What is an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)?
Addiction treatment can be a step-down process, starting with detox from cocaine addiction, opiate addiction or any other substance abuse disorder, and progressing toward aftercare. Toward the end of a standard treatment strategy, there is an intensive outpatient program, frequently referred to as IOP. At DreamLife Recovery near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this level of care generally begins after PHP, or partial hospitalization program.
At DreamLife Recovery, our focus is on encouraging and strengthening the recovery skills acquired while in PHP. This includes goal-setting and regular meetings with various intensive outpatient program support teams that turn your ideas into successful, life-enhancing habits. The Intensive Outpatient Program near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at DreamLife Recovery allows you, or a loved one, to transition back into your community, while retaining the structure of effective treatment. The intensive aspect includes nine hours per week of continued support through individual and various group therapies
If you or a loved one are eager to strengthen recovery skills and achieve sobriety goals, the Intensive Outpatient Program at DreamLife Recovery may be the outpatient rehab program you need. This program, aimed at tackling drug addiction and alcohol abuse, will allow patients to adjust to their new life of recovery and fulfillment.
An Intensive Outpatient Rehab Program may be ideal for:
- Individuals who do not need a medically-supervised detox program to defeat their drug addiction
- Anyone who has ever gone through treatment for a substance abuse disorder and relapsed in the past
- Individuals who do not have complications, such as co-occurring substance abuse disorders or trauma
- Despite the severity of cocaine addiction, opiate addiction or alcohol abuse, anyone who has only used a substance for a short period of time
- Any individual who has critical obligations or responsibilities, such as caring for young children
Outpatient rehab programs provide more independence and flexibility than inpatient programs, but may not be appropriate for everyone. Certain individuals who may have been addicted for years, or to substances with potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms, should consider Intensive Outpatient Programs only as part of a continuum of care. Ideally, they would have already participated in both detox, as well as partial hospitalization programs.
The average length of stay in our IOP program is three to six weeks. Clients will receive treatment three, five, or seven times per week-day or night. Our team will provide ample attention to every client at this level of care. At Dreamlife Recovery, we take great pride in providing you with small groups for group therapy and the opportunity for one-on-one counseling with counselors who can make you their top priority. Each client will receive at least nine hours of onsite services in Donegal, PA per week, including:
- Counseling and education on substance abuse and chemical dependency
- Self-evaluation of substance use patterns and their impact on an individual’s life
- Developing appropriate sobriety strategies to defeat their substance abuse disorder
Clients also receive a minimum of one hour of individual counseling per week. The focus is primarily on therapeutic reprocessing, education, and relapse prevention. At the end of the three-to-six-week period, or when a client is ready, they be will be transitioned to a more independent level of care as they prepare to return to their homes and communities
Our residential, PHP, and IOP all provide family therapy. Whether you step from our PHP program to our IOP, or if you start in our IOP, we invite your family to family therapy, if you consent. Typically, you will reside in a sober living community or at home during IOP, unlike the inpatient treatment programs. We encourage you to take part in normal day to day activities during the IOP.
One of the main attractions of our outpatient treatment is that it is only three to six weeks. This means that if you have a high-stress job that you need to keep your attention on, and/or you are the caretaker of someone who is ill, or has a disability, you can get back to your responsibilities soon. You will also return with better coping skills that will help keep you healthy and safe. Participating in our IOP will also give you time to care for any young children you might have.
After progressing through our IOP, you will go to our aftercare program. Our aftercare program helps you continue your sobriety and it allows you to build a support network of other people with an addiction disorder. Besides allowing you to stay with your children, and any other loved ones who might depend on you, IOP allows you to either go back to or stay at work. In our program, we can coach employers on how to help you in your day to day work life. Recovery is an ongoing process and there are many times that you could be tempted in your day to day life. But there are some workarounds that DreamLife Recovery can help you find. For instance, if you work at a grocery store that sells liquor, it would be important to admit to yourself that you might, at least at first, struggle to be near so much alcohol without purchasing some to take home and drink.
We can help you find ways to talk to your employer about not having alcohol readily available at company parties and get-togethers. If you work in a medical clinic, we can help you negotiate ways that you will not be able to access the drugs that you were addicted to.
If you are a stay at home parent, we can help you find ways to better explain to your spouse/partner that having any alcohol in the house presents a danger to your sobriety. We can also help you plan get-togethers with friends that don’t involve drinking socially.
There are many tips and tricks we can teach you, in our outpatient program close to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about how to lower stress in your life. Part of the reason some people start abusing alcohol and/or drugs is the extreme amount of stress in their day to day lives.
We provide you with spiritual counseling, if you want it. Our spiritual counseling is not restricted by religion or denomination. You are also encouraged to interact with your spiritual leader, if you so choose, and have one of your own already
In our IOP program, we continue to encourage healthy eating and physical fitness. We prepare nutritious meals and you have access to our private gyms. Contact us today to see if IOP is right for you.
