kathy ireland® Recovery Centers

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

After completing a residential or partial hospitalization program, the intensive outpatient (IOP) level of care is a natural step on your recovery path. Intensive outpatient treatment is less immersive than at the residential or PHP level of care, which means you can resume many personal and professional responsibilities without leaving structured treatment altogether.

Intensive outpatient treatment is one step down from partial hospitalization. As a patient in our IOP program, you receive three hours of evidence-based treatment per day, five days a week either at our Laconia facility or via our virtual evening IOP program. Patients in our IOP programs live at home or in a recovery friendly, sober-living facility.

The IOP level of care is appropriate if you’re at the beginning of your treatment journey or nearing the end of your time in structured treatment. You can combine your time in IOP with private psychotherapy or community support meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). Stepping down to IOP from more immersive care allows you to ease into independent sobriety while maintaining accountability and staying connected to treatment professionals and recovery peers.

What is Intensive Outpatient Treatment?

If you’ve never been in treatment – but know you need treatment – and have a stable, safe, and supportive home environment, then our intensive outpatient treatment program may be what you need to create the change you need in your life. If you’re transitioning from the residential or PHP level of care, an IOP program allows you to take important steps toward independent recovery, with the advantage of daily support and advice from your treatment team and recovery peers.

Whether you are new to recovery or transitioning out of immersive care, our IOP program includes:

  • A full biopsychosocial assessment
  • Comprehensive medical evaluation
  • Medication review and management
  • Screening and treatment for co-occurring disorders and history of trauma
  • Personalized case management
  • A safe, comfortable, healthy healing environment
  • Evidence-based treatment
  • Case Management and Aftercare support

The goals of our IOP program are the same as the goals for our more immersive levels of care: we teach practical skills to help you regulate emotions, manage the symptoms of substance use disorder and/or co-occurring disorders, and prepare you for life after treatment. The primary difference between IOP and more immersive levels of care is that when you’re at the IOP level of care, you’re already halfway to life after treatment.

That means you get to practice what you learn.

We create a treatment plan to give you the tools you need to thrive in independent recovery. When you’re in an intensive outpatient treatment program, you can apply these skills in real-world situations, then return to treatment the next day and get feedback and support from your treatment team and recovery peers. They help you decide what to keep and what to discard, based on your real-life experiences. This creates a significant advantage as you move toward independent sobriety.

Intensive Outpatient Program

What Happens During Intensive Outpatient Treatment?

During an IOP program at kathy ireland® Recovery Centers, you receive a half day of evidence-based treatment and support for substance use or co-occurring disorders, five days a week, but live off-site at home or in a recovery friendly sober living facility.

At the IOP level of care, your personalized, integrated, treatment plan will include a combination of the following therapeutic approaches:

Happy family: mother, father, children son and daughter on nature on sunset

Psychotherapy:

  • Individual therapy
  • Group therapy
  • Family therapy

Medication-assisted Treatment:

  • For patients in detox from:
    • Alcohol
    • Opioids
  • Ongoing medication for patients with:
    • Opioid use disorder (OUD)
    • Alcohol use disorder (AUD)

Experiential Therapy:

  • Yoga
  • Mindfulness
  • Meditation

Expressive Therapy:

  • Music
  • Art
  • Writing/journaling

Community and Peer Support Groups:

  • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
  • Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

Your plan will change over time as you grow and change over time. It’s designed to be responsive, adaptable, and meet your individual needs as they arise. You’ll work with your treatment team and recovery peers to fine-tune the plan, but in the end, you become the expert, and decide what works, what doesn’t, and which elements of your plan give you the best chance at maintaining sustainable, long-term recovery.

Case Management and Aftercare Services

As an IOP patient at kathy ireland® Recovery Centers, a case manager participates in your treatment from the moment you arrive. They stay with you the entire time you’re in treatment to advocate on your behalf and ensure you get the appropriate care at the appropriate level at the appropriate time. They work to eliminate gaps in treatment and mitigate barriers to care. They use information from our comprehensive intake and assessment process to guide treatment planning, monitor treatment progress, and plan any support services you need. Your case manager will learn about your:

  • Individual treatment preferences
  • Recovery goals
  • Unique cultural, religious, or social needs
  • Personal motivations for recovery

They use that information to tailor your treatment program while you’re with us, but more importantly, they’ll use what they learn to craft your ongoing sobriety and aftercare plan.

Intensive Outpatient Program

The Importance of Aftercare: Improved Outcomes

An intentional, high-quality, comprehensive aftercare plan reduces your risk of relapse. Your case manager will provide referrals to the private and community-based resources you need for successful, long-term recovery. The more resources and support you have upon discharge, the easier it will be to stay on track and achieve long-term sobriety.

Our case managers work with you to tailor your aftercare plan to meet your individual needs. If you step-down from IOP to a less immersive level of care, your case manager may arrange a referral for:

  • Outpatient treatment programs (OP)
  • Telehealth: OP programs may happen virtually or via a safe and secure video platform
  • Clinical support as appropriate

If you finish any treatment program at any level of care and are ready to live independently, your case manager may provide referrals for the following:

  • Job training and placement services
  • Services to address housing instability
  • Services to address food instability
  • Individual or group psychotherapy
  • 12-Step or self-help meetings
  • Doctor’s offices or community health centers

We know that when you complete a treatment program and take your first steps toward independence, you may feel like you’re walking a tightrope without a net.

The goal of case management and aftercare is to provide a net.

The purpose of the net is not so much to catch you if you fall – although it will do that – but to give you the confidence you need to put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. We want you to you feel safe and secure with every step you take. As time passes, your confidence grows, and you realize you’re no longer on a tightrope: you’re on solid ground you created through your hard work, commitment, and belief in a better future.

We Empower You on Your Recovery Journey

We believe in you.

We believe you have the internal strength and courage it takes to meet the challenges of recovery – and we’ll walk by your side long after your formal time in structured treatment concludes.

We know the disordered use of substances can create significant challenges.

In addition to negative emotional, psychological, and physical consequences, we know addiction can cause financial problems, job loss, and, in some cases, homelessness. We offer treatment for substance use and co-occurring disorders, and we know that with a solid continuing care plan, we can also help you rebuild your life. Our clinical staff treats your mind and body, while our case managers can connect you to community resources for housing support, vocational support, and whatever you need to live the life of your choosing.

Intensive Outpatient Program

You focus on recovery. We focus on you.

Our intensive outpatient treatment program provides a safe space where you learn the skills you need to navigate recovery and live a full, independent life based on your personal vision of health and wellbeing. The team at kathy ireland® Recovery Centers is here to offer compassionate support and evidence-based treatment. When you’re ready for change, we’re ready for you.

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