Intensive Outpatient Programme

Many individuals are unable to attend residential treatment services for any number of reasons – children, work commitments, lifestyle restrictions, financial issues and so on. IOP treatment provides intensive treatment for drug addiction, while allowing you to maintain your day-to-day lifestyle.

So what do IOP treatment programmes look like?

IOP programmes typically utilise multiple groups throughout the week as the main mechanism of treatment. Individuals are assessed and then enter what is usually called a “pre-entry” group. This group helps people to get a feel for what group work is like, to begin bonding with others in the group and provides some time for the ‘fog to lift’. Typically all members of the group will commit to remaining abstinent throughout the IOP programme.

Once the pre-entry process is complete you would enter the Intensive Out Patient programme. This would last up to eight weeks and would include three to four group sessions every week. There is, in most cases, the opportunity for additional one-on-one counselling, however the main vehicle of treatment and change in an IOP is found in the group process.