Why should every woman with addiction consider attending a holistic Intensive Outpatient Program like the one we offer at Villa Kali Ma? Well, read on: We have a few ideas!

Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) are the most empowering option for women in recovery. IOPs allow for flexibility and independence, while still holding strong structure. IOPs create a perfect environment for some women recovering from addiction, mental illness, and trauma to thrive optimally. But which women?

In this post, we’ll share more about Intensive Outpatient Programs and how you can determine whether you’re a woman who would benefit most from IOP.

Why Intensive Outpatient Treatment Empowers Women in Recovery                                   

IOP is the most empowering option for women in recovery. As an outpatient addiction treatment model, IOP supports women to be in charge of their program and participation. IOP also supports women to titrate – to do a little bit of recovery at a time, rather than healing everything all at once. Finally, IOP supports practicing recovery skills in the real world while still learning.

IOP supports women to be fully in charge of their own program and participation. With several options available, women have more influence over the what and the when of their treatment participation than in residential (inpatient programs). While the core of an IOP is relatively firm, being able to customize a program that fits best with life outside of treatment leaves more agency in the hands of women. It is important for women especially to have options and a measure of control.

Since they are less immersive, IOPs support women to titrate their recovery. Titrating means taking the healing in a little at a time, rather than all at once. Doing the inner work for trauma, mental illness, and addiction recovery at a less intensive pace means each piece of healing can be integrated into daily life more easily. Being able to maintain a steady life outside of treatment while digesting the healing work more slowly and stably can empower women to feel more balanced and in command of their recovery experience. The transition can be more gradual and grounded.

Lastly, IOP supports women practicing recovery skills in the real world while still learning them. Due to the IOP model of keeping one foot in daily life, women have many chances to apply what they are learning in treatment in real life scenarios, situations, and challenges. When and if something happens in external life that is overwhelming, triggering, or otherwise difficult to face, a woman can rely on the facilitators, peers, and supportive structure of the IOP program to have her back.

All in all, IOP is the most empowering option for women in recovery, supporting agency, choice and autonomy throughout the healing journey.

Flexibility and Independence with Structured Support

IOP is the option that allows for the most flexibility and independence while still offering highly structured support. IOPs allow women more scheduling flexibility, permit women to maintain more of their work and home life responsibilities, and allow for living at home while attending treatment.

The main benefit of scheduling flexibility is that IOPs are more adaptable to women’s pre-existing lives, including work and childcare responsibilities. While IOP naturally takes up a significant chunk of the week, having more options for when those treatment hours take place means women can usually arrange their work and other responsibilities more easily.

Working at least part time while in being in treatment allows women to have more financial independence, a topic that is very important for women, who are economically more vulnerable to begin with and often have dependents in their care who rely on their ability to provide for them, as well. The flexible scheduling of IOPs tends to work better with barriers to treatment that affect women disproportionately: managing school schedules, transportation, household duties, working in underpaid professions, and more.

Finally, living at home while attending treatment is usually the most practical option, to maintain ongoing life responsibilities outside of treatment and to ensure stability.

Broadly speaking, IOP is the option with the most independence and flexibility while still offering structured support.

Who Thrives Most in an IOP Setting?

IOP is best for women who fit in a certain profile of life circumstances combined with a certain state of mental health. In order to thrive in IOP, women must be able to abstain from substances and self-harming without 24-7 supervision. Women also must be living in a reasonably supportive (sober and mostly trigger-free) home environment. Finally, women must be able to realistically participate in work and life responsibilities without relapsing.

In order to be able to benefit from the flexibility and independence of IOP, women must be able to abstain from alcohol, drugs, and self-harming behaviors without round-the-clock monitoring. This capacity to abstain or not isn’t a moral issue, rather it is a question of how far the disease of addiction has progressed. Some women who have more years of heavy substance use under their belt will only be able to stay sober in a facility that prevents them from accessing substances. These women will fare better in residential.

Other women will be realistically able to make it through unsupervised hours between treatment sessions and operate out in the world for limited periods of time without being hijacked by their addicted part. IOP can be a good fit for these women, since the flexibility and independence won’t work against them.

Women who can maintain a reasonably supportive home environment thrive in IOP because that environment can support them. If there is abuse, chaos, conflict, and/or substances in the home environment, however, those conditions will undermine any gains made in treatment. Women who aren’t currently living in a sobriety-supporting environment, therefore, will generally be better off in residential.

Last but not least, women who can participate in the stressors of the world without relapsing are likely to thrive in IOP because they can get the benefits of practicing recovering skills in the real world. But if the real world setting is too challenging, she again would be better off in residential.

All in all, women who thrive in IOP are those who can abstain from drugs and alcohol between treatment hours even when alone and unsupervised, those who are fortunate enough to be living in a treatment-supportive home, and those who can productively engage with the triggers and challenges of life in the real world without relapsing.

Experience Our Compassionate IOP for Women at Villa Kali Ma

If we may say so ourselves, Villa Kali Ma’s compassionate, holistic Intensive Outpatient Program for women is the best one we know of. For women who will benefit from IOP’s signature combination of flexibility and structure, we are a rich opportunity for deep, transformative growth. Our strong, core clinical program is wrapped in a lush array of alternative healing modalities and practices. We embrace East and West, we address mind body and spirit as one, and we nurture each woman’s life as a unique acorn, full of infinite potential.