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Comprehensive addiction treatment services (CATS)
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Adult Substance Use Disorders Outpatient Programs and Services
 Starting the journey from surviving to thriving

As the Washington, DC region’s leading provider of treatment for substance use disorders, Inova’s CATS program is committed to offering comprehensive, compassionate and effective treatment for people facing all forms of chemical dependency.

Using an evidence-based approach to care, the outpatient CATS programs and services has different types of outpatient care including more intensive, structured group programs as well as less intensive services that support long-term recovery.

CATS – Types of care

CATS offers several different types of outpatient care, including more intensive, structured group programs as well as less intensive services that support long-term recovery. Here is a quick overview of the types of outpatient care we offer:

CATS outpatient programs

  • Partial Hospitalization Program, also known as “day treatment” – 5 days a week, full day
  • Intensive Outpatient Program – 3 days a week, half day (day and evening times available)

CATS outpatient services

  • Relapse prevention
  • Sober living
  • Early recovery
  • Medication-assisted treatment
  • Therapy

Let’s take a detailed look at each of these outpatient programs and services.

Partial Hospitalization Program (day treatment)

Inova’s CATS Partial Hospitalization Program is commonly referred to as our day treatment program. The program’s goal is to build participants’ skills to support their ongoing recovery from addiction. It can serve as a step down from a residential program or inpatient medical detox, or it can serve as a point of entry to addiction treatment. The program combines a high level of structure and support with an outpatient setting. People in the program spend the day in small-group therapy and skill-building sessions, but they return to their homes, families and communities each evening. It’s a holistic approach that embraces the whole person, providing support, skills and encouragement for recovery.

Our day treatment program for the CATS Partial Hospitalization Program runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday and is offered at our clinic near Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA. How long participants stay in the program depends on each individual’s treatment plan, but patients generally stay at this level of care for five days.

Program components

  • Detailed assessment and psychiatric evaluation
  • Individualized treatment plan with a multidisciplinary team approach
  • Daily breathalyzer and urine drug screen
  • Symptom management with medication
  • Medical monitoring
  • Patient-directed goal setting
  • Evidence-based and measurement-based therapies
  • Group therapy sessions throughout the day, covering topics including coping skills, anxiety management, boundary setting, motivational interviewing techniques and addiction’s effect on the brain
  • Wellness recovery action plan for each night
  • Aftercare planning and transition to the next level of care

Our team

Our multidisciplinary team includes physicians (both internal medicine specialists and psychiatrists), advanced practice providers, certified addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors, clinical social workers, nurses and other staff. Everyone at CATS is dedicated to providing confidential, compassionate care and support for each individual's recovery.

Locations:

Intensive Outpatient Program

Inova’s CATS Intensive Outpatient Program supports participants as they continue to build their recovery skills. It offers an intensive, curriculum-based, small group approach. Participants can return to work and family responsibilities, while still benefiting from a serious focus on their individual recovery journeys.

Each program session offers a deep dive into a single topic, with a different topic each day. Like the CATS Partial Hospitalization Program, participants build trust with their fellow group members as well as the CATS staff. Unlike day treatment, however, each day is devoted to learning about one aspect of addiction or recovery.

Each participant’s experience in the program is customized for that individual. For example, the program offers a dual-diagnosis track with a trauma-informed approach for people with co-occurring mental health issues and addiction.

The CATS Intensive Outpatient Program is offered three hours a day, three days a week for up to 10 weeks. It is generally offered as a step down from day treatment program, but it can also be its own point of entry to treatment, if appropriate.

Program components

  • Detailed assessment and psychiatric evaluation
  • Individualized treatment plan with a multidisciplinary team approach
  • Weekly breathalyzer and urine drug screen
  • Dual-diagnosis track
  • Evidence-based and measurement-based therapies
  • Small group format focused on a single topic at each meeting, from addiction’s effect on brain chemistry to stress management
  • Opportunity to work with CATS alumni and understand recovery from their perspectives
  • Aftercare planning and transition to the next level of care

Our team

We work as a team with psychiatrists, therapists, nurses, certified addiction counselors, social workers and other staff. A participant’s recovery journey may also include working with CATS alumni. The team works cohesively to help individuals make progress in recovery.

Locations:

The CATS Intensive Outpatient Program is co-located at each clinic.

Relapse prevention

As participants continue to strengthen their recovery skills, their needs tend to change. Designed as a step down from the CATS Intensive Outpatient Program, Relapse Prevention provides ongoing recovery support in a flexible format.

Relapse Prevention takes a holistic approach, supporting multiple dimensions of wellness as participants work to avoid relapse. It also helps participants navigate challenging situations or “stuck points” as they establish new support systems in their lives.

Relapse Prevention is offered twice a week for two hours each day. Progress through this level of care is based on participants’ progress toward the goals they have outlined for themselves.

Location:

Sober living

As individuals progress along their recovery journeys, they integrate sobriety into their lives. The Sober Living Program is a weekly support group that helps individuals stay on track for the long term.

Sober Living is the least intensive step in the CATS program, designed for people who have progressed through the previous levels of treatment. It is a support group, led by a licensed professional counselor or certified addiction counselor, that provides ongoing support and accountability as individuals navigate their lives while maintaining their sobriety.

Sober Living meets once a week for two hours. Participants can participate in the program as long as they find it helpful.

Location:

Early recovery

The Early Recovery Program is an eight-week program designed for individuals struggling with the line between using substances and being dependent on them. The program is designed for those who are using substances to manage stress and who may also be experiencing legal consequences related to their substance use. We offer a combination of psychology, education and therapeutic processing in this group therapy program.

Location:

Note: CATS has recently converted many of its Intensive Outpatient Program’s services to be available online.

Medication-assisted treatment

Medication-assisted treatment supports individuals through recovery by providing medications to help decrease cravings and reduce the potential for relapse using. In combination with therapy, medication-assisted treatment can be a powerful tool to address substance use disorders. Medications include:

  • Long-acting naltrexone (Vivitrol) – helps to reduce cravings and block the effects of opioid medication. Vivitrol is also used to help manage cravings for those with alcohol use disorder.
  • Suboxone – helps to reduce cravings and manage withdrawal symptoms for those who are dependent on opioids, including prescription pain medications and heroin.

The medication-assisted treatment clinic will partner with community physicians to provide the Vivitrol and psychotropic long-acting injections to their patients. The nursing team will work with patients to register and begin delivery of the medication.

Locations:

Individual therapy

Addiction affects the individual facing the substance use disorder, but its effects extend to that individual’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones as well. Focusing on improving relationships through better communication can help people in treatment build the support system they need to sustain recovery.

CATS offers individual and family counseling to support the recovery of participants in any level of CATS. These are short-term, solution-focused therapy sessions. How it works:

  • Therapy is structured as a series of weekly appointments for up to 12 weeks total.
  • During the initial meeting, the therapist and patient work together to set goals.
  • Then, the therapist uses an evidence-based, solution-focused counseling approach that may include cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, skill building, mindfulness and other techniques.

Each of our therapists has Master’s level training and is credentialed as a certified addiction counselor, licensed professional counselor or licensed clinical social worker. Note: Therapy is available to current CATS program participants only.

Locations:

 

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