Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Austin, Built for People With Real Lives.

Our IOP is ASAM Level 2.1 care, which comes to about 10 hours of treatment a week: three evening groups plus one individual session. That's more structure and more clinical time than a weekly therapy appointment, and less than a partial hospitalization program (PHP) or a residential stay. You keep living at home and keep your routines, and you practice what you learn in the same life you're trying to change. Treatment uses evidence-based therapies. You don't need to have both a mental health concern and a substance use concern: we treat either one on its own, and we treat both together when both are present, which is called dual diagnosis.

One thing up front: you don't need a drug or alcohol problem to come here. Awkward Recovery treats mental health conditions on their own. If you're also drinking or using to cope, we treat that too.

What we don't do. We don't provide detox, PHP, or residential or inpatient care, and we don't prescribe medication. When someone needs more structure than IOP, we refer them to a partner PHP. When someone needs to start in residential treatment or medically supervised detox, we refer them there. When medication is part of your care, we coordinate with your prescriber.

Awkward Recovery · 4109 Todd Ln. Unit 700, Austin, TX 78744 · Admissions: (512) 616-0809, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT · info@awkwardrecovery.com

If you're in crisis right now, don't wait for an assessment. Call or text 988. More crisis resources are at the bottom of this page.

IOP at Awkward Recovery is for adults 18 and up working on mental health, substance use, or both, who don't need 24-hour care. A clinical pre-screen decides whether IOP is the right level of care for you. There's no upper age limit. In Texas, a 17-year-old can be admitted after a clinical pre-screen. A parent or guardian usually needs to be involved, unless the 17-year-old has been emancipated by a court or can prove they have been living independently as an adult.

In practice, that might look like this. You're still getting to work, but you're drinking or using to get through the week. Or nothing is "wrong" on paper, but your anxiety or depression is running your days, and one hour of therapy every seven days isn't touching it. Or you're dealing with two things at once, like depression and drinking, or trauma and whatever helps you sleep, and you're tired of treating them as separate problems. If any of that sounds familiar, our guide to the signs you might need IOP goes deeper.

IOP isn't the right first step for everyone, and we'll tell you if it isn't the right one for you. If you need medically supervised detox, residential treatment or a PHP first, we'll refer you there. Our comparison of IOP vs. residential treatment can help you see the difference.

A safety note before you quit anything. If you drink heavily on a regular basis, don't stop on your own before you talk to a doctor or a medical detox program. MedlinePlus warns that alcohol withdrawal "may quickly become life-threatening." MedlinePlus's page on lorazepam, a benzodiazepine, says not to stop or take fewer doses without talking to your doctor. If you take any benzodiazepine, talk to your doctor before you stop or cut back. Awkward Recovery doesn't do detox, so if that's where you need to start, we'll point you to medical care first.

Some people want to know whether IOP fits their specific situation. We've written for service-industry workers in IOP, for LGBTQIA+ people considering IOP, and for professionals getting ready to start IOP.

An intensive outpatient program is a step up from regular therapy appointments, and you still go home after each session. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) groups intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization together as programs that "help coordinate your care more intensively than standard visits and usually last for at least a few hours." It says these programs "can include one-on-one appointments, group sessions, and learning about coping skills."

At Awkward Recovery, that means about 10 hours a week of group and individual work at the ASAM Level 2.1 level of care. For the longer explanation, read what an intensive outpatient program is and how it works.

Levels of Care, Side by Side

Treatment comes in levels. Which one fits is a clinical call, based on an assessment of your physical, mental and social needs, including whether you need 24-hour care.

• Standard outpatient (at home): For people who can cope with less support. Their supports and coping skills are in place, they're applying those skills, and life is stable, so weekly or monthly check-ins are enough. For example, someone who has finished IOP, is keeping up with work and family, and uses their skills to get through a hard week. At Awkward Recovery, OP is a step-down after IOP; we don't admit directly to it.
• Intensive outpatient (IOP), the level we admit to (at home): At Awkward Recovery: groups Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m., plus one individual session a week. That's about 10 hours a week.
• Partial hospitalization (PHP) (at home): More structure than IOP. SAMHSA groups it with IOP as the more intensive type of outpatient care. We refer to a partner PHP.
• Inpatient (at a hospital or treatment program): SAMHSA says inpatient care is "usually for people needing 24-hour care." We refer out.
• Residential (at the treatment program): SAMHSA says residential care "usually lasts for a few weeks to a few months." We refer out.

Awkward Recovery provides IOP, with OP as a step-down after IOP. For PHP, residential care and medically supervised detox, we refer out.

Starting IOP takes five steps, and you can join group in any week. We use rolling admissions, so you don't have to wait for a new group to begin.

1. Reach out. Call admissions at (512) 616-0809 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT), email info@awkwardrecovery.com, or use our contact form.
2. Benefits check. Our admissions team runs your benefits and walks you through your options before you start.
3. Pre-screen. A clinical pre-screen decides whether IOP is the right level of care for you, or whether we refer you somewhere that fits better. If you need medical clearance first, we send you to a detox or a stand-alone ER for it.
4. Biopsychosocial assessment (BPSA) and your treatment plan. Once you're admitted, you complete a biopsychosocial assessment (BPSA) with a licensed clinician. It takes 1 to 1.5 hours, in person or by telehealth. Assessments like this look at your biomedical, psychological and social needs, and your clinical team uses it to build your treatment plan with you.
5. Join group. Groups meet Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and you can join in any week.

For the details of each step, see IOP assessment and admission steps.