Women’s Outpatient Recovery Program
Admitting that you need help for your substance abuse disorder is a big step. Starting treatment is another. It requires courage and resolve.
If you are considering treatment for your drug and/or alcohol use, we applaud you, and we want to help you make the most informed decision.
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Drug Recovery Programs
Substance abuse treatment generally takes two forms: inpatient and outpatient. The first thing you may be wondering about is which one of these you need.
Inpatient treatment is residential, meaning you are admitted to a facility where you will live while receiving intensive treatment. The residential facility can take place in a hospital, a home, or a luxury setting (like a spa). Regardless of the setting, the goal is the same: to remove you from the major stressors and negative influences in your life so that you can participate in intensive treatment. In this safe, managed environment, you can focus on healing emotionally, spiritually, and physically and overcoming addiction.
Outpatient treatment is not residential. You will live independently but participate regularly in therapies to help you overcome your addiction. The time commitment commonly ranges from five to six hours per day to two to three hours per day. It usually includes a mix of group therapy, individual therapy, and medical appointments.
Outpatient treatment offers more independence than inpatient treatment. Whereas your time will be largely structured for you in inpatient treatment, you will have more control over your schedule in outpatient treatment. You can still work and go to school and live on your own.
People may opt for outpatient treatment if their addiction is not serious enough to merit inpatient treatment. They may also enter outpatient treatment after completing inpatient treatment. In these cases, outpatient becomes an invaluable segue between inpatient treatment and living life as usual. It still offers ongoing emotional support and accountability, so people are less likely to relapse. At the same time, it offers enough autonomy that people can put the habits they have learned in residential treatment into practice in the real world.
Women’s Outpatient Drug Recovery Program in Heyburn, Idaho
Renaissance Refuge in Southern Idaho is a leader in outpatient recovery programs for women. Our outpatient services are offered as a follow-on to our inpatient program. It provides the critical bridge between residential treatment and real life in recovery.
Here’s how the process works:
- Detox. You are admitted to our Renaissance Refuge inpatient center in beautiful Southern Idaho to begin your recovery journey. If you’ve tried detox before, you know it can be an excruciating process as you cycle through intense cravings and anguishing withdrawal symptoms. But there’s an easier way than self-detox, and that is medically-assisted detox. With the help of medical providers, we will ease you off of drugs and alcohol as you go. When you try to detox on your own, you will inevitably suffer more than you need to. Medically-assisted detox controls the pace of your withdrawal and manages your symptoms with medications so that you suffer as little as possible. As most experts will tell you, this is the only good way to detox.
- Residential treatment. Detox will be the first step in your 60-day inpatient experience. During our inpatient program, you will reside in our beautiful red brick home in Heyburn, Idaho. This is a women’s-only home where you will thrive in the company of other women who are also on the road to recovery. You will be immersed in our faith-based, 12-step recovery program that will help you build (or rebuild) your relationship with a higher power. You will develop habits that will help you deepen and sustain that all-important relationship. You will also work on strengthening your mental health through individual and group therapies. These will help you uncover and work through pain points that contribute to your addiction. You will learn to overcome feelings of guilt, shame, and perfectionism. You will learn healthy ways of framing traumas from your past. The goal is to give you healthy coping skills for dealing with life’s ups and downs. You can rely on these skills in challenging times rather than reverting to substance abuse.
- Outpatient treatment. After you complete women’s residential treatment at the Refuge, you can begin our eight-month women’s outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program in Burley, Idaho. This starts with a “bridge” called “partial hospitalization programming” or PHP. This usually lasts about a week and is the most heavily structured part of the women’s outpatient recovery program. It’s a step down from residential treatment because you will be living independently, but you will still be in treatment for several hours per day. After that, your time in treatment will be reduced. You will enjoy the emotional support and accountability of daily therapies and medical check-ins, but you will be free to live and work independently.
- Optional: Sober living home. When you begin outpatient treatment, you may choose to live in our sober living home in Burley, Idaho. There are many reasons people choose to stay in our sober living home while they complete our women’s outpatient drug rehab program. One reason is they may desire the ongoing structure and support. In our Idaho sober living home, you will be surrounded by women who are working toward the same goal that you are: long-term sobriety. They, along with compassionate staff members, can provide emotional support and accountability. Our sober living house allows you to return home to a calm, stable environment that can help you on your recovery journey.
What Is Involved with Outpatient Therapy?
You will participate daily in the therapies that you started in residential treatment while you ease back into the stresses of daily life. These therapies and associations with caring staff and other women in recovery can help you deal with the challenges that come your way.
If you lose your job, have a frustrating interaction with a family member, or hit a snag in your efforts to regain custody of your children, you might feel tempted to turn to substance abuse. But with the accountability and support you will receive daily in outpatient therapy, you can choose to react to these setbacks in healthy ways.
You will enjoy the guidance and mentorship from staff members who want nothing but the best for you. Many of these staff members are in recovery themselves, so they understand what you’re going through and how to help you navigate the tough times.
- Focus on Mental Health. Studies show that women’s substance abuse is more closely linked to past traumatic experiences than it is for men. If you have trauma in your background, you cannot ignore it. It’s a wound that has festered, likely contributing to your drug or alcohol use. It will continue to cause you pain and stunt your progress if you do not deal with it through healing therapies. At Renaissance Refuge, we know that women’s mental health issues can trigger substance abuse. We hit these issues head-on with intensive individual and group therapy that begins in inpatient treatment and continues into outpatient treatment. Our therapists can help you work through anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder.We take a holistic approach to mental health treatment, offering science-backed therapies such as:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – identifying and changing harmful thought patterns to overcome mental health disorders.
- Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) – helping patients increase motivation for overcoming substance abuse through strategies like goal setting.
- Psycho-educational therapy – combines cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, and education to help patients overcome substance abuse disorders.
- Recreational therapy – this systematic process uses recreation and other activity-based modalities to improve psychological health.
- Group psychotherapy – Hosted by a therapist in a small group setting, people use talk therapy to learn more about their own concerns and learn from and with others. People improve their relationship with themselves and others and serve as therapeutic helpers for others in the group.
We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health intervention but rather in a customized treatment plan that helps you process through any type of trauma or abuse you may have experienced in your life. Our goal is to help you develop healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with the past, present, and future. You do not need to be a prisoner to mental health issues. You can break free of guilt, shame, anxiety, sadness, and hopelessness and press forward with energy and optimism toward a brighter future.
- Focus on Faith. Our inpatient treatment program is built on faith, and our women’s outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program is no different. We rely on the highly effective 12-step program, which helps you acknowledge your utter dependence on a higher power. If you can develop a strong bond with the Lord, that bond can carry you through the most difficult times. None of us can get through life on our own. We’ll end up falling short and beating ourselves up every time we do. This can plunge us into a cycle of guilt and shame. But when we link ourselves to Christ, we can rely on His consummate power. This pulls us out of shame and hopelessness and fills our lives with a bright hope. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
Why a Women’s Outpatient Drug Recovery Program (vs. a Co-ed Program)?
At Renaissance Refuge, our Idaho outpatient alcohol and drug treatment programs are for women only. This is because women often abuse drugs and alcohol for very different reasons than men do. And they respond differently to certain therapies than men do, too. Our gender-specific therapy allows us to focus on what works best for the women at the Refuge.
We can also create a safe space for women. Too often, women have experienced trauma or abuse at the hands of men. The sisterhood of our outpatient drug recovery program allows women to feel safe, seen, and understood. They can develop strong bonds with other women while healing from difficulties in their past.
What if I’m Nervous to Return to Old Relationships?
Relationships are the very essence of life. We are driven to connect with other people. Unfortunately, damaged relationships can trigger substance abuse. And, conversely, substance abuse can damage relationships that were once intact.
We understand that when women come to the Refuge, they are part of a complex web of relationships. They may have had toxic or abusive relationships with partners. They may have become involved with drugs in the first place as a way of starting or maintaining a relationship. They may have damaged relationships with their parents, siblings, and children as a result of their drug use. They may have even had their children taken away and be aching to see those children again.
This is why one of our top priorities at the Refuge is to help you develop healthy relationships. Your safety is our top concern. We carefully vet visitors so that no one who intends to harm you will be able to have contact with you. For family members, we offer a robust family therapy program, with virtual classes available every day of the week. We want to make sure that you and those you love will have the tools to connect in healthy ways moving forward.
If you have made the brave decision to leave your children in the care of others while you heal, or if you have had your children taken away, we understand that reunifying with them is your top goal. We help you become the kind of mother your children need so that you can live together as a happy, thriving family.
As you participate in our women’s outpatient recovery program here in Idaho, you will be renewing relationships, which can be both happy and hard. We know that relationships don’t magically heal overnight, and we support you and your loved ones every step of the way with ongoing therapy as you rebuild. We help you heal what needs healing and chart a positive course forward so that you can have a life full of deep and fulfilling connections.
Call To Learn More
If you or a loved one suffers from the horrors of substance abuse, then don’t wait for the problem to get worse before you try to make it better. It is crucial for individuals dealing with addiction to seek help as soon as possible, so that they can find themselves on a path towards lasting recovery. Give our caring team a call today to learn more