During the addiction treatment process, therapists will use a wide range of tools and resources to help clients. They will use a variety of treatment modalities and offer up special programs that are designed to help clients learn the truth about their addictions. One treatment option that is very popular among residential treatment therapists is group therapy. They find that there is a lot of value derived from allowing clients to come together and share their experiences. The value comes in two ways. First, it allows clients to see that they are not alone in their disease. It’s not a matter of them having a weak character or somehow being broken. It’s about letting clients see that a lot of people get stricken with the disease of addiction for a variety of reasons.
This helps clients feel a bit more normal. The second way clients derive value from group therapy is by getting the opportunity to build relationships with people who might understand them. While building these relationships, they are effectively developing support resources they can benefit from in the future. Aside from group therapy, there is another way that therapists can create opportunities for clients to interact with one another. They can promote client interaction by offering fun and interesting group activities. Group activities might include anything from special workshops to recreational activities. Again, the goal is to get clients to interact for the purpose of creating meaningful relationships with people with whom they have something unique in common. Since clients can derive a lot of benefits from group therapy and activities, you might be wondering if the group concept only applies to residential treatment. We will address this question below.
Are There Any Programs in an IOP Center That Involve Group Activities?
When a client isn’t able or willing to commit to inpatient treatment, the next best option they have at their disposal is an outpatient treatment option. If a client decides to go this route, they are permitted to reside at home but must report for scheduled therapy appointments. The amount of time a client has to commit to therapy depends on the depth of their addiction problem. Since each client has unique circumstances, most outpatient centers offer three outpatient treatment options from which clients can choose. The three options include:
- General outpatient care (OP): 2 to 4 hours of therapy a week
- Intensive outpatient care (IOP): 15 to 25 hours a week of therapy
- Partial hospitalization (PHP): 40 to 60 hours a week of therapy
As you can see, each option comes with certain scheduling requirements. By offering three different options, therapists have more flexibility in regard to addressing each client’s unique circumstances. Since the amount of time the client spends in the treatment facility is limited, individual therapy is always a high priority. This is the time clients get to work on identifying the driving forces behind their addiction. They also get time to work on developing better life skills. Time permitting, some outpatient clients do get the opportunity to participate in group therapy sessions and even group activities. To address the titled question, yes, some IOP centers do allow clients to work in groups and enjoy group activities. To be clear, it would not be fair to say it’s commonplace to include group activities as a normal part of the IOP treatment process. It’s really a function of time. Some IOP clients need to keep their focus on intensive individual therapy. They might not have time to participate in group activities. On the other side of the fence sit clients who are progressing well towards recovery. These are the IOP clients who might get an opportunity to take part in group activities. At the end of the day, it really boils down to logistics. It’s difficult to coordinate schedules among outpatient clients for the purpose of bringing people together. In a residential setting, everyone is already present with time available to partake in group activities. The same is not true of outpatient clients. The scheduling of group therapy sessions and activities takes more time and effort. We hope this information addresses your concerns. We also hope it motivates you to seek help for your addiction. When you are ready to seek help, we will be there to accommodate your needs. If you want to contact us, we would be glad to tell you about our facility and treatment services. You can reach out to one of our representatives by picking up your phone and dialing 833-364-0736.