Changes Treatment Center
The Outpatient Program at Changes Treatment Center is the least intensive level of outpatient care, offering a few hours of treatment a week for adults continuing their recovery. It is the step-down that follows PHP and IOP, using CBT, DBT, and trauma-informed care to maintain progress. We accept most major insurance.
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An outpatient program is the least intensive level of structured treatment. At Changes, OP provides a few hours of therapy a week, focused on maintaining progress and preventing relapse. It is the step-down that follows PHP and IOP as clients return to independent living.
OP is lighter than IOP. IOP runs 9 to 15 hours a week across several days, while OP involves only a few hours a week. Most clients move from IOP to OP as their need for structure decreases and they take back more of daily life.
OP is for adults who have progressed through more intensive care, usually PHP or IOP, and are ready for lighter support. It suits people with a stable home and support system who want continued accountability while returning fully to work, school, or family.
The Outpatient Program involves a few hours of treatment a week, typically one to two sessions depending on your plan. Your clinical team sets the exact schedule based on where you are in recovery.
Most commercial insurance plans cover outpatient treatment, often with fewer authorization requirements than higher levels of care. Changes works with most major providers and verifies your benefits in about 15 minutes, free and confidential. Private-pay options are available if needed.
The Outpatient Program (OP) at Changes is the least intensive level of care in our continuum, designed to keep recovery going once a client no longer needs the daily structure of PHP or the multiple weekly sessions of IOP. It provides continued therapy and support on a lighter schedule, so recovery stays supported while daily life takes back more of your time.
OP is where treatment and independent living overlap most. By this stage, clients have usually built a foundation of coping skills and stability through more intensive care. The Outpatient Program keeps a professional connection in place while that foundation becomes fully self-sustaining, offering support that is consistent but no longer all-consuming.
The value of a dedicated outpatient level is that recovery rarely ends cleanly at the close of a more intensive program. The transition back to full independence is its own stage, with its own challenges: managing stress without the daily structure of treatment, holding onto new habits when old environments return, and staying accountable when no one is checking in every day. OP exists to support exactly that transition, so the step from intensive treatment to independent life is gradual rather than abrupt. Stepping down through levels of care, rather than stopping all at once, is consistently associated with more durable recovery.
The Outpatient Program involves a few hours of treatment a week, typically one to two sessions, depending on your plan. Sessions focus on maintaining the progress made in more intensive care: reinforcing coping skills, staying accountable, and addressing challenges as they come up in daily life.
Treatment begins where your previous level of care left off. Rather than a fresh assessment, OP builds on the plan you have already developed, adjusting it for a lighter schedule. You continue working with clinical staff who help you apply what you have learned to real situations, and who can recommend stepping back up to a higher level of care if your needs change.
Because OP asks for only a few hours a week, it fits around work, school, and family without requiring you to put life on hold. That flexibility is the point: at this stage, practicing recovery inside a full, normal life is itself part of the treatment.
The Outpatient Program is for adults who have progressed through more intensive treatment and are ready for a lighter level of support. It is the right level for people who have built stability in PHP or IOP and want to maintain it while returning fully to daily responsibilities.
It fits people at a specific point in recovery: stable enough that daily or near-daily treatment is no longer necessary, but not so far along that a professional connection is no longer useful. For many, that middle stage is where recovery is quietly won or lost, and a lighter level of structured support can make the difference between maintaining progress and drifting away from it.
The Outpatient Program is the final structured step in the Changes continuum of care. Most clients arrive here after moving down through the levels: from PHP, to IOP, and then into OP as their need for structure decreases. From OP, many continue into aftercare and support groups, which keep connection in place without formal sessions.
Moving through the full continuum, rather than leaving treatment straight from a more intensive level, is designed to protect the progress you have made. Each step down lowers the intensity of support while keeping a professional connection in place, so independence is built gradually. The Outpatient Program is the point where that connection is at its lightest but still present, which is often exactly what is needed to carry recovery the rest of the way into everyday life.
Dimension | PHP | IOP | OP |
Hours/week | Several/day, 5 days | 9, 15 hours | A few hours* |
Intensity | Highest outpatient | Moderate | Lightest |
Best for | Daily structure | Step-down; working adults | Maintenance after IOP |
The Outpatient Program uses the same evidence-based therapies as our other levels of care, applied on a lighter schedule: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, trauma-informed care, and relapse-prevention strategies.
At the OP level, the emphasis shifts toward maintenance and relapse prevention. CBT and DBT skills are reinforced and applied to real situations, motivational work keeps commitment strong as structure decreases, and relapse-prevention planning takes on added importance during the return to full independence. Trauma-informed care continues to guide how treatment is delivered.
The lighter schedule changes how these therapies are used, not which ones. Instead of introducing new skills at a fast pace, OP sessions tend to focus on applying and refining what you already know, troubleshooting the specific situations that come up as you take on more of daily life. In practice, that means each session is often built around real events from the week, turning them into practice for the challenges recovery will keep presenting.
Changes Treatment Center works with most major insurance providers, and we verify benefits on any plan in about 15 minutes. Most commercial plans cover outpatient treatment, often with fewer authorization requirements than higher levels of care, though exact coverage depends on your specific plan.
Verification is free and carries no obligation. If you do not have coverage that works, we offer private-pay options and will talk through the most realistic path on a confidential call.
Orange County recorded an estimated 490 accidental overdose deaths in 2023, and its opioid overdose death rate nearly tripled between 2017 and 2021, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Sustained recovery depends on support that continues as intensity decreases, which is exactly what an outpatient program provides. Changes Treatment Center is at 2787 Bristol Street in Costa Mesa, serving adults across Orange County.
Keeping outpatient care local means you can maintain your recovery without disrupting work or family. Insurance verification takes about 15 minutes, and our team can explain how the Outpatient Program fits after your current level of care.
Eric Chaghouri, MD, is the Medical Director at Changes Treatment Center and reviews the clinical content on this page. Dr. Chaghouri is a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in addiction and forensic psychiatry.
Continue your recovery at the right pace. If you are ready to step down to outpatient care, or want to understand where OP fits after PHP or IOP, our team can help. Call (949) 807-2008 or verify your insurance online.
Recovery is more than stopping a behavior, it’s about rediscovering who you are. At Changes, we provide a supportive space where individuals can rebuild confidence, gain clarity, and move forward with purpose through personalized care.
We focus on strengthening identity, encouraging presence, and supporting overall well-being. By addressing self-sabotage and fostering community, we help turn intention into lasting change, walking with you every step of the way.
Our licensed professionals bring years of expertise in addiction and mental health treatment.
We customize treatment for every client to ensure long term success.
From detox to aftercare, Changes walks with you every step of the way.
Our Costa Mesa location offers a calming, bright, and rejuvenating atmosphere.
A Simple Path to a New Beginning with Changes
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