Outpatient treatment
Outpatient care is the most common kind of treatment and the least disruptive. It is where many people start, and where most people finish.
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What it is
Outpatient treatment is care by appointment. A person lives at home, keeps their job or school, and goes to a clinic or counselor's office on a schedule, often once or twice a week. Visits can be individual counseling, group sessions, or a check-in with a prescriber who manages medicine for opioid or alcohol use.
It is the widest category in the directory. It covers a community clinic with a few counselors, a hospital's outpatient program, and a private practice, and the number of hours varies a lot from one to the next.
Who it is for
Outpatient care fits people whose use is milder, who have a stable and supportive home, and who can keep appointments on their own. It also fits people who have finished a more intensive program and want to keep going with less. Many people take medicine for opioid use through outpatient care for a long time, seeing a prescriber and a counselor on a regular schedule.
It is usually not enough on its own for someone who needs detox, who has returned to use several times, or whose home makes recovery hard. A facility's assessment will suggest a higher level of care in those cases, and outpatient can be the step after.
What to expect
The first visit is an assessment: substance use, health, mental health, and what the person wants from treatment. From that comes a plan with a schedule. A typical week might include one individual session and one group, or a visit with a prescriber every few weeks with counseling in between. Programs may test for substance use. Family sessions are available at many.
The work is mostly done between visits. Counselors help people notice what comes before use, practice handling cravings and stress, and rebuild routines. Many programs encourage outside support groups. Medicine such as buprenorphine, naltrexone, or, through an opioid treatment program, methadone can be part of the plan.
How long it takes
Longer than the other levels, and that is by design. Some people attend for a few months. Others stay for a year or more, tapering to a visit every few weeks. Someone on medicine for opioid use may continue for years, and that is treatment working, not failing. The plan is reviewed as the person goes.
Cost and coverage
Outpatient care is the least expensive level. Medicaid and Medicare cover outpatient substance use treatment, including counseling and medicine. Private plans generally cover it, usually with a copay per visit. Community clinics often charge on a sliding scale based on income, and many receive public funding for people without insurance. Each listing on this site shows what the facility reports accepting. Ask the facility to confirm your coverage and what a visit will cost you.
How it compares
Outpatient care is the least intensive level, and the one most people return to. Intensive outpatient adds hours: several a day, several days a week. Partial hospitalization is most of the day. Residential care means living at the facility. An opioid treatment program is a specific kind of outpatient care, certified to provide methadone.
How to choose
Questions to ask a facility:
- How often would I come in, and for what: individual sessions, groups, or both?
- Do you prescribe medicine for opioid or alcohol use, or work with someone who does?
- Are there evening or weekend appointments?
- How long is the wait for a first appointment?
- What happens if I need more support than this?
- Do you take my insurance, and what is the cost per visit?
Every state page on this site can be filtered to facilities that report offering outpatient care. Pick a state from the list on this page, or start from the full list of states.