If you have never attended an intensive outpatient program, or IOP, before, you may not know what to expect regarding admissions, financials, and your first few weeks of enrollment. You may not even know what you need to know or ask before enrolling in a program. That’s why we published our own Centered’s Complete Guide to IOP, which includes information about your first day at Centered and beyond. While the information below may be specific to Centered, all licensed treatment facilities for addiction and mental health should follow similar guidelines for your care. 

IOP Defined

IOP is short for Intensive Outpatient Program, and is considered the gold standard of care for addiction and mental health issues due to the ease of attending and length of time a person can be involved in treatment. The idea that an addiction or mental health issue can be resolved in 28 days is a myth perpetuated by media and movies and was never based on science. Research shows that the longer a person can attend treatment, the greater the chance of success long term. IOP typically lasts anywhere from 6-12 weeks depending on the severity of the addiction or mental health issue, the stability of your life outside of treatment, and your ability to abstain from substances during treatment. Most clients choose to remain engaged with their program in a lower level of care called OP, or Outpatient Program, in order to gradually step down in services and maintain a level of connection and accountability as they return to their everyday lives. 

As you start your recovery journey, don’t forget to bookmark this Complete Guide to IOP so you can refer to it as you move along in the process!

IOP starts with a phone call

In order to get started with Centered, you will first call our facility and speak to one of our Admissions Coordinators who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have a toll free number 1-800-556-2966 where you can reach someone 24 hours a day, or at our office during normal office hours at 770.410.4894. A member of our team can answer questions about our program and help you figure out whether Centered IOP for addiction treatment is the best fit for you right now. You’ll then set up an appointment to meet with our intake staff for admission.

IOP Cost

After deciding to enroll in an addiction treatment program, the next question most people ask is about the financial aspect of treatment. The good news is that in most cases, insurance will cover most, if not all, of the cost of an IOP program! Centered is currently able to accept most major insurance policies for IOP patients. However, if you do not have insurance, or your insurance does not cover mental health/addiction services, there are still affordable options for you! Please don’t hesitate to ask about self-pay options at Centered for our highly sought after Educational Program or full IOP treatment. If you’d like to check the status of your insurance to admit to Centered, please click here: Will my insurance cover the cost of drug rehab? 

IOP for Medically Stable Patients

Whether you have completed a medical detox at a facility, hospital, or through the supervision of your doctor, all clients must be medically stable in order to enroll in an IOP. This means that you are not under the influence of, or currently in withdrawals from, a substance such as alcohol, opioids, or other addictive drugs. During your initial phone consultations with our Admissions Team, we will conduct screening assessments to understand where you are in your recovery journey, and possibly make recommendations regarding detoxification services or medical appointments prior to your admission at Centered for IOP. 

Our team will schedule admissions Monday through Friday for your convenience, typically between 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM. Admissions appointments take place in our beautiful Roswell facility at 11111 Houze Road, Suite 101. If you are too far to commute to our Roswell location, ask us about our telemedicine admissions appointments! 

What to bring to IOP Admission

There are a few things to bring to your admission day for IOP at Centered in Roswell. Please make sure to bring your ID and if you are using insurance to cover the cost of your treatment, your insurance card. If you have a deductible for insurance or are self-paying, your payment will also be taken at this time. We accept the following methods of payment for both self-pay and insurance clients: cash, check, most major credit cards, and HSA cards.

You will also need to bring along the contact information of a person you will designate as your emergency contact, which is typically your spouse, parent, or sibling. Finally, try to bring a list of any current medications you are taking, including their dosages, as well as a short list of any past treatment providers for the issue you are seeing treatment for. If you need help compiling this list, please feel free to ask our Admissions Team and they will work to help you. This information is helpful to ensure you get wraparound care from all providers, and for your medical safety. You may choose to bring along a family member if you wish! They may want to tour the facility and speak to the treatment team at Centered. However, there are some portions of the admissions process that will need to be done privately. We have a comfortable lounge area where they may sit to read or relax while you complete your admissions appointments. 

What to bring recap: 

• your ID or Driver’s License
• your insurance card (if applicable)
• list of any current medications
• contact info of your emergency contact
• method of payment for deductible/program fees

IOP Admission: Day 1

The admissions process is fairly simple but it does take about two hours to complete. This is to allow our Medical and Clinical team to complete the necessary assessments to ensure you are appropriate and ready for IOP treatment. Whether you enroll with Centered or another IOP, these assessments are required by the Georgia Department of Community Health. If any treatment facility does not provide you with a Medical Appointment and Clinical Intake History on your first day, you should ensure they are properly licensed by the state to provide IOP services. Centered has been fully licensed by Georgia since its inception, and is also fully accredited by CARF International, which provides rigorous standards for all mental and medical health facilities to meet. For the best care, you should inquire whether your treatment program is accredited by CARF and the state you are in. 

On your first day, we will also give you a tour of our beautiful drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility. We want you to feel completely comfortable and at ease with our facility and our caring staff. Our centrally located facility in Roswell is close to Mansell Road, which is within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and a grocery store, This makes it an easy location to access from Canton, Milton, Cumming, Alpharetta, and Roswell, as well as areas further south like Buckhead, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs via GA-400. However, it is tucked in the back of a discreet medical building for complete privacy and comfort. 

What’s Included on Admission to IOP

• Intake Paperwork

There are a few short forms that must be filled out to allow us to provide an intensive outpatient program to you. These are done with one of our Intake Team Members, and include the following.

• Admissions Agreements
• Information about Individual Counseling
• a short Orientation to our program
• Fee Summary for services

You will also designate at least one Emergency Contact we may reach out to in case of any health emergency while in our facility. Please bring at least one name, phone number, and mailing address for a contact you wish to designate your Emergency Contact, along with your state issued identification card/driver’s license and your insurance card, if you are using insurance. Even better if this designated contact is a trusted person who can help serve as an additional guide through IOP, as studies have shown that success is strongly linked with outside support! 

Please do not bring any medications to the facility unless they are medically necessary during your appointment. If you need to show medication names and dosages to our Medical Team, take a photo with your smart phone or write the information down on a piece of paper to bring to our team rather than bring your medications with you. 

• Required Labs

Labs are typically required by the state and by insurance providers for admission to Centered. These may include: urinalysis drug screen, breathalyzer, Tb (Tuberculosis) blood draw, RPR (blood draw). You may provide results from these labs from your previous detox or residential stay, provided these labs were drawn for you within the last 90 days. You may also elect to do additional labs to which can help you track your health progress during recovery, such as Vitamin D levels, cholesterol levels and more. 

• Medical Assessment for IOP

Our Medical Team and Medical Director, Dr. Timothy Cummings, MD will conduct a medical assessment on the day of your admission. This is a short history and physical that will include vital signs and health questions of a personal nature, and this assessment is used to determine your current physical health stability and eligibility for our program. This is covered by insurance or self pay options, and is similar to an annual physical. Dr. Cummings has a special history with addiction recovery and is warm, welcoming, and eager to help patients get off to the right start and guide them through IOP in their personal recovery journey.

We can even provide telemedicine appointments for patients who live too far to commute to our Roswell location! Virtual appointments may require labs and other health information from a provider local to you, such as a walk-in clinic or your own primary care provider. 

Our Medical Team works to ensure that all clients are medically stable and ready to receive outpatient level of care for addiction treatment, and are not currently at risk from substance withdrawal, including severe physical symptoms which may include some of the following:

• DT’s
• anxiety
• diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues
• disorientation
• paranoia
• seizures
• confusion

Centered Recovery does not currently prescribe any medications for MAT or anti-craving medications such as Naloxone, but we do work with and refer clients to medical health professionals and Addictionologists in Atlanta, Roswell, Alpharetta, and the surrounding areas who can prescribe and monitor these prescriptions for you should they be medically necessary. 

• IOP Clinical Assessment

One of our Clinical Team members will provide something called a Biopsychosocial assessment. This sounds intense but is essentially just a history of your current condition, any past conditions that may be important, and other information relating to your mental and physical health. If you have attended treatment with other facilities in the past, our team will need at least a general outline of when and where, so it will help your appointment go more smoothly. This assessment helps our Clinical Team get a sense of which one of our primary therapists might be the best fit for you and your needs in individual therapy. 

After Intensive Outpatient Program Admission 

Before you leave your admissions appointment, we will give you a schedule of events at Centered so you can plan your first days of treatment with us. We will also email you a welcome letter with some FAQ about your treatment program, as well as an introduction email to your new primary clinician. We will connect you with the Centered Team Members who will be working with you as you start your addiction recovery journey and can be a further guide to IOP programming as you begin.You can also ask any follow up questions via email or by calling 770-4104894.

If you are participating virtually, you may wish to download Zoom by clicking here. This app is free to you, and the version we use is completely HIPPA compliant and confidential. You may be accessing your Individual Clinical Sessions via Zoom, and if you are participating virtually, our classes are also broadcast via Zoom through an alternate link. Downloading Zoom is not required, as our team utilizes a “one click” option which makes connecting with our IOP Group or your Primary Clinician as effortless as possible. All of the links to connect with us will be provided to you in your welcome email.

Additional IOP Info

Your first day in an addiction recovery program, you may feel a little anxious and uncertain. Keep in mind that your treatment is for you: your mental health, your physical health, and your future! Everyone feels a little nervous on their first day at a new place, but we promise you are welcome to kick back, relax, and get started on your journey to wellness. 

You may wish to bring coffee, drinks, or a snack if you like. We provide coffee, hot tea, and a client refrigerator to store cold items for you if you need. Our group facilitators are warm and caring, and are happy to answer any questions you may have about your new journey with us.

We recommend clients that meet criteria for 5 day IOP attend 5 days a week for at least the first 2-3 weeks in order to get immersed in the program, meet the various facilitators, and experience the different class formats we have available. As you move into 3 day IOP, and later into 2-day and 1-day Outpatient, you will have a good understanding of what class styles and facilitators work best for your particular needs.

Your Intensive Outpatient Program Can Start on Any Day!

Because our innovative mindfulness program for addiction and mental health recovery was created with our specific clients in mind, you can start on any day without feeling like you’ve missed a step. Our program is the first of its kind to be created in a circular rotation, which means no matter what day you start, you’ll always get the complete program. If you have a question or are unsure about what something means, don’t hesitate to ask! After all, this program is about you! 

You will be learning about mindfulness as a way of life, not as a tool to be applied when you are feeling stressed or uncomfortable. If good tools were a reliable way to treat mental health, most of us would never need mental health treatment again!

Unfortunately, when we most need the tools we’ve learned, we are the least able to access them as we are already caught up in our anxiety, depression, or cravings–and the noise from those can be deafening. Instead, we help our clients learn to cultivate true awareness of their body, mind, and emotional habits, in order to curate a life that doesn’t require an escape plan.  

Individual Counseling Sessions

You will be assigned an individual counselor from one of our Clinical Team members based on your preferences and availability. Some clinical team members offer individual sessions in person, and all team members offer individual sessions remotely via Zoom. This is to provide flexibility with your personal work or home schedule so you never miss a session. 

You will schedule with your clinician at your availability, and this session time can vary from week to week if needed. If you choose to participate remotely, just find a comfortable spot where you can have complete privacy. You may wear headphones or earbuds if you desire, for further confidentiality, especially if you are at home or in a shared space.

The first few sessions will allow your therapist to get to know you, what you desire out of your program, and what you may need to address first in your treatment program. Within the first month of your admission, you will have worked together with your clinician to create a Master Treatment Plan with specific goals and objectives for you to work on to support your desired outcome during your time at Centered. This can be tailored at any time based on your needs as they change throughout treatment. Remember your primary clinician will be your personalized guide to your IOP journey, a person with whom you can work on the details of life that have been holding you back in the past.

Because addiction doesn’t happen in a bubble, you may choose to add a family therapy session to your addiction treatment plan at Centered. This could include your spouse, significant other, parents, children, or other important people in your life. It is meant to be informative for your loved one to understand what you are going through and learning in your IOP program at Centered, especially because a mindfulness based addiction treatment program is not quite as familiar to people as the traditional 12 step model. It is also hopefully a healing session for both you and your loved ones, as you begin to move beyond your past memories together and figure out new and healthy ways of relating as you are now, in the present. Family members may also want to check out this Complete Guide to IOP so that they understand what you are undertaking, so feel free to share it.  

Contact Our IOP Program Today

While it may seem like a lot of information to digest in this IOP Guide, Centered will do everything we can to help make your recovery journey smooth. Our intensive outpatient program has helped many on their road to recovery. The first step is always the most difficult, but it is worth it to create the health and life you deserve! All you have to do is pick up the phone and call us at 1-800-556-2966.

If you would like more information about addiction detox services in Georgia, residential addiction rehab services in Georgia, or residential addiction treatment rehab services in other states, please check out our informational guide page on Inpatient drug rehab vs. Outpatient Treatment in Georgia.

Our mindfulness program is life changing and can enrich every aspect of your life. The gift of long-term recovery is only a small piece of what you get with mindful living. It will enrich your family and friends relationships, your work life and personal life. Are you ready to get started?