What is the intensive outpatient program? It is a type of treatment program that is used to treat various health concerns, including depression, eating disorders, drug dependency and self harm. In most cases this kind of treatment does not require detox. However, there are occasions in which detox is necessary. Generally, IOP does not involve the intensive residential services that are commonly provided by sophisticated treatment amenities.
How Does The Program Work?
It is prudent to understand how the program works. A patient will be screened to evaluate his or her suitability for the program. This will involve an examination and treatment for withdrawal potential by a talented and experienced Drug and Alcohol Counselor.
Each and every individual will be given a treatment plan, which will be updated throughout the treatment. A person will be required to attend about four sessions a week, depending on the practitioner. For instance, LADC may ask the patient to attend sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Note that phase one will take at least 4 weeks.
After completing Phase 1, an individual is required to attend a weekly aftercare group for about 10 weeks (Phase 2).
Benefits of Intensive Outpatient Treatment
Several people see outpatient program as a less-efficient approach to fighting alcohol or drug dependency. However, this is a foolish thought. Intensive outpatient addiction treatment offers the patients most of the services that are found in a residential facility. This form of treatment is recommended for those who cannot drop everything to attend a residential facility. Therefore outpatient program brings remedies and fills the gap between different forms of treatment to ensure that all people can access the services with ease. The benefits include:
The best care
The people who seek for services in intensive outpatient program are assured of getting treatment and guidance from the experienced professionals. Many counselors will stay with an individual throughout the session and interact with him or her. This is crucial in recovery plan.
Regular guidance and support
The journey to recovery is difficult and thus many people require guidance and support from family, friends and professionals in order to achieve addiction recovery success. Since this program allows people to stay with their loved ones at home, it is considered the best form of addiction treatment plan.
People Can Perform Their Daily Duties
This kind of program can allow people continue working while they are taking part in outpatient treatment. However, in some cases this may not be possible. If the treatment schedule allows, then one can carry on working in his or her respective company while he or she is undergoing treatment.
Maintaining Family Responsibilities
Residential treatment offers majority of people an opportunity to leave home and concentrate fully in their treatment. However, the people with the family to take care of find it hard to stay away from home for a longer period of time. Outpatient intensive program offers parents an opportunity to exercise their roles at home while they are recovering from drug dependency.
Principles of Outpatient Treatment
There are a number of valuable outpatient principles that include:
Make Treatment Readily Accessible
Medical and clinical studies have found that IOP is both viable and effective method to treat a wide range of disorders, including stress and chemical dependency. Intensive outpatient programs have been modified to meet several special groups of people that comprise of:
- People who are financially challenged
- Pregnant women
- Individuals suffering from brain disorders
- The Treatment Should Be Easy and Welcoming
A good IOP should be easy to access. This implies that the policies and procedures need to be scrutinized to ensure that they are user friendly. Any procedure or policy that makes the entire process complex should be removed. For instance, delay in admission can shun away individuals seeking for treatment or even force them drop out of the program.
Build On Existing Motivation
The strategies used should be able to nurture client’s motivation. There are several reasons that can force people to seek treatment. Some of these reasons include negative effects associated with substance use, for example, job insecurity, pressure from friends and family, health concerns, arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, family issues and more. When a client seeks help from a counselor, it means that he or she has desire for treatment.
Other principles of IOP include enhancing therapeutic alliance, making retention a priority, matching the treatment with the client’s needs and more.
