Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) are a higher level of mental healthcare than weekly individual therapy sessions and a lower level of care than residential treatment centers or inpatient hospitalization.
Participating in an Intensive Outpatient Program will help clients develop coping skills and give them tools to handle stressors or triggers in their daily lives. IOPs can help treat substance use disorders, other addictions, and mental illnesses. The structured schedule of the program will give clients comprehensive care by combining a mix of therapy, medication, group sessions, interventions, and hands-on practices.
These programs help clients develop higher-functioning coping skills without removing them from their daily lives. Red Willow offers IOP for mental health and substance abuse to help provide individuals struggling with these issues more control over their lives.
Who is Red Willow’s Mental Health IOP For?
The Red Willow Mental Health IOP is helpful for people with co-occurring mental health disorders. Mental health problems like PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and more can be improved by consistent mental health-focused IOP treatment. This structured support can also be beneficial to those experiencing major life changes and transitions. The goal of our IOP is to provide clients with the support they need as they learn to take steps forward and start to thrive.
The Structure of Intensive Outpatient Programs
These programs are structured similarly for each client, but the program can also be tailored to specific needs. IOPs involve several hours of therapy (including group and individual sessions), medication management, as well as meetings with psychologists, social workers, and individual therapists.
Because this is an outpatient program, clients have more control over how their care is handled. What you will learn while working through the program is structured to be more applicable to real-time stressors in your life. For example, therapy will give you tools that help you navigate the complexities of your job, personal relationships, and education programs.
Peer support and group sessions have been proven to be extremely effective in mental health IOP. As clients realize that they are not alone, they can better manage their thoughts and behaviors. Master’s level clinicians facilitate the group and help everyone share and learn from their experiences.
Improving Mental Health While Meeting Daily Responsibilities
When struggling with a mental illness, the rest of your responsibilities still need to be handled, even if you feel disoriented or fatigued. Mental health IOP will help you cope with symptoms while still going to work, raising children, or going to school.
The goals of IOP are to reduce feelings of isolation, and mental health disruptions, and provide continuing support. Red Willow Counseling and Recovery will help clients take steps forward in their lives. Working with therapists in our intensive program will help clients:
• Develop stronger interpersonal relationships
• Achieve career fulfillment
• Improve their physical health
• Gain more independence
• Discover tools to handle future stressors
• Find balance between private and public life
Relapse Prevention
Even after making progress, those struggling with mental illness can relapse back into destructive habits, following harmful or self-defeating thoughts. Mental health IOP works to help patients determine their triggers and use prevention techniques to keep them healthy and safe.
While working through our IOP, therapists, and counselors will help clients build self-esteem and self-confidence. Learning that you can overcome hard situations will give you the strength to overcome additional stressors in the future.
Increased Awareness of Emotions
There are many complicated and overwhelming emotions felt by those struggling with mental health. It is often difficult to understand what exact emotions we are experiencing. Red Willow’s Mental Health IOP will help clients identify these emotions at the source. Building awareness around and recognizing the causes and symptoms of mental illness is vital to recovery.
