Outpatient Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Northern California

People Sitting In A Circle During Outpatient Treatment Therapy

For some people struggling to overcome substance abuse, taking months off from work or school to attend a residential treatment program simply isn’t practical. For others, insurance coverage isn’t available for our residential inpatient treatment program, so a shorter – yet still effective – alternative is needed. (Verify Your Insurance Now)

The Elevate Addiction Services outpatient care program is designed to serve local northern California residents who need the flexibility of drug and alcohol treatment services in the evenings.

What Are Outpatient Programs vs. Inpatient Treatment?

Our inpatient rehab and drug addiction treatment, also called residential treatment, is an addiction treatment and rehab center where clients come to live at one of our locations in Santa Cruz County or South Lake Tahoe while they undergo drug or alcohol addiction treatment. This immersive substance abuse treatment is ideal for people who need to get out of their current environment in order to make a fresh start.

With outpatient treatment programs, a client continues his or her daily work and personal routine, but then attends drug or alcohol addiction treatment education and counseling in the evenings for eight weeks. Clients may continue to attend weekly support groups for as long as needed to reach their goals.

The outpatient program is appropriate for those whose addiction is a problem but hasn’t completely taken over their lives yet. In other words, they are still able to maintain work and family obligations while pursuing treatment.

Whereas we have clients who come to inpatient treatment from around the country, the outpatient addiction treatment is for local northern California residents who live and work near our outpatient facility in Aptos, CA or in South Lake Tahoe.

Virtual Outpatient Telecare

Elevate Addiction Services now offers our outpatient program virtually! The same program offered in our outpatient offices is now available completely online. Contact us to speak to an admissions counselor to get started right away.

The Elevate Addiction Services Outpatient Program

We created our outpatient alcohol rehab by curating the most crucial aspects of our residential program, which has empowered addiction recovery for thousands of clients since our inception more than 20 years ago.

The Elevate outpatient program offers:

  • Modern, evidence-based treatments
  • Individual and group addiction counseling
  • Nutritional training and awareness
  • Treatment planning, case management, and relapse-prevention planning

Successful completion of the program results in an individual who:

  • Is sober
  • Understands how and why his or her life got out of control and what role substance abuse played
  • Begins living a happy and fulfilling life without depending on mind-altering and mood-altering substances

Types of Addiction Addressed With Outpatient Treatment

We help clients recover from the three most common forms of substance abuse:

  • Illicit drugs
  • Alcohol
  • Habit-forming prescription drugs

Holistic, Non-12-Step Approach To Addiction Recovery

The Elevate approach to drug and alcohol rehabilitation is truly holistic, meaning it focuses on all aspects of the individual, addressing the physical, mental and spiritual effects of addiction.

When we say that we address the spiritual effects of addiction, we are not defining spiritual by any religious definition, but rather by what individuals believe to be true for themselves. Their own personal values, their private goals and purposes in life, honor and self-respect, and other principles and beliefs which touch them on a deeper level are all considered spiritual in nature.

Because we respect this broad and individually defined sense of spirituality, we utilize the Smart Recovery® model for support meetings, opting for a non-12 step recovery program unlike many other treatment facilities. The Smart Recovery® model gives recovering addicts all the support they require, without necessitating belief in any specific religious principles.

The Importance Of Mindfulness

A principal element of the Elevate program is the concept of mindfulness.

Derived from Eastern practices of meditation and breathing, we define mindfulness as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Generally, mindfulness exercises consist of focusing awareness on the moment, regulating breathing and creating appreciation for the moment.

Mindfulness can be used as a therapeutic technique, and is one of the cornerstone tools that helps clients deal with challenges in the short term and ultimately achieve long-term sobriety.

Evidence-Based Treatment Methods

In our intensive outpatient rehab program, we utilize comprehensive, evidence-based treatments such as:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Outpatient Treatment Program Curriculum

The outpatient program study curriculum includes:

  1. Mindful acceptance of emotions and feelings and tools for coping with them
  2. Diffusing irrational thought patterns and practicing rational and helpful thinking
  3. Getting to know the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviors in relation to health and well-being
  4. Mindfulness tools and skills
  5. Exploring and moving past loss
  6. What is addiction and how did it develop?
  7. Connecting addiction and loss
  8. Mindful grieving and acceptance techniques
  9. Relationship and communication skills
  10. Maintaining addiction recovery and relapse prevention

This curriculum allows participants to tackle specific topics related to drug addiction or alcohol addiction while focusing on establishing and maintaining sobriety according to their personal values, goals, purposes and principles.

Activities for delivering the outpatient drug and alcohol rehab curriculum include:

  • Group discussions of certain topics related to addiction
  • Smart Recovery® model meetings
  • Team-building exercises
  • Exercises on establishing and living according to one’s own values

Exit planning and relapse-prevention planning are ongoing processes that will occur throughout the intensive outpatient program.

We also host weekly Smart Recovery® meetings on Wednesday evenings, which are open to anyone seeking support, regardless of where they are in their recovery journey.

Our Outpatient Treatment Program Schedule

The average duration for a client’s intensive outpatient treatment program varies but is typically done in one month intervals. The general schedule consists of three sessions per week with each session lasting for a period of three hours.

For our outpatient programs, we offer sessions 5 days per week in the evenings.

6pm – 8pm.

Each Outpatient session consists of:

  • Group Counseling
  • Mindfulness
  • Educational Therapy
Tim Sinnot Medical Review
Medically reviewed by
Tim Sinnott, LMFT LAADC
12/03/2020

  • Overcome Addiction at Elevate Addiction Services

    Elevate is currently offering immediate enrollment in inpatient, outpatient, or telehealth programs. Reach out today to learn more.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Elevate Locations


Treatment Resources



elevate addiction services logo
Is an accredited drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, that believes addiction treatment should not just address “how to stay sober” but needs to transform the life of the addict and empower him or her to create a more meaningful and positive life. We are dedicated to transforming the despair of addiction into a purposeful life of confidence, self-respect and happiness. We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful.
elevate addiction services logo
Is an accredited drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, that believes addiction treatment should not just address “how to stay sober” but needs to transform the life of the addict and empower him or her to create a more meaningful and positive life. We are dedicated to transforming the despair of addiction into a purposeful life of confidence, self-respect and happiness. We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful.