Deciding to begin addiction treatment is one of the best choices you can make for your mental and physical health. But recovery from addiction isn’t easy—it takes time, dedication, and vigilance. Enrolling in an intensive outpatient program (IOP) can help you gain the tools and skills needed to build a healthy life in recovery.
Many people wonder what to expect in an IOP and how they can help patients achieve a healthy life. Know what to expect in an intensive outpatient program by contacting our caring team online or calling 888.687.8014. We can speak with you about your IOP expectations and help you start on your path to recovery today.
What Is an Intensive Outpatient Program?
As the name implies, this form of addiction treatment provides intense therapies and treatments. Unlike inpatient treatment, IOPs allow people to continue living at home and sleeping in their beds. But what are some intensive outpatient program expectations you can count on?
In general, IOPs provide the best evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders (SUDs), peer support for your recovery, and access to medical and psychiatric professionals trained in treating addiction.
People attending an IOP will typically participate in treatment three to four days a week for several hours at a time. Intensive outpatient programs are inherently flexible and often provide treatment at different hours of the day to accommodate people with busy schedules. Patients who may benefit from an IOP approach are often:
- People who don’t have severe addiction but require structure, accountability, and ongoing support.
- Those who are recently discharged from an inpatient center.
- People who cannot leave work or family obligations for the period required for residential addiction treatment.
As such, people who choose an IOP can often continue working and keeping up with family responsibilities. This makes it a clear choice for people who need help stopping substance use but can’t afford to go far from home for inpatient or residential treatment.
What to Expect in IOPs for Addiction Treatment
Learning what to expect in IOP is one of the first steps in deciding if this level of care is right for you. IOP offers several different services to help people achieve their goals, including:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Treatment for co-occurring disorders
- Relapse prevention programs
- 12-Step facilitation
- Peer-to-peer support
These and many more treatments work together to help people build the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to start their path to recovery.
On your first day of IOP, you’ll be introduced to several treatment options, complete an intake assessment with addiction professionals, and meet peers who are also striving toward recovery.
Treatment days are typically between three and six hours long, but your program can tell you the exact time you’ll be attending. After treatment, you return home to practice the skills you’ve learned until heading back for the next treatment day.
IOP Expectations for Each Patient
There are certain intensive outpatient program expectations of you when you start attending. IOP expectations are in place to ensure you get the most out of treatment, and writing them off as unimportant will only hurt your chances of sobriety. The key IOP expectations are that you:
- Be honest about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- Be willing to try new ideas
- Remain open-minded
- Try your best to remain sober
While these expectations are simple, we understand it’s not always easy. But making the effort to remain open, honest, and willing will go a long way to helping you build a better life in recovery.
Enroll in an Intensive Outpatient Program at Northpoint Omaha in Nebraska
The intensive outpatient program at Northpoint Omaha in Nebraska provides the very best in addiction treatment services for people who are struggling with a substance use disorder.
When you’re ready to enroll in an IOP, contact our team online or call 888.687.8014 to speak to one of our admissions professionals. They can tell you more about our comprehensive suite of addiction services, the levels of care available, and how to get started. And remember, recovery is possible no matter where you are in life.