Intensive Outpatient Program
Intensive Outpatient Program
The intensity level of the programs in substance abuse and behavioral health treatment can widely vary. For example, inpatient treatment programs are more intense than outpatient treatment programs. As a result, patients in inpatient treatment programs tend to have more serious conditions than those in outpatient treatment programs.
Still, there are some outpatient programs that are quite intense. One of these programs is literally known as an intensive outpatient program or IOP. Therefore, whether you’re dealing with intensive outpatient treatment for addiction or intensive outpatient therapy for mental health, IOPs provide you with the best of both worlds.
To further understand the intensive outpatient program, you must first understand how it differs from other inpatient and outpatient programs. You must also understand the benefits
of IOPs.
What is An Intensive Outpatient Program?
An intensive outpatient program is an addiction treatment and/or behavioral health program that requires its patients to attend treatment for a few hours a day, three to five days a week. IOPs allow their patients to live in the comfort of their own homes when not receiving treatment. This allows the patients of IOPs to upkeep their day-to-day responsibilities while attending treatment.
Intensive outpatient programs are considered intense because they squeeze a ton of treatment into such a small amount of time. Therefore, you can attend an intensive outpatient program while still maintaining a day job.
Benefits of Intensive Outpatient Program
There are many benefits to attending an intensive outpatient program. Some of these key benefits are listed below.
One of the top benefits of intensive outpatient programs is how affordable they are. In comparison to inpatient treatments or even partial hospitalization program (PHP) treatments, IOPs are inexpensive.
One of the costs that inpatient treatment programs have that IOPs don’t is the cost of housing. This is because inpatient treatment programs require their patients to live at the treatment facilities that they’re receiving treatment at.
Another aspect of inpatient treatment that makes it cost more than IOP is its length of time. Inpatient treatment occurs 24/7 for months on end. As a result, you or your insurance provider must pay for those 24/7 services. These costs can add up.
With IOP treatment, on the other hand, you only have to cover the cost of a few hours a day for the few days of the week that you have treatment. The affordability of IOP treatment is high in comparison to inpatient treatment. So much so that even insurance companies rather cover the costs of IOPs rather than inpatient treatment.
One of the top benefits of intensive outpatient programs is how affordable they are. In comparison to inpatient treatments or even partial hospitalization program (PHP) treatments, IOPs are inexpensive.
One of the costs that inpatient treatment programs have that IOPs don’t is the cost of housing. This is because inpatient treatment programs require their patients to live at the treatment facilities that they’re receiving treatment at.
Another aspect of inpatient treatment that makes it cost more than IOP is its length of time. Inpatient treatment occurs 24/7 for months on end. As a result, you or your insurance provider must pay for those 24/7 services. These costs can add up.
With IOP treatment, on the other hand, you only have to cover the cost of a few hours a day for the few days of the week that you have treatment. The affordability of IOP treatment is high in comparison to inpatient treatment. So much so that even insurance companies rather cover the costs of IOPs rather than inpatient treatment.
One of the top benefits of intensive outpatient programs is how affordable they are. In comparison to inpatient treatments or even partial hospitalization program (PHP) treatments, IOPs are inexpensive.
One of the costs that inpatient treatment programs have that IOPs don’t is the cost of housing. This is because inpatient treatment programs require their patients to live at the treatment facilities that they’re receiving treatment at.
Another aspect of inpatient treatment that makes it cost more than IOP is its length of time. Inpatient treatment occurs 24/7 for months on end. As a result, you or your insurance provider must pay for those 24/7 services. These costs can add up.
With IOP treatment, on the other hand, you only have to cover the cost of a few hours a day for the few days of the week that you have treatment. The affordability of IOP treatment is high in comparison to inpatient treatment. So much so that even insurance companies rather cover the costs of IOPs rather than inpatient treatment.
Another benefit of IOPs is the ability that they give you to still live your life as you did before. This is unlike inpatient treatment or even PHP. This is because those treatments require you to spend all of your days, and sometimes even nights, at your treatment center. Due to the flexibility of IOPs, you can maintain your job and day-to-day responsibilities while in treatment.
A final benefit of IOPs is the fact that you can maintain your privacy while attending them. This is partly because of how easy it is to be an IOP patient without noticeably altering your life. Therefore, it’s hard for people to tell if you’re receiving rehab or not when you’re an IOP patient. The staff at IOP facilities are dedicated to helping you maintain your privacy by not leaking any information about you.
One way that IOP for behavioral health can benefit a person is by helping the patient gain more self-awareness. This is because intensive outpatient therapy helps patients understand why they struggle with certain things.
Another benefit of intensive outpatient therapy is that it helps provide patients with coping mechanisms. Such coping mechanisms can help patients manage their thoughts and emotions. Coping methods learned in therapy can also help patients with addiction better learn how to deal with their triggers.
Who Benefits The Most From Intensive Outpatient Programs
While intensive outpatient programs are very beneficial, there are certain types of people to who they cater best. Some of the characteristics of the people who benefit the most from intensive outpatient programs are listed below.
Patients who are transitioning from treatment into the real world benefit from intensive outpatient therapy. This is because it helps give extra support and life tools at a time when the real world appears overwhelming.
IOP for behavioral health is best for patients transitioning from residential treatment because patients in this type of treatment program live at their treatment facility. Therefore, their access to the real world is limited. This makes the real world even more overwhelming when they get back into it.
If your home life is stable and filled with supportive people, intensive outpatient therapy for behavioral health is for you. This is because intensive outpatient therapy allows patients to spend a large amount of time at home. Therefore, only those whose home life is stable and filled with support can stay in a healthy enough mindset in-between therapy sessions to make it effective.
Intensive outpatient programs are better suited for people who already completed detox. This is because the medical attention given in IOPs isn’t as constant as those in inpatient or partial hospitalization programs. Therefore, if you need to enter a treatment program with high-quality detox and medical services, you should attend inpatient, residential, or PHP treatment.
People are less likely to relapse if they already attended detox and are taking their addiction treatment seriously. People are also less likely to relapse if they are further along in their addiction treatment journey.
Intensive outpatient treatment is only the second to last most powerful treatment program. Therefore, people who attend this form of treatment are far enough in their treatment journey to not need top-level treatment.
Intensive Outpatient Program Vs. Partial Hospitalization Program
Intensive outpatient programs differ from partial hospitalization programs in that IOPs only occur for a few hours a day for three to five days a week. Partial hospitalization programs, on the other hand, occur for up to six hours, five to six days a week.
As a result, you can maintain a day job while attending IOP treatment, but you can’t do so with a PHP. IOPs are similar to PHPs though, in that they both allow their patients to live in their own homes in-between treatments.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment Vs. Outpatient Treatment
IOP treatment differs from regular outpatient treatment in that outpatient treatment only occurs for one or two hours, one or two days a week. Intensive outpatient treatment on the other hand occurs for a few hours a day, three to five days a week. While both are similar, intensive outpatient treatment is slightly more intense than outpatient treatment.
Intensive Outpatient Therapy For Behavioral Health
Intensive outpatient therapy focuses on helping patients with behavioral health disorders like addiction. During intensive outpatient therapy, patients attend therapy for a few hours a day, three to five days a week. These patients are allowed to go home when not in treatment. This allows them to practice utilizing the lessons and coping mechanisms that they learned in therapy.
During intensive outpatient therapy, patients can receive medications from psychiatrists to help treat any behavioral health disorders. Patients may also speak with a doctor to see if their mental disorder is causing them to experience physical symptoms. Intensive outpatient therapy for behavioral health can occur in a one-on-one individual therapy format, group therapy, or even family therapy.
Let Tulua Health Help You Right Now!
We here at Tulua Health know how important it is to provide addiction treatment options that can cater to a variety of people. That’s why we provide many programs to varying outpatient treatment programs with quality sober living homes in Santa Monica.
Our wonderful staff incorporates behavioral health treatment into everything that we do. That’s why we also provide intensive outpatient therapy for behavioral health. To learn more about our different addiction treatment services, contact us today.
