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IOP Programs: How Flexibility in Recovery Can Help

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When considering addiction and mental health treatment, two common options often come to mind: inpatient treatment, where individuals reside full-time at a rehab facility, and outpatient care, which involves attending scheduled therapy and treatment sessions while living at home. IOP programs can be a wonderful middle ground between inpatient and outpatient care that offers more flexibility in recovery. 

 IOP programs fill a unique role in the recovery world, offering a valid, accessible middle ground between the framework of inpatient care and the flexibility of outpatient treatment. It’s a sound alternative for people who can’t commit to a residential rehab program or who may need an alternate approach to outpatient care.

IOP programs have grown in popularity because they impart value to anybody looking to work toward their recovery while balancing it alongside the responsibilities of daily life (which can often deter people from pursuing rehab). But what does an intensive outpatient program involve? How does it differ from conventional outpatient treatment?

Let’s take a look and explore why an IOP can be the best, tailor-made option for you or a loved one considering treatment.

What Is an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)?

An intensive outpatient program is designed to offer comprehensive, all-encompassing help for people struggling with addiction, substance abuse, or mental health disorders to reach complete recovery.

At Royal Life Center’s Chapter 5 facility, IOP programs fall somewhere in the middle of our levels of care hierarchy, which include:

  • Residential inpatient
  • Partial hospitalization programs, or PHPs
  • Intensive outpatient program
  • Outpatient treatment

 

IOPs involve more structure than a traditional outpatient program but a bit less immersive than an inpatient or residential program — where guests live onsite in the supervised conditions of a rehab facility — or a 12-week PHP, a recovery step taken after inpatient treatment.

The first question someone might have about IOP programs is to wonder how they differ from regular outpatient therapy. The answer is that between an IOP and a standard outpatient addiction treatment, they are both a form of flexible rehab, enabling you to attend treatment during the day and return home at night.

However, in an IOP, the therapy is more “intensive” in that you’ll attend your regularly scheduled therapy and counseling sessions more frequently, about three to four hours per day, three to five days a week, for about four to six weeks total.

And just like a conventional inpatient or outpatient plan, IOP therapy can include individual or group counseling sessions, plus holistic modalities (which we’ll further explore a bit in this article), with the same trusted clinicians: counselors, therapists, and medical and support staff.

Why Is Flexibility Important in Addiction Recovery?

As a flexible rehab option, IOP programs are valuable when the commitments of your day-to-day life present challenges to making a commitment to treatment. When your schedule doesn’t align with a more rigid residential program, whether it’s because of work, family obligations, or other responsibilities, a barrier to treatment may present itself and discourage someone from getting the help they need — and consequently, one’s substance abuse or mental health challenges may worsen, left untreated.

On the other hand, searching for an IOP near me allows you to schedule therapy sessions around your daily routine, so you receive care without compromising or sacrificing treatment or your needs outside of rehab. This flexibility means there’s no detachment or time spent away from your support network or family, which are invaluable lifelines on your recovery journey.

Other Outpatient Treatment Programs

IOPs are just one cornerstone of outpatient care. There are two other closely related options you might consider depending on the type of support you need, which also fall within our continuum of care mentioned above.

Partial Hospitalization Program

For substance abuse treatment, after completing a medical detox and residential inpatient program, the next step is a PHP or partial hospitalization program. It’s designed for people who have been medically cleared and no longer require the 24/7 monitoring that comes with living on-site as an inpatient, but as an IOP, it’s slightly more intensive and structured than an outpatient plan, ideal for those who need a higher standard of care, but are stable enough following treatment to return home in the evening.

At the Chapter 5 facility in Prescott, AZ, PHP is a 4-week program that includes group therapy six hours a day, six days a week.

Traditional Outpatient Program

Outpatient mental health treatment or outpatient addiction treatment for drugs and alcohol is the least intensive form of care. It’s geared toward people who have completed and transitioned out of an inpatient plan. It’s also suitable for those in the latter stages of recovery who require less frequent support.

The outcome? Outpatient treatment is an excellent way to sustain your recovery as you continue the momentum of therapy surrounded by like-minded peers with the same goal of healing and getting clean.

What Can IOP Programs Treat?

A bridge between inpatient and outpatient, IOP programs are ideal for navigating the complexities of recovery if you’ve arrived at treatment with a diagnosed condition. Some of them include:

IOP for Substance Use Disorders

A study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that 50% to 75% of people surveyed in treatment for alcohol addiction remained abstinent, without relapsing, after taking part in intensive outpatient programs for five days a week for nearly a month, followed by three weeks of weekly aftercare.

Dependency and addiction to drugs or alcohol can run deep, and these numbers prove the success of IOP’s evidence-based care aimed directly at guiding guests to sobriety. Modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are remarkably effective in getting to the heart of a substance use disorder, answering questions, and breaking down mental barriers to start overcoming a pattern of abuse. IOP is essential in helping you develop better-coping mechanisms behind why someone is compelled to drink or use drugs.

IOP for Mental Health Disorders

A 2020 NIH study also reaffirms the importance that an intensive outpatient program plays in treating mental health disorders, likening it to a missing therapeutic link in connecting inpatient to outpatient mental health treatment.

“We hypothesized that the duration of an IOP episode would positively reduce the use of higher levels of care while increasing the use of lower levels of care,” notes the study’s authors.

True to form, IOP programming provides full, complete support for people coping with issues ranging from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and other mental health challenges by providing therapy, medication management, and coping strategies.

IOP for Co-Occurring Disorders

Two percent of the population accounts for all adults with a co-occurring disorder — when someone is faced with a mental health disorder and substance abuse issue simultaneously. One may encourage the development of the other, which can exacerbate symptoms of both conditions. A co-occurring disorder qualifies someone to receive a dual diagnosis, where both problems are treated in tandem. Here, IOPs are uniquely positioned to address both aspects of a dual diagnosis struggle with the compassionate degree of integrated care that treats the whole individual.

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Key Components of IOP Programs

How are IOP programs constructed? They’re built around several core qualities:

Individualized Treatment Plans

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy since everyone’s relationship with addiction or mental health is individual and unique. Therefore, your therapy plan should also be as individualized as you are. Since IOPs are designed to be intensively targeted to treat key aspects of a diagnosed condition, that means your treatment plan is tailored to your needs and goals.

How does this happen? Upon enrolling in treatment, you’ll work with a case manager and therapist to put together a custom treatment plan that addresses your specific issues.

Individual and Group Therapy

Hand in hand, one-on-one talk therapy sessions with a counselor and time in group therapy, connecting you with like-minded people facing similar challenges, are fundamental aspects of intensive outpatient therapy. Group therapy is the primary form of treatment at the Chapter 5 center in Prescott, where you can choose portions of your own schedule, allowing you to decide which groups interest you most.

Evidence-Based Psychotherapy

The most effective outpatient treatment is rooted in evidence-based psychotherapy. Individual and group sessions are backed by evidence-based psychotherapies, which means they have been proven effective and supported through the best scientific and clinical evidence. At Royal Life Centers, clinicians utilize CBT, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), trauma-focused therapy, and more. By design, they’re proven to help you build healthier thought patterns and behaviors, inextricably linked to your recovery.

Holistic Recovery Options

An integrative outpatient treatment goes beyond the clinical and embraces the holistic. Holistic therapies treat your whole person through yoga, mindfulness meditation, and nutrition counseling, crafted so you can break free from substance abuse and become better conscious of your sober essence.

Holistic therapies address your mind, body, and spirit in unison to relieve stress, increase self-awareness, improve health, and change daily routines. Yoga, in particular, has been shown to help the brain rebuild neuronal disruptions caused by substance abuse, according to the NIH. It’s just one of the holistic options offered at the Chapter 5 center.

How Long Is an Intensive Outpatient Program?

How long does outpatient treatment take? After progressing through treatment and completing PHP, your intensive outpatient program is the final stage of the 12-week program at Royal Life Centers. IOP lasts for eight weeks and consists of two 4-week phases:

  • Week 1 (four weeks) consists of three hours of group therapy five days a week
  • Week 2 (four weeks) includes three hours of group therapy three days a week

 

What Happens After IOP?  

After completing the intensive therapy of IOP, it’s time to transition to a lower level of care.

Outpatient treatment is the last phase of therapy for a substance use or mental health disorder. After progressing through the different seasons, shades, and colors of a customized treatment plan, this step-down approach means you’re nearing completion of formal therapy.

Think of it like taking off your training wheels — you can attend therapy sessions during the day in your flexible rehab schedule and return home at night to live life to your fullest with the confidence to avoid relapses or succumb to triggers you’ve worked hard to identify by developing new, positive behaviors, all thanks to taking the brave step into treatment.

What Are the Benefits of IOP Treatment?

IOP programs are just one aspect of rehab, but they carry countless benefits indispensable to your total recovery:

Flexibility in Recovery

Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. The advantages of outpatient treatment as a flexible rehab cannot be emphasized enough. The opportunity to balance treatment with your daily responsibilities is perhaps the greatest benefit of IOP because it not only enables you to continue working, attending school, or caring for family, but it charges you with weaving your sobriety and mental health among the priorities most important to you.

Building a Support Network

The group therapy focus of an intensive outpatient program gives you the building blocks to construct a solid support network — other people in treatment who can share experiences, lean on each other, and foster lasting connections even when you’ve gone your separate ways after treatment finishes.

Relationships that maintain and sustain alongside your shared sobriety remain one of the most poignant and meaningful aspects that can define and shape your therapeutic experience.

Less Expensive Than Inpatient Care

Flexible rehab doesn’t just refer to scheduling. IOP programs are financially flexible — compared to residential treatment, they’re often more affordable while still offering high-quality care since there’s no requirement to pay for a bed or associated lodging costs. For people living on fixed incomes or on a budget, this makes outpatient addiction treatment an accessible option to receive treatment and achieve your goals.

Promote Long-Term Recovery

But the most important aspect — inarguably so — of IOP programs is the fact that they set you on the path to lasting success.

That road to recovery is paved with permanent inroads into your health, your well-being, and your insight, and you’re turning over a new leaf for a new lease on life. That’s what long-term, lasting success looks like when treatment is complete. And it’s thanks to the combination of structured care and your hard work.

Finding an Intensive Outpatient Program Near Me

The roadmap to sobriety may seem elusive, like being stuck at a crossroads, unsure of which direction to travel. But remember, you are your own compass. Know that help is possible, and recovery is a reality that’s within reach simply by picking up the phone or emailing us.

Royal Life Centers has several locations, but Chapter 5 focuses on providing top-of-the-line substance abuse treatment services to men who want to recover from drug or alcohol abuse. By signing up for an initial assessment, we can determine which treatment modality is right for you, where an intensive outpatient program is one option — a testament to the lasting, tangible power of personalized care.

Reach out to us today for more info.

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