Addiction is a difficult disease that affects many people and their families, and relapsing can seem like a huge step backward. Recovery from addiction is not just a detox, and it’s also not always a one-way street. IOP, or intensive outpatient program, is a flexible, but structured, way to bridge the gap between inpatient care and independent living for those in recovery. At Symtria Recovery, we are dedicated to serving our patients and bringing them a lasting recovery. We’re going to give you a bit more information on IOP and how it can be beneficial to those who may be in recovery in your life.
What is an Intensive Outpatient Program?
Intensive outpatient programs, or IOPs, are treatment plans for those who have struggled with substance abuse. It involves a personalized treatment plan that takes a person’s needs, strengths, risks, support system, and goals into consideration to build a plan that works best for them. It’s best for individuals who don’t need detoxification or 24-hour supervision, which allows them to maintain their daily lives like attending work, school, or events with a flexible schedule. It can also include things like therapy, education, support groups, and relapse planning.
Intensive Outpatient Program vs Inpatient Programs
The big difference between intensive outpatient programs and inpatient programs is that with IOPs, the patient will stay at their home or a sober living environment and can live their lives as normally by attending work or school and taking on home responsibilities. With inpatient treatments, the patients will stay in a facility where they will live and sleep. They are monitored 24/7, and they get assistance and care around the clock.
How IOP Breaks the Addiction Cycle
IOP isn’t an end-all-be-all type of recovery situation, but it provides a system that is structured enough to prevent relapse, while not taking away from the person’s livelihood. Recovery can include multiple different stages and can be difficult to navigate on their own, which is where IOP comes in. This program also targets the underlying causes of addiction, which can help them to get the help they need for these underlying issues, which diminishes the need to “Escape” through addiction. This program has many different benefits within it that help with recovery and put the person recovering in a much better position than they’d find themselves in if they weren’t in an IOP.
Key Ways IOP Prevents Relapse
Intensive outpatient programs prevent relapse in a lot of different ways, as the structure of the program allows for many benefits that help with recovery and prevent relapse. Here’s a look at some of the ways that IOP can prevent relapse:
Personalized Support: The support for each patient isn’t the same, and this program uses personalization to ensure that the program can work specifically for the person. Not everyone is the same, so their recovery and relapse prevention methods shouldn’t be the same either.
Ongoing Counseling: The ongoing counseling and therapy portion of this program allows the person to continually get the help they need so that they never feel alone. In recovery, it’s important to keep them positive and get help to avoid relapses that would otherwise surface.
Maintaining Livelihood: Recovery can be a difficult process, and a lot of times it is more difficult to go through recovery when the person feels like they can no longer live their life normally. IOPs allow the patient to go to school, work, or do home responsibilities while still maintaining their safe home for recovery.
Relapse Prevention Planning: This program doesn’t shun away from relapse, but instead it plans for what steps to take in the event that a relapse does happen. Patients will use real-world coping strategies and skills that they can use in case they feel a relapse may be coming.
Monitoring and Adjustments: Every stage in the recovery process is different, which means that constant monitoring and adjustments may need to be made as the person goes through this process. This allows the team to combat challenges that may arise and change plans based on progress in recovery.
Long-term Benefits of IOP
There are long-term benefits of IOP that can help to make a longer-lasting effect on patients who use this type of program. Here is a look at these long-term benefits that are associated with intensive outpatient programs:
- It’s great for staying within the realm of real life due to the flexibility, making it great for students, parents, or working adults
- Builds the foundation of independence without skipping out on the support portion
- Teaches patients lifelong coping skills and emotional regulation
- Builds confidence within themselves and the recovery process
- Encourages accountability and helps with healing through different transitions
Why Should You Choose Symetria Recovery for an Intensive Outpatient Program?
Choosing the right treatment center and recovery program can make all the difference in how the recovery goes and the way that your future will look with lasting sobriety. There are many different reasons why Symetria Recovery’s IOP might be the best fit for you, so let’s dive more into why it can be a great option.
Personalized Care: The personalized care that comes with this program is important to help address the root causes of addiction, daily stressors, and any mental health concerns that may affect recovery. With every patient being different, their recovery plan should be different as well.
Flexible Scheduling: We know that keeping your independence and personality is very important even when going through recovery. With our program, you’re able to go to work, school, and take care of home responsibilities, so you don’t have to put your life on hold while getting the care that you deserve.
Compassionate Environment: We pride ourselves on having a compassionate environment for all of our patients to recover in. We understand how difficult it is to recover from addiction, and we are here to provide every resource we can to get you through it.
Is an Intensive Outpatient Program Right for You?
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction and looking to recover in the most independent, but compassionate and structured way possible, then IOP might be for you. We’ve gone over multiple different benefits that come with a program like this, and it continues to be a great resource for many parents, students, and working-class people who have daily lives they still want to show up for. IOP is a great way to break the cycle and give you adequate resources while maintaining independence to fight to recovery and get the care and compassion you need while doing it. If you’re interested in learning more about Symtria Recovery’s intensive outpatient program, contact us, and we can get you set up with a consultation.