Continuing care at Kolmac: Long-term support after treatment
At Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health, continuing care is designed to maintain the momentum built during treatment, providing ongoing clinical support as you navigate the demands of daily life without the same level of structured programming.
Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse underscores the importance of long-term care, noting that the best outcomes come from an approach where patients are regularly assessed, and treatment is adapted over time.
At Kolmac, continuing care applies that principle to both substance use and mental health, with support that evolves as your needs change rather than ending when your initial program does.
Why continuing care matters
Completing detox, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), or an intensive outpatient program (IOP) is the beginning of a longer process, not the end of it.
The period that follows — when the structure of a formal program falls away, and daily life resumes in full — is often where the real work of maintaining progress takes place.
Without continued clinical support, that transition can be harder to navigate than it needs to be.
At Kolmac, continuing care builds directly on the foundation established during your IOP or PHP, whether you were treated for substance use, a mental health condition, or both.
Our clinicians work with you to sustain progress over time, typically for a year or more, depending on your needs and circumstances.
For patients managing co-occurring conditions, continuing care ensures that both substance use and mental health remain supported as your clinical needs evolve — not addressed separately, but as part of the same coordinated plan.
Continuing care extends to families as well. Substance use and mental health challenges affect more than the individual, and family members are encouraged to stay engaged through Kolmac’s support groups throughout this phase of care.
What Kolmac’s continuing care includes
Kolmac’s continuing care program offers structured, evidence-based support designed to help you maintain progress, stay connected to clinical guidance, and continue building on the work done during your initial treatment.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
Continuing care at Kolmac is also open to individuals transitioning from residential or intensive outpatient treatment at other facilities, not just those who completed a Kolmac program.
If you need structured support during this phase of care, you are welcome here regardless of where your initial treatment took place.
How long does continuing care last?
We encourage most patients to participate in continuing care for one to two years.
Addiction is increasingly recognized as a chronic, not acute, condition. Research published in the Psychiatry Journal found that long-term addiction treatment is critical for sustained recovery. However, the duration of continuing care is flexible and tailored to everyone. This extended support is a feature of effective treatment, providing you with the time and resources you need for lasting change.
Because addiction is a chronic disorder, continued treatment is essential after initial stabilization through detoxification and rehabilitation. Kolmac has pioneered the evolution of this important, though often overlooked, phase of treatment. We avoid using the term aftercare, as it diminishes its importance.
Mental health conditions follow a similar pattern. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, mood disorders, and other diagnoses don’t resolve at the end of a structured program — they require ongoing management, monitoring, and support as life circumstances change.
For patients treated at Kolmac for mental health conditions alongside or independently of substance use, continuing care provides the consistent clinical touchpoint that helps sustain the progress made during IOP or PHP.
In the continuing care phase of treatment, you can consolidate the progress that you have made during the initial part of your treatment.
At Kolmac, continuing care consists of once-weekly 2-hour group therapy sessions that are co-led by two licensed or certified clinicians. While 1 to 2 years of active continuing care allows patients to establish a strong plan, the length of this treatment phase varies depending on your needs and progress.
During this phase, your family members and friends are encouraged to continue to attend the family and friends support group at Kolmac. You are also encouraged to become more deeply involved in whichever community support groups you prefer.
Combining community support groups with concurrent participation in professional treatment offers the best chance of a satisfying, stable healing.
Open to all – not just Kolmac IOP graduates
Historically, Kolmac limited admission to its continuing care groups to individuals who have completed intensive outpatient rehabilitation in the Kolmac program.
While admission to continuing care is reserved for individuals stepping down from a higher level of care, we now make these groups available to those transitioning from residential or intensive outpatient treatment at another facility.
Advantages of Kolmac continuing care
- Access to over 50 groups
- Services offered at 7 convenient locations
- Both day and evening treatment availability
- A central entry point for all patients
- Organized feedback to referral sources
Since 1973, Kolmac has helped more than 50,000 patients understand and overcome addiction. Patients seeking drug and alcohol treatment should contact us at (888) 331-5251.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure where to start? These are the questions we hear most often.
