, most individuals can eventually achieve addiction recovery and put drug and alcohol abuse behind them.

Individuals seeking care for substance abuse have two major options when choosing a rehabilitation center: outpatient treatment, or residential (inpatient) treatment. Residential treatment involves clients living at the treatment facility 24/7, so that the temptation to use drugs is virtually nonexistent.

Patients who require inpatient services are typically those in early recovery from relatively severe drug and alcohol addiction, who are at a very high risk of relapse if unsupervised. A residential program is often the first step in an individual’s recovery, as inpatient treatment is also often necessary to ensure safe detox if a patient’s drug abuse has escalated into a full chemical dependency.

However, intensive outpatient programs may be an option for people seeking addiction treatment who cannot commit to inpatient programs due to other responsibilities, who have a high level of family support, or who have already completed inpatient treatment but are still in need of significant support.

Many of the benefits of intensive outpatient programs are similar to those of inpatient treatment. However, intensive outpatient programs usually cost less than residential treatment, and can be undertaken while allowing patients much more flexibility in their daily life.

This lesser commitment allows individuals to move through recovery at their own pace, potentially continuing to keep up with a work schedule or with their family obligations even while undergoing intensive treatment.

Also known as an IOP program, an intensive outpatient program may require up to eight hours a day of treatment on up to five days a week for patients who need a high level of support. But another of the benefits of intensive outpatient programs is that the amount of time spent in therapy can gradually be reduced as patients become more independent, with such step-down models being common in outpatient treatment.

Benefits Of Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Now that you know what sets an intensive outpatient treatment program apart from a residential program, we can delve a little more deeply into what recovery resources an IOP program is likely to offer.

An intensive outpatient program often involves highly specialized and scientifically supported advanced recovery systems like dialectal behavioral therapy, which is designed to improve patients’ mindfulness, emotional regulation skills, and communication skills.

Group therapy is also often a part of IOP treatment. Similar to and sometimes inspired by outside support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, these group sessions give patients a chance to connect with one another as they process the trauma of their experiences of addiction and unpack the painful feelings they were trying to bury under their substance abuse.

These support groups provide many patients with a support network by facilitating lasting friendships with those who are in a similar place in their recovery, creating a sense of shared motivation that can be invaluable in sustaining that recovery. A treatment facility may also facilitate this continual connection and further encourage the development of a recovery community with an alumni program for those who have completed their treatment.

Outpatient treatment can also involve family therapy, which invites family members into the therapeutic process. These sessions benefit both those in treatment and their loved ones by helping both parties to work through any family issues that may have contributed to an individual’s addiction or that their addiction may have caused. Family members may also be taught how they can provide emotional support to their loved one in early recovery, and how they can establish healthier dynamics going forward.

Another common service in substance abuse treatment is medication management. Since many people with addiction also struggle with mental health problems that may benefit from pharmaceutical treatment, treatment staff usually includes a psychiatrist who can provide the necessary access to these medications. Some clients also find it easier to focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of their recovery if given access to medications that suppress their physical substance cravings, especially in the case of opioid abuse.

An outpatient program may also strive to provide more holistic benefits to their clientele, which is thought to facilitate recovery by healing the whole person in mind, body, and spirit as opposed to focusing only on the matter of abstinence from addictive substances. For example, a treatment facility may offer access to activities like yoga and horseback riding, nutritional education, therapeutic excursions, or expressive arts activities.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment At Reco Intensive

If you or someone you love is currently struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, you may want to consider Reco Intensive for addiction treatment. Our intensive outpatient program utilizes advanced recovery systems to bring our clients the best treatment possible, from traditional recovery techniques to cutting edge treatment like EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy) and neuro-integration, which helps clients achieve recovery by making them more mindful of their brain’s workings.

We also encourage long term recovery with aspects of our program like Reco Professional, which helps our clients to attain stability by assisting them with job placement, and with our alumni program, which gives graduates of our outpatient program a platform to stay in touch and to share their experiences and successes in their recoveries.

Our Delray Beach facility is well-respected and accredited by the Joint Commission International, the Better Business Bureau, and the National Institute of Health as well as several other reputable organizations.

To speak to a qualified admissions representative, feel free to call us anytime at 844.955.3042 or to contact us online anytime here. There’s no time to lose in getting back on the road to recovery and a brighter future.