Medically reviewed by Alejandro Alva, M.D., Medical Director · Last reviewed October 2026
Our San Diego IOP treats substance use and co-occurring mental health needs together. One team. One location.
Adults who need more structure than weekly therapy and can stay safely at home between sessions.
Individual and group therapy, relapse prevention, case management, and psychiatric support with medication management, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), as appropriate.
Substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions are treated in one plan by one team.
Verify your insurance, complete a clinical assessment, and set a schedule that fits your week.
San Diego Transformation Center’s intensive outpatient program (IOP) delivers evidence-based addiction treatment with integrated mental health support. The same team coordinates your care, with morning, afternoon, and evening scheduling options.
You attend structured sessions several days a week while you keep up with work, school, and family. Therapy, skills groups, and psychiatric support stay coordinated, so you don’t have to retell your story.
How your schedule is set
Your care team sets program intensity based on your progress and clinical recommendation, and builds your sessions around work, school, and family. If your needs change, your team adjusts the intensity.
IOP can be a step down from ambulatory detox or PHP, or a step up from standard outpatient care. A clinical assessment confirms where you start.
| Level of care | Structure | Typical time | Often a fit when you | Common next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulatory Detox → | Medically supervised withdrawal, no overnight stay | Varies by substance and severity; set at your assessment | Need medical monitoring for withdrawal and are stable enough to stay at home | Step down to PHP, IOP, or OP |
| Partial Hospitalization (PHP) → | Highest outpatient structure | 5 to 6 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week | Need daily structure and can stay safely at home overnight | Step down to IOP |
| Intensive Outpatient (IOP) You are here | Moderate to high | About 3 hours a day, 3 to 5 days a week | Need more than weekly therapy while keeping work, school, or family commitments | Step down to OP |
| Outpatient (OP) → | Lowest | 1 to 2 sessions a week | Are maintaining progress with ongoing support | Ongoing recovery support and peer or alumni groups |
When you step up or down, you stay with the same team. Looking for mental health care instead? See our Mental Health IOP.
We accept most insurance plans. Verify your insurance or call (858) 215-1655 for 24/7 confidential support.
IOP may be a good fit if you:
Our outpatient substance use treatment, including IOP, addresses use involving:
Alcohol
Opioids
Including prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl
Stimulants
Including methamphetamine, cocaine, and prescription stimulants
Benzodiazepines
Cannabis
More than one substance
Polysubstance use
If you may need support with withdrawal, your assessment determines whether ambulatory detox comes first.
Substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions (sometimes called dual diagnosis) are treated in the same plan, by the same team. Your therapist, psychiatric provider, and case manager share one understanding of your history and goals.
Often addressed alongside substance use
Depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, bipolar disorder
One coordinated plan
Therapy, psychiatric support and medication management as appropriate, and case management
Plans that adjust
Your team reviews progress and updates your plan as your needs change
Explore related programs
EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy for processing traumatic memories, often closely tied to substance use in recovery. When clinically appropriate, it’s offered as part of IOP, led by trained clinicians and paced to each person’s readiness, alongside individual therapy, group work, and psychiatric care. It is one part of a broader plan, and clinical assessment determines fit.
Explore Therapy Options
Our evening and weekend IOP tracks offer the same comprehensive care, with flexible schedules for working professionals and students.
Evening track
Tuesday to Thursday
6 PM to 9 PM
Weekend track
Saturday sessions
Here is what starting IOP looks like, from your first call to stepping down.
Reach out
Call (858) 215-1655 or send a confidential message. Tell us what is going on and what kind of support you are looking for.
Verify your insurance
Our team runs a confidential benefits check and handles verification and authorization for you. Coverage varies by plan.
Complete a clinical assessment
A clinician reviews your substance use history, mental health, safety, and goals to confirm whether IOP is the right fit, or whether ambulatory detox, PHP, or OP is a better starting point.
Get your personalized plan
Your care team builds an evidence-based plan for substance use and any co-occurring mental health needs, and sets your schedule around work, school, and family.
Begin IOP
You start sessions with the same team: individual and group therapy, with psychiatric support and medication management as appropriate.
Step down with a plan
Most clients participate in IOP for 6 to 12 weeks. Discharge planning runs throughout and prepares you for outpatient care and ongoing recovery support.
Admission requirements
Insurance
We work with most insurance plans. Carriers listed on our Insurance Plans page include Aetna, Cigna, MultiPlan, Optum, and UnitedHealthcare. Coverage varies by plan, so verifying your insurance is the most reliable way to confirm your benefits.
Verify Your InsuranceSee Insurance PlansQuick answers about intensive outpatient treatment at San Diego Transformation Center.
An Intensive Outpatient Program is a structured level of outpatient care that provides several treatment sessions each week while you continue living at home. It offers more clinical support and accountability than standard outpatient care, without the overnight stay of residential treatment.
Yes. IOP is an outpatient form of addiction treatment. You attend structured therapy and skills sessions at our San Diego center several days a week and return home afterward, with psychiatric support available as needed.
Partial Hospitalization (PHP) is a more intensive, daytime level of care with more hours of programming per week. IOP steps down from that intensity, with fewer weekly hours so you can balance treatment with work, school, or family. A clinical assessment determines which level fits your needs.
Most clients participate in IOP for 6 to 12 weeks, though the length is flexible. Program intensity is adjusted to your progress rather than a fixed timeline, and discharge planning is built in throughout.
We work with most insurance plans and handle verification and authorization for you. Coverage varies by plan, so the most reliable next step is to verify your insurance and let our team confirm your specific benefits.
Yes. IOP is designed for adults who need to maintain daily responsibilities, with morning, afternoon, and evening scheduling options.
Yes. Substance use and conditions such as depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, and bipolar disorder are treated together under one coordinated plan, with psychiatric support and medication management available where clinically appropriate.
Your team plans your step down as you stabilize. That can include a move to standard outpatient care and ongoing recovery support, with discharge planning integrated throughout your time in the program.
Our 15,000-square-foot center brings detox, PHP, IOP, OP, and supportive services under one roof.
