Houghton House
Outpatient treatment
Intensive outpatient treatment for drug, alcohol, or gambling addiction
Outpatient rehab is a powerful alternative to inpatient addiction treatment. It offers the treatment, accountability, and structure you need to conquer your addiction, without taking you out of your life.
Inpatient care might not be possible, but your recovery certainly is
Inpatient rehab is the gold standard in addiction treatment. However, when family commitments, work obligations, or financial constraints make inpatient care impossible, our intensive outpatient programme (IOP) offers a powerful alternative.
Outpatient treatment is especially effective in the earlier stages of addiction. It provides structured support and accountability, intensive therapy, and recovery tools — while allowing you to live at home, continue working, and maintain your daily responsibilities.
Top-tier addiction treatment, on your terms
Our intensive outpatient programme is:
Effective in select cases
Ideal for early-stage or moderate addiction, provided a person’s home environment supports their recovery
Held every weekday evening
Designed for individuals in recovery who need to maintain everyday work and family commitments
Evidence-based treatment
Incorporates the same proven treatment models and recovery techniques used in our inpatient programme
Led by addiction experts
Run by experienced, professional counsellors and therapists who understand the inner workings of addiction
Start real recovery in real life with our holistic, evidence-based outpatient programme
Stay connected with your loved ones while you heal
You’ll work on managing cravings, understanding your behaviours, and changing old habits — while staying connected to family and friends
Learn real-world skills for real-life challenges
Get the practical tools to tackle daily challenges, and build confidence in your ability to thrive in your work, relationships, and everyday life
Address the core issues driving your addiction
Uncover the root causes and effects of your addiction head-on and gain insights into how your inner world and emotions influence your actions
Rediscover yourself with new compassion
Develop a new, stronger, and more compassionate relationship with yourself as you heal, grow, and build healthy patterns, all while staying present for life’s important moments
Build a support network for life-long recovery
Find your recovery family here. Share struggles and successes with people who truly get it, as you create meaningful relationships and learn from people walking the same road as you
Is outpatient rehab right for you?
Outpatient rehabilitation suits people with a stable home life, a strong drive to change, and the dedication to show up and put in the effort.
Houghton House’s intensive outpatient programme is designed for individuals who fit the following profile:
Nature of addiction
Outpatient treatment works when the addiction hasn’t progressed to the point of requiring medical detox or round-the-clock clinical supervision. If withdrawal is likely to be medically complex, inpatient care is the safer starting point.
- Mild to moderate addiction
- No need for intense detox or withdrawal management
- No need for 24-hour supervision
Lifestyle factors
Recovery outside a clinical setting depends heavily on what you go home to. A stable, substance-free environment and active support from the people around you make a significant difference to whether outpatient treatment holds.
- Supportive, substance-free home environment
- Regular family contact and involvement
Personal commitment
Outpatient treatment places more responsibility on the individual than inpatient care. Without the structure of a residential setting, your own motivation and consistency determine whether the programme works.
- Strong internal motivation to recover
- Commitment to consistently attending daily therapy sessions and group meetings
When inpatient rehab is a better starting point than outpatient care:
When safety is at risk
Your addiction is severe enough to pose a risk to your health or safety. Withdrawals from alcohol or benzodiazepines in particular require medical supervision to manage safely.
A history of relapse
You have a recovery track record that suggests you need the structure and supervision of a residential rehab setting to maintain sobriety in the early stages of recovery.
An enabling home environment
Your home environment actively enables substance use, through access to alcohol or drugs, money that funds continued use, or relationships that make abstinence harder to maintain.
A high-trigger environment
Significant stress at home — whether emotional, financial, or relational — tends to undermine recovery. A residential rehab setting provides the distance needed to stabilise.
What to expect before you start outpatient rehab
Medical readiness
During the initial assessment, the team will assess your physical readiness. They’ll ask about your current use and flag whether you need medically-supervised detox or 24-hour supervision, which is only available in the inpatient programme.
Total transparency
Going through the programme without telling your family or employer undermines its efficacy. Recovery at this level depends on the support of the people around you. The admissions team can help you approach those conversations.
STRUCTURED TREATMENT, LASTING RECOVERY
Programme details
Schedule
17:00 – 19:00
Daily
Monday to Friday
Location
First Step Outpatient Services
420 York Avenue
Ferndale, Johannesburg
Duration
4 weeks
(Can be extended)
Comprehensive care from an expert team
The intensive outpatient programme requires the individual to participate in:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Relapse prevention education
- Recovery support groups
- Family therapy sessions and support
- Weekly alcohol and drug monitoring
High-quality treatment that fits your life
Outpatient treatment isn’t a shortcut to recovery. It demands commitment and accountability, but we’ll support you at every step.
You’ll be challenged, held accountable, and empowered to recover.
Key ingredients to this programme’s success include:
- Honesty and transparency
- A supportive home environment
- Regular family contact and involvement
- Reliable transport to attend daily sessions
- Recovery support groups
How to get started
If you’re considering the outpatient programme, get in touch, and the admissions team will take it from there. Houghton House is a registered psychiatric hospital with on-site medical staff, so if your situation changes during the programme, the team can escalate your care without requiring you to start elsewhere.
FAQs
Outpatient treatment runs Monday to Friday from 17:00 to 19:00. For the duration of the programme, patients attend one group therapy session and one lecture per day. There is also one individual session per week with a therapist.
Houghton House’s outpatient programme runs for 4-6 weeks. The programme coordinator will discuss your treatment needs and programme duration with you before you join. You may also extend your outpatient treatment to 6 weeks if you need more time.
Outpatient treatment at Houghton House costs R17,000-R26,000, depending on the duration of the programme. The standard 4-week intensive outpatient programme costs R17,000. A 6-week programme is also available for patients who need it.
The decision between inpatient and outpatient treatment depends on three factors: the severity of the addiction, whether withdrawal requires medical supervision, and how supportive and stable your home environment is.
Outpatient treatment is best suited to genuinely self-motivated people who are prepared to be honest and totally transparent with the people in their lives about their addiction, and who have a stable home environment.
If the addiction hasn’t reached the point of requiring medical detox, outpatient treatment can be effective.
Inpatient treatment is more appropriate when the addiction is severe, when previous attempts at outpatient haven’t worked, when the home environment is too unstable or full of triggers, or when withdrawal requires clinical supervision. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal, in particular, can be physically dangerous and requires management in a hospital setting.
Addiction makes honest self-assessment difficult, and an instinct to choose outpatient often reflects a desire to keep the problem hidden from family or colleagues rather than a genuine clinical fit.
Our admissions team can help you work out which option suits your situation. We assess each person’s medical and living situation to ensure this programme is the right fit.
No, outpatient treatment is not covered by medical aid. In some cases, it can be claimed back from medical aid savings.
You’ll be held accountable throughout the process. The success of the intensive outpatient programme relies on your active participation and adherence to the structure provided. If you’re struggling to uphold your commitments for whatever reason, it’s important to communicate with the treatment team so they can provide the appropriate support.
The outpatient programme leads into a longer-term support structure that runs through the first year of recovery.
Most people move into aftercare once the IOP programme ends. Aftercare typically runs for three to four months and involves group therapy three days a week, plus a weekly individual session with a therapist. The aim is to consolidate what you’ve learned in treatment and apply it to daily life.
After that, recovery maintenance takes over: group and individual sessions, each once a week, continuing until you reach the 12-month mark of continuous abstinence. Recovery maintenance gives the habits built in treatment time to take hold, with a lighter structure than aftercare but enough consistency to keep recovery on track.
Medical aids generally don’t cover group therapy sessions, but individual sessions with a psychologist may be claimable from your medical aid. The admissions team can advise on this when discussing your treatment plan.
If you have questions about what happens after the programme, or want to understand the full continuum of care before committing, speak to our admissions team, who’ll take you through the options in detail.
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