Ongoing, Flexible Care at Agape
Your Safety Net for Lasting Independence
Recovery is a lot like navigating new terrain. At first, you’ll have a navigator beside you. As you gain more confidence, you’ll walk on your own with that guide still nearby until you gain trust and start to walk on your own. But walking on your own doesn’t mean you’ll walk alone.
Agape Treatment Center’s outpatient program is designed for this final, ongoing stage of the continuum of care. It is the essential link between rehabilitation in a structured environment and full self-sufficiency outside these walls.
This program has a low level of intensity by design because we want individuals to have already established sobriety and be able to manage their own schedules. It is meant to help you become fully involved in your job, school, and family while keeping a connection to your case management team at least once every week. It is the difference between achieving sobriety and attaining long-term recovery.
What Is General Outpatient Care?
There is often confusion about the various types of outpatient service categories. Higher levels of care focus on stabilization and crisis intervention. General outpatient treatment, however, focuses on maintaining and growing.
Outpatient treatment typically requires meeting with a therapist individually or in a small group for one to three hours per week.[1] This makes it ideal for individuals to resume their lives, especially when:
- Professionals have returned to work full-time and cannot miss work during the week.
- Students are balancing a full course load.
- Parents are returning to their responsibilities full-time.
At this stage, you are no longer “in rehab” and can use the time spent at Agape to process the aspects that will become part of your everyday life. For example, did I have an interaction with my boss that caused me to want to drink? Did I have a craving when I went to a social gathering? Just like we need to unpack everything from work or daily situations in a safe place, we also have to re-energize ourselves to be able to continue living our lives.
The Science of Continued Care
Why “Maintenance” Matters
Many people have the belief that if they have finished a 30-to-60-day program, they are “cured.” However, addiction medicine teaches a different story. The way the brain produces feelings of “reward” through the body can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to heal.[2]
In the early period of remission, the brain remains vulnerable.[3] When a stressor occurs, it will cause exaggerated stress responses, making it difficult to control your emotions. Outpatient treatment is not only medically necessary, but it is also needed from a clinical point of view to protect your recovery.
If you attend therapy consistently during the early period of remission, you are building new neural pathways in your brain.[4] For example, if you attended group therapy instead of using a substance to cope with a stressor, each time you go to group therapy to address the stressor, you create or strengthen a new neural pathway. Eventually, the shift occurs where being sober will become second nature instead of having to fight to achieve sobriety daily.
Agape Wide Range of Treatment
The Danger of Complacency: Avoiding "Drift"
Statistics related to addiction science show that a significant number of individuals relapse within the first year of treatment, typically after clients have discharged from a structured program.[5] In many cases, this subtle disconnect from an individual’s recovery practices is referred to as “drift” and happens slowly over time, as life becomes busy.
If you leave an environment with high accountability, the initial “pink cloud” experienced when becoming sober may dissipate quickly. Stressors begin to return, old memories resurface; without a scheduled check-in, an individual may skip a meeting, and then another, until appropriate safeguards are no longer in place to prevent relapse.
The outpatient program serves as an anchor against drift by requiring a commitment to a weekly session, which holds individuals accountable to their goals. Through this program, our clinicians are able to identify the early signs of emotional relapse long before they escalate into physical relapse.
Advanced Relapse Prevention Strategies
In early recovery, relapse prevention is primarily focused on how to maintain sobriety by avoiding the substance. In general outpatient treatment, advanced relapse prevention is much more nuanced, and the goal is to manage the multitude of social and emotional triggers that are present during an individual’s everyday, sober life.
Our clinicians will work with you to develop advanced “defense mechanisms” for everyday real-world scenarios:
01
Playing the tape forward
Using cognitive skills to visualize the long-term consequences of acting on an impulse.
02
Urge surfing
Riding out the wave of a craving and understanding that although the craving is temporary, it will peak and fall like an ocean wave.
03
Social scripting
Practicing what to say when offered a drink at a wedding, business dinner, or family gathering; thereby not catching you off guard.
04
Emotional regulation
Identifying the difference between a “bad day” and a “dangerous day” and creating an approach to take as soon as you experience emotional distress.
Clinical Focus
Beyond Survival Mode
Clinical focus is abstaining from use and managing withdrawals. Once you have achieved stability, we can then delve deeper into the subtleties of personal development that were often overlooked in acute care.
Career and Professional Growth
Navigating your workplace without using substances can be challenging. Our counselors can provide assistance with personal development in a professional setting and teach you how to manage stress within the workplace, navigate office politics, and manage ambition without experiencing burnout. Rebuilding self-confidence may also take place because of the damage done by addiction.
Navigating your workplace without using substances can be challenging. Our counselors can provide assistance with personal development in a professional setting and teach you how to manage stress within the workplace, navigate office politics, and manage ambition without experiencing burnout. Rebuilding self-confidence may also take place because of the damage done by addiction.
Relationship Dynamics
Sobriety affects how you relate to the people in your life.[6] You may be in a position of rebuilding trust with your spouse, learning to date sober, or setting boundaries with your friends who still use substances. Outpatient therapy provides a confidential environment to practice these exact conversations and filter through the vast range of emotions you feel toward someone you are trying to repair your relationship with.
Managing Post-Acute Withdrawal (PAWS)
Even months after cessation of use, your brain continues to heal.[7] Individuals in recovery can experience sudden episodes of anxiety, brain fog, and/or sleep disturbances attributable to PAWS. Our medical and clinical team members continue to monitor symptoms associated with PAWS to provide reassurance and strategies to manage PAWS so they do not serve as triggers for relapse.
The Agape Difference
The “Integrative Medicine” Difference
Even at a lower level of treatment, Agape still adheres to our “Integrative Medicine” philosophy. We understand that a weekly check-in should be holistic in nature and support the whole person instead of just addressing the addiction. Our outpatient clients continue to be part of the broader Agape community, which means you still have access to the unique, holistic resources that are part of our center:
Biofeedback & Mindfulness
You will have the tools to help you regulate your nervous system.
Nutritional Guidance
You will continue to receive the support you need to regain your physical health and well-being.
Community Connection
You will continue to stay plugged into a network of peers that understand your story.
Having access to these additional support systems makes a huge difference. You will not be starting over with a new person who needs to read your file; rather, you will be continuing your journey with your care team members who have been with you since the beginning.
Stay Connected to Your Strength
You have done the hard work of building a new life. Let us help you protect it. Contact Agape Treatment Center today to get started with a recovery program customized for your life and needs.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Outpatient Care
How is this different from seeing a private therapist?
While general outpatient is similar in that it provides counseling in a very similar fashion to a private therapist’s office, the main difference is that there is a multidisciplinary team supporting your care. In private practice, you are typically alone, compared to how you have a medical director, case manager, and a community of peers supporting you.
Do I have to complete previous levels of care before joining?
Typically, yes. Most of our clients step down into this program after completing our higher-intensity tracks. However, we do accept direct admissions for individuals who have achieved a period of significant sobriety elsewhere but feel they need to reconnect with a support system to prevent relapse.
What is an outpatient program schedule like?
Flexibility is the cornerstone of this program. We offer morning and evening options to ensure that your therapy complements your schedule rather than complicating it.
How long can I stay in outpatient care?
There is no set expiration date on support. Some clients continue this level of care for a few months to ensure a smooth transition to their independent life, while others choose to stay connected for a year or more as a form of “mental health maintenance”. We work with you and your insurance provider to determine a timeline that supports your long-term success.
Is it covered by insurance?
Yes. Most major insurance plans recognize the immense value of continuing care and cover these sessions. Our team can verify your benefits in minutes.
Can I attend if I have a dual diagnosis?
Absolutely. In fact, outpatient care is often critical for individuals with co-occurring disorders. It allows our team to monitor the long-term effectiveness of medications and therapy for anxiety, depression, or PTSD as you encounter real-world stressors.
Sources
[1] Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Substance Abuse: Clinical Issues in Intensive Outpatient Treatment. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2006. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 47.) Chapter 3. Intensive Outpatient Treatment and the Continuum of Care. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64088/
[2] [4] National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide (3rd ed.). National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/podat_1.pdf
[3] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Treatment improvement protocol (TIP) 65: Manual for intensive outpatient treatment. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep20-02-01-021.pdf
[5] National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Drugs, brains, and behavior: The science of addiction treatment and recovery. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/treatment-recovery
[6] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Treatment improvement protocol (TIP) 35: Enhancing motivation for change in substance use disorder treatment. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/tip-35-pep19-02-01-003.pdf
[7] Neuroscience: The Brain in Addiction and Recovery | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). (2025, May 8). https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/health-professionals-communities/core-resource-on-alcohol/neuroscience-brain-addiction-and-recovery
