Overcoming substance addiction does not happen overnight. However, through dedicated effort and support, long-term recovery from addiction is possible. Unfortunately, the threat of relapse can loom large over your new life, especially if you have not cultivated the skills to prevent it.
An intensive outpatient program can help you create long-lasting tools to avoid a relapse. Intensive outpatient programs are a type of drug and alcohol use rehabilitation service that fits into your schedule.
Unlike inpatient programs, which require you to commit to living at a dedicated facility while you recover from addiction, IOPs can fit around your other weekly commitments, such as school and work.
Studies show IOPs are just as effective as inpatient treatment, so consider learning relapse prevention techniques offered in intensive outpatient programs to support your long-term success.
Understanding Relapse: Dangers and Statistics
Before you can wholly commit to an intensive outpatient program, you need to understand why a relapse is so problematic. Many people who are newly sober believe that a small relapse will not harm them, so they do not need to worry about it.
In reality, relapse can be dangerous or even life-threatening. Once a person becomes sober from alcohol or drugs, their previous tolerance decreases. This tolerance is a good thing — it means the body is recovering and getting back to good health.
However, relapsing at the previous dose can now exceed the body’s tolerance since it is no longer used to the substance. This may result in severe or even life-threatening effects where none existed during the active use stage.
People pursuing sobriety commonly relapse. As many as half of all people experience at least one period of relapse on their path to an addiction-free life.
Intensive outpatient programs equip participants with the skills, support, and education they need to identify the triggers for relapse and avoid becoming part of this number.
Therapy and Professional Guidance
One of the primary services provided by IOPs is access to skilled therapists and professionals, such as social workers, who offer services to restructure a person’s life without addiction.
For instance, the individual may attend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions multiple times per week to identify the underlying factors contributing to addiction. From there, they can begin to heal those drivers, reducing the need to use and curbing the chances of relapse.
For many people, addictive behavior is driven by underlying emotional needs and traumas, such as feelings of needing to fit in or the desire to cope with unwanted emotions such as anger. The first step toward preventing relapse is to identify these feelings and learn how to address them without using.
Structured Practice
Another method that IOPs cultivate for reducing the chances of relapse is providing a structured environment to practice sobriety. It is common for newly sober individuals not to know what to do with the time in their day that they previously spent using a substance.
IOPs provide a safe space to learn what activities fill this time in enriching and fulfilling ways. Commonly, participants pick up new hobbies or skills. However, IOPs also create long-term success by facilitating practice for when things go wrong.
What do you do when you feel the urge to use? IOPs allow patients to practice coping in these situations, which heightens their chance of success when faced with temptation after they complete their IOP.
Life Skill Training
IOPs provide thorough life-skill training so participants have the tools they need to overcome addictive behaviors. For instance, patients will learn the common causes of relapse, which include:
Stress- Untreated emotional instabilities
- Peer pressure
- Boredom
- Cravings
- Negative emotions
Once a person begins to feel an emotional pull to use again, the relapse process has begun. However, it can still be stopped! IOPs teach skills such as redirection to halt a relapse as soon as it begins, when it is still in the emotional and mental stages (e.g., when a person fantasizes about using but does not physically commit yet).
Develop Relapse Prevention Techniques in an Intensive Outpatient Program
Once you achieve sobriety from a substance, it is still common to face temptations to use again in the future. Without the proper skills and coping strategies, such as those learned in an intensive outpatient program, you may slip into relapse and risk your health and well-being.
The experts at Aquila Recovery Clinic want to see you succeed, so we provide thorough life-skill training to give you the best chance of long-term sobriety. Contact Aquila Recovery Clinic to sign up for an intensive outpatient program to regain control of your life, both now and in the future.