Intensive Outpatient Programs in Minnesota
NorthStar Regional offers an intensive outpatient program near Minneapolis for adults who need serious treatment while life keeps running. Group sessions and one-on-one counseling run several times a week, at our Twin Cities campuses or from home by secure video. Mental health and substance use are treated together, on a schedule built around work and family. Hours step down as you progress, and lodging is part of the program when needed. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and the rest of your week stays yours.
The program at a glance
Several sessions weekly
Group therapy, one-on-one sessions, and skills work in set blocks
In person or virtual
At our Twin Cities campuses, or live from anywhere in Minnesota
With or without lodging
Lodging is part of the program when home isn’t ready
Licensed Treatment Programs
Founded 2015
Addiction and mental health care in one system
Multiple Campuses
Across the Twin Cities metro
MN Department of Health: Licensed
MN Department of Human Services: Licensed
Treatment That Fits Your Life
Why Outpatient Treatment at This Intensity Works
Not everyone needs a bed. Plenty of adults need serious, structured treatment while the rest of life keeps running: a job that can’t pause, kids who need mornings, challenges that don’t wait, a home that helps rather than hurts. An intensive outpatient program (IOP) gives you the clinical core of treatment. That means group therapy, one-on-one sessions, and skill building, on a schedule your life can handle. Each week focuses on skills you can use. Research suggests it works well for people at this level of need.
Ours is co-occurring by design, so a mental health IOP and a recovery IOP aren’t two separate tracks here. Depression, anxiety, and trauma affect your recovery alongside the substance use, so they need to be treated at the same time. One program, one team, one plan, with treatment goals you set with us and revisit as you make progress. Your assessment may show you need more support than outpatient hours can give, whether residential care or something closer to a partial hospitalization program. If so, we will tell you and help you get there.
One Full Continuum
Where This Program Fits in the Full Continuum
Intensive outpatient care is stage four of the continuum. For many it comes after residential care, and for some it is the starting point. Either way it is part of the same system, so a step up or down never means a new provider.
About 3 to 7 days
Medical Detox
Safe drug and alcohol withdrawal with 24-hour nursing at the withdrawal management center in Eden Prairie, for alcohol, opioids, and benzodiazepines.
About 35 to 50 days
Inpatient Rehabilitation
The flagship program: 35 to 50 days of live-in treatment on separate men’s and women’s campuses.
85 to 105 connected days
Low-Intensity Residential
A home with recovery support while you build back your own life.
With or without lodging
Intensive Outpatient
Outpatient treatment that fits around work and family, with a place to stay if needed.
6 to 8 months or longer
Relapse Prevention
Weekly sessions and peer support through the months that matter most. We watch closely for early warning signs.
The rest of the way
Sober Living
Substance-free housing where recovery gets an address.
Your Weekly Schedule
What an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) Week Looks Like
IOP takes up a few blocks of your week, for as long as your plan needs. The rest of your week stays yours.
A Steady Weekly Structure
Process groups, education sessions, and skills work on a set weekly schedule, with the same faces week after week. Each block focuses on one thing done well. Hours step down as you progress, and the length of the program is shaped to you, not a calendar.
Built Around You, Adjusted As You Go
One-on-one therapy with your counselor and the mental health team. They track your own plan, hear your feedback and concerns, and adjust as life moves. That includes medications through our medical partner. Support and contact stay open between sessions.
Your Daily Life Stays In Place
Work, school, family, and peer support meetings of your choosing, none required, plus education blocks that make the clinical work make sense. Participants keep their daily duties on purpose, because the program is built so treatment supports your week. The daily habits of a stable life get practiced in real time, in real life instead of a workbook.
Addiction and dual diagnosis
Treating Substance Use and Mental Health Together
This program gives co-occurring care at outpatient intensity. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder are treated in the same sessions as substance use. They are in the same plan, too. Addiction and mental health care share one chart and one team, because the symptoms overlap.
For Addiction
Every substance we treat is explained on its own page, from the first assessment through sober living.
For Mental Health
At most NorthStar Regional campuses, these conditions are treated along with addiction. That is co-occurring care, in one plan. You can also get mental health treatment on its own, with no established diagnosis needed to contact us. That is offered through our outpatient clinic in Shakopee. Providers refer people there every day.
Inside Treatment
Therapies and Services Inside This Program
The same therapies as our residential programs, proven by research, at an outpatient pace. Support services wrap around them. Your mix is set at the comprehensive assessment and adjusted as you go.
Counseling and Mental Health Services
Primary groups, mental health groups, and one-on-one sessions with your counselor and the clinical team. These are the services clients lean on most.
CBT and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
CBT helps you notice the thought and the actions under it, then choose differently. DBT adds skills for handling strong emotions and staying steady under pressure.
EMDR for Trauma
For many clients, substance use grew around trauma. EMDR helps the brain process traumatic memories that talk therapy alone often does not resolve.
Family Therapy
Addiction affects your closest relationships, and recovery depends on them. Family sessions rebuild trust and teach the people who love you how to help. Families often tell us it is the part they wish they had started sooner.
Comprehensive Assessment
A comprehensive assessment sets your starting intensity, and it is rebuilt as you go.
Telehealth Delivery
The full IOP therapy program from home, through Virtual IOP. It works from any place in Minnesota. If medicines are part of the plan, our medical partner sets them up.
Where this program runs
Outpatient Care in Person or from Home
In person
Twin Cities Campuses
In-person IOP runs at our metro campuses, an easy drive from Minneapolis and the southwest suburbs. Your schedule is confirmed when you enroll.
From home
Virtual IOP
The same program, live from anywhere in Minnesota. It is for anyone whose access depends on distance, work, or safety at home.
With housing
IOP with Lodging
If home isn’t ready for you yet, lodging is part of the program.
This program serves adults 18 and older. If you are calling about an adolescent, call anyway. We will point you to the right adolescent programs in the community.
What Recovery Makes Possible
What Life Looks Like After Treatment
Recovery is about the freedom to function. That means a job you can hold, a family that trusts you again, and an ordinary weekday that doesn’t need managing. IOP is treatment for people who are already rebuilding their lives. They are keeping a job, picking the kids up on time, and going to a weekly peer support group that keeps them steady through the week. Treatment here doesn’t put your Minnesota life on hold. It helps you rebuild it, so you can keep your promises and face real challenges instead of escaping them.
Healing involves the whole family. Parents, spouses, and kids have been worried and waiting too, so family work is built into the program, not an add-on. Our resources for families are available before your loved one ever says yes.
Before You Call
Signs You're Ready for Treatment
If you’re asking, part of you already knows the answer. Maybe you’ve hidden it, counted it, promised Monday, or woken up trying to piece together last night. Maybe you’ve quit before and it didn’t hold. You don’t need to lose everything before you deserve help, and you don’t need to be certain to start. Being willing, even for a minute, is enough to make one phone call. That first step is all you need to take.
Being ready doesn’t mean you’re not afraid, and it doesn’t mean you’ve stopped doubting. It means you make the decision and let us handle the logistics. You only need one moment of willingness. We handle everything after that.
Reading this for someone you love? You can start the entire process on their behalf: contact us, and we’ll coach the conversation. Start with our guides for parents and for spouses and partners.
Paying for Care
Insurance and Payment Options
Our team helps review your benefits and handles the paperwork with you. If you have no insurance, we help walk you through enrolling for benefits. County case managers, probation officers, hospitals, and crisis teams send clients to us because, in their words, we just get it done.
Insurance and State Funding
Commercial plans, Medical Assistance (Medicaid), county placements, and private pay. We verify benefits and handle the paperwork with you.
We Are Here to Help
We help review your benefits, find your right starting point, and schedule you for the same day or the next whenever possible. Then we pick you up anywhere in the Twin Cities metro.
Reviews from Google
Why Clients Choose NorthStar Regional
Don’t just take our word for it. Here is what alumni say about their time in treatment.
Who's behind the work
About NorthStar Regional
NorthStar Regional is Minnesota’s treatment system built around access: alcohol and drug treatment centers and mental health care across multiple Twin Cities metro locations. Founded in 2015, we provide one connected continuum: detox (withdrawal management), residential, outpatient, mental health, and a sober housing pathway. Separate men’s and women’s campuses, co-occurring care at designated programs, and no faith requirement set us apart. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and if you are uninsured, our admissions team helps you through enrollment. A person can walk in with nothing and leave with everything they need to build a life.
Keep reading
Related Articles and Resources
Resources
Before You Call
How admissions works, guides for families, and the forms you can complete early. More resources are linked throughout the site, or contact admissions and we’ll send anything by email.
Questions we hear every day
Common Questions About Intensive Outpatient
What is an intensive outpatient program?
An intensive outpatient program (IOP) is a structured outpatient program for adults. You attend several group sessions a week, plus individual therapy. It is more than weekly counseling and less than residential treatment. You live at home (or in our lodging), keep working or studying, and do the real clinical work in set blocks.
Who is IOP right for?
IOP fits adults who need more than weekly therapy but don’t need a bed. Some are stepping down from residential treatment, and others are starting treatment while keeping up with a job, school, or family. We serve adults, and teens are referred to trusted community programs. Your comprehensive assessment helps decide the fit. How severe things are matters more than labels.
What does the schedule look like?
Several sessions per week in set blocks, day options at our campuses and live virtual options statewide. Each session focuses on skills you’ll use that same week. Hours and duration vary by plan and progress, and they decrease as you’re ready.
How long does IOP last?
It depends on the person. Your plan is reviewed all along the way, and intensity steps down as you progress. Most clients go on to relapse prevention for the longer stretch of recovery. The real answer comes at your assessment.
Where does IOP run?
At our Twin Cities campuses serving Minneapolis and the metro, and online statewide through Virtual IOP. Lodging is also available at three campuses when home isn’t ready. The location that fits your life is the right one.
Will insurance cover IOP?
Coverage depends on your plan, the service, eligibility, and authorization requirements. Our team helps review your benefits and available payment options. Benefits verification is not a guarantee of payment.
What if I need more support than IOP?
Then we will tell you, with options ready. Those include residential care, inpatient treatment, or lodging added to your program. We can also help you find a partial hospitalization program if that level of structure fits better. Moving up a level inside one system takes a talk, not a new intake.
Admissions
Make the First Call and We'll Take It from There
Confidential, no obligation, and answered by someone who knows what you’re facing and cares to listen.