Intensive Outpatient Program for Addiction Treatment

Intensive outpatient programs have evolved and increased in popularity over the years, as clinicians have come to better understand substance abuse as a “chronic” disorder, rather than an acute one. This means it often takes time and continued effort to heal, and many people engage in IOPs well beyond the standard 4–12 weeks of care.³

At Recovery First Treatment Center in Hollywood, Florida, our IOP can serve either as an entry point to treatment or as a “step down” from inpatient rehab or our partial hospitalization program. Our daytime and evening IOP programs offer treatments for 3 hours per day, 3–5 days a week at our rehab facility near Miami in Hollywood, FL.

Much of the IOP addiction treatment curriculum is similar to and utilizes the same evidence-based approaches as our inpatient or residential drug and alcohol rehab but is delivered in a more condensed format.

Intensive outpatient rehab programming at our Hollywood, FL addiction treatments facility may include:

• Group, individual, and family counseling.
• Comprehensive medical evaluations of physical and psychological health.
• Treatment for co-occurring mental disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression).
• Medication management, when appropriate.
• Life skills training.
• 12-Step or other mutual-support meetings.
• Sessions with a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, and addiction specialists.

While a patient can attend an IOP as a first and only step in addiction treatment, there are other rehab options that may be necessary or helpful.  At our rehab facility in Hollywood, FL, IOP is just one level of addiction treatment in a larger continuum.

Other levels of addiction treatments include medical detox programs offered at our inpatient rehab facility in South FL.  Alcohol, sedatives, and opioid drugs, in particular, can have very painful—sometimes dangerous—withdrawal syndromes, and detox may be needed before an IOP can begin in earnest.⁴

Because there is no overnight care, our IOP patients should have a safe place to reside in the Miami metro area, strong support system, and reliable transportation to our IOP in Hollywood, FL. If someone lacks support or faces an unsafe or unstable home environment, a more intensive level of rehab care, like inpatient addiction treatment, might be a better option.²

What’s the Difference Between IOP and Standard Outpatient Addiction Treatment?

The main difference between intensive and standard outpatient addiction treatment is time commitment. Standard outpatient rehab may take place 1–2 days a week for a total of 4 hours of treatment or less. By contrast, IOP participants attend sessions 3–5 days a week for at least 9 total hours of treatment.³

Standard outpatient rehab is a less-intensive form of addiction treatment and may be appropriate for someone who has already made significant progress in their recovery or is entering treatment for a mild substance use disorder.

There is no standard outpatient addiction treatment option at our Hollywood, FL rehab facility. Our IOP program is the lowest level of outpatient care available and serves as a step-down on the care continuum from our partial hospitalization program (PHP), which involves treatment 5 days a week (Monday–Friday) from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Our staff will work with you to develop a recovery roadmap that meets your individual needs. They’ll also help determine whether you may benefit from a short-term detox program, a month-long addiction treatment program, or a long-term rehab program.

The recommended level of care and length of stay varies greatly depending on the person. Treatment plans also tend to evolve and change as the patient advances through treatment.