Levels of Care

Whenever someone goes through addiction treatment, they will experience services based on a continuum of care, also known as ASAM levels of care. Below is a breakdown of the different types of treatment you or your loved one may expect to receive:

The highest form of care is level 4, also known as a detox facility. Detox programs are for people who experience significant withdrawal effects when they stop using their substance(s) of choice. While this step is not necessary for everyone, withdrawal effects can be fatal for some populations of addicts. For people who do not go directly into detox, they may go to the next level down for treatment.

Level 3 care includes residential treatment centers (RTCs) or inpatient facilities. RTC’s are your standard 30 day rehab. Most insurance policies typically cover 14-21 days of stay. Additionally, they include 24/7 supervision, structured activities, clinical therapy and medication management. Some programs provide extended care for a cash rate to provide longer term intensive inpatient care.

The next level down is intensive outpatient programming (IOP) and partial hospitalization programming (PHP). Both of these services are provided in an outpatient setting and designed for one to be able to live in an alternative setting other than residential. These services are great for someone who is already experienced one of the higher levels of care or are already medically stabilized but need additional support. Programs vary greatly in services provided but in essence, IOP provides 3 hours of group therapy per week for 3-5 times per week. Conversely, PHP provides 5 hours of group therapy per week, 5 days per week. Both types of care usually provide individual therapy, access to a psychiatrist and client amenities (i.e. yoga, gym, etc).

Level 1 care is outpatient programming (OP). It provides less than 9 hours of group therapy per week and an individual therapy session. Most people go into this type of programming once they have completed IOP or if they briefly relapsed and need some additional recovery support.