MUSC Health Institute of Psychiatry

Outpatient rehabs provide flexibility and accommodation for clients who prefer to remain in their homes and workplaces while in recovery. They also facilitate clients’ sustained sobriety for clients stepping down from intensive inpatient care. Clients may engage in day, evening, night, or weekend treatment sessions, which typically involve addiction counseling and recovery-focused life skills training. Many outpatient facilities also offer medication assisted treatment (MAT) and evidence-based holistic therapies, such as yoga and massage.

Completing a drug or alcohol rehab program shouldn't spell the end of substance abuse treatment. Aftercare involves making a sustainable plan for recovery, including ongoing support. This can include sober living arrangements like halfway houses, career counseling, and setting a patient up with community programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

Clients undergoing treatment in an intensive outpatient program (IOP) remain in or return to their homes following detox and/or inpatient rehab. They engage in multiple, extended treatment sessions weekly, with most intensive outpatient rehabs requiring between nine and 20 therapeutic hours per week. These programs are ideal for clients in early recovery and those at an elevated risk of relapse and typically combine counseling, recovery education, holistic care, and medication assisted treatment (MAT).