becoming

I am thinking about doing one and was looking for some feedback. was it worthwhile? good/bad experience? were other issues addressed in addition to addiction (depression, anxiety, trauma, etc)?

thanks in advance!

SoberLeigh

Hi becoming. I don't have any outpatient experience but someone should be along who does.

If you don't receive a response soon, be sure to 'bump' your post so that it stays current.

becoming

Thank you SoberLeigh!

IOAA2

Hi.
I’d say most will work, IF WE WORK THEM. Being here or at AA the same. The problem with people in general is they slack off and resort to their old thinking, operation patterns and forget why they came to get sober.

Getting sober and staying sober is work and requires change, it’s that simple.
Anyone who is not 100% committed usually wastes their time and relapses with a small % able to regain sobriety.

Not very nice but that’s the way it is.

BE WELL

Jupiters

I've done an outpatient, I think there are varying degrees of length and intensity. But like IOAA said - they work, if you work them.
If you go in with a strong conviction of not wanting to drink and an open mind/heart to take the tools they provide you and implement them in life, they can be quite helpful.
It really boils down to YOU doing the work.

headcase1

I did an IOP and it was okay but the last 5 day hospitalization I had was the most effective treatment I've ever had.

LBrain

outpatient groups are like cars, the main goal is to get you from point A to point B.
GM makes cadillacs and chevettes (are they still around?)

you can learn how to drive in both, but if you can't pass the driving test it really doesn't matter which one you learn in...

most outpatient is 'group therapy'. The main focus is addiction. Any other issues are not part of the program. You will be in a group of 3,4 to 8 people give or take. The group will consist of very young folks to middle aged. Many of the younger will be there for opiates or some other drug use and most of the older folks are there for alcohol. You are all instructed in the same manner. Most of the younger folks are not there by choice. And it can be disruptive when they don't feel like "playing along".
Most are 12 step based and they count on you going to meetings as part of the 'therapy'. They attempt to teach you about addiction using charts and some literature - most of which is hijacked from other sources - hazeldine?

The bottom line is, if you go to op or iop, if you truly want to get something out of it you can. The main thing is to accept what you are "taught" and not call BS. The only thing that will help you is the true desire to quit for good. Above all else, if you think they are going to teach you how to quit and accept it, you are wasting time. You are the only one who can make that choice.
I would give it a try. What have you got to lose? Everything if you don't try.
But make no bones about it, you are not going to get a magic formula or anything like it. It is education on addiction and the ills of life in that state.
The rest is up to you.
Spend some time reading through the endless pages of this forum. Alcohol addiction is very real. Yet many here have overcome it through various means. The most important part is accepting it and doing something about it - yourself.

becoming

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences and thoughts IOAA2, Jupiters, headcase1, & LBrain. The info is very helpful and very much appreciated!

LBrain

I left out something, they do give you lessons on craving and techniques to get through them among other similar topics,
but you can learn just as much and more from this forum,
the main thing is that you are THERE, it gives you a sense of doing something

EndGameNYC

There is wide variation among the many IOPs available, and many copy the techniques of the more reputable treatment providers.

As Lbrain wrote, the emphasis is on group therapy, which is precisely what many of us need. We have ample opportunity to witness our own thinking and behaviors in other people, which is often less threatening and makes more of an impression than confronting these things within ourselves directly. The emphasis in most IOP programs is not to get you sober, but to help you maintain your sobriety, and to live a life without alcohol or other drugs.

I started out with a five-day detox, then twenty-eight-day inpatient rehab. The IOP I next attended was a no-nonsense facility where people were directly confronted with their addictive thinking and behaviors. Many people make the mistake of framing this as harsh or unsupportive, but the staff is not there to enable you or to tell you that "everything is okay." They're there to help you maintain your sobriety. There was plenty of support, but the staff tended to not waste their time on people whose exclusive contribution was to be disruptive. So many ridiculous arguments from people in the group who took every opportunity to tell the rest of us why getting sober is "stupid."

There was a nurse, an MD and a psychiatrist on staff, and individual counseling was also available (in addition to regular group sessions). I went to IOP every day for two months, and then participated in "regular" outpatient treatment (3X/week) for the next ten months (with different counselors), including individual counseling.

I wasn't at all 100% committed to getting sober for the first several months, but I did get the big picture over time. I was aghast at some of the behaviors in other people for a time, but then settled into the idea that addictive thinking and behaviors was not the way I wanted to live. I was threatened a few times when I confronted other people in the group, which was encouraged (confrontation, not threats), but all I saw in these instances were weak and/or tremendously insecure people who had no other way to express their frustrations; a very tired and transparent display. I was (eventually) there to get sober, and I frankly didn't care why anyone else was there.

As per Lbrain's comments, they used AA as a model, and encouraged us to attend AA meetings, which I did every day for about the first eight months. A great majority of the staff were AA members, and I never had a counselor who was unsupportive. The staff was generally outstanding...and this coming from someone who, up until that time, had done a great deal of treatment and research with addictions.

Since I had a tremendous experience with IOP and OP, my bias is very much in favor of this kind of treatment. There is no other type of real-world experience that can offer as much. Being extremely resistant to maintaining sobriety for several months, I decided, paradoxically, to get as much treatment as I could possibly bear. My overall impression is that we don't know what will "work" for us until we've given it an honest effort.

Manda33079

I have experience in outpatient programs. I really liked the one on one therapy because any story or experience I had they have seen one worse. They also helped me in my depression and anxiety.