Outpatient Treatments
Not everyone needs inpatient services. You may be able to continue living at home and/or working during treatment. If so, the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai offers innovative and flexible outpatient programs. With a full range of programs at various times of the day, you can receive treatment that fits around your work schedule and/or child care needs.
Outpatient Programs at Mount Sinai- Behavioral Health Center
At Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center (MSBHC), we can help you make behavioral changes to gain and maintain chemical abstinence. We continually re-evaluate and adjust your services. We want to offer exactly as much help—and as often—as you need. We also ensure that you have access to psychiatrists if appropriate.
Treatment planning may include the following:
- Brief Therapy: With 10 sessions in 10 weeks, brief therapy is solution-focused. You work with a counselor on relapse prevention skills and techniques and coping strategies. We emphasize self-help and community resources and provide Weekly assignments. You receive support in person and by telephone. To qualify, you must be medically and psychiatrically stabilized and highly motivated. Random urine testing is required.
- Outpatient Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs: Outpatient medication treatment can help you get—and stay— sober. It works well for opioids, alcohol, and tobacco. We use therapy approaches that focus on how you think about addiction, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.
- Services for Adolescents: Teenagers are very impressionable and vulnerable to substance abuse problems. And these problems can affect the rest of the family as well. Our programs include an on-site high school, after-school program, and an intensive day program for teens who need a significant amount of support.
Additional Outpatient Services:
- Anger management groups help you learn to control your anger. We also teach assertiveness and cognitive restructuring.
- Boomer’s group is for patients who are 50 years of age or older. The group provides education, support, and discussion.
- Co-dependency groups help you see what you do that affects your addiction. These behaviors may stem from your own experiences, family dynamics, and other relationships. We can also help you change these behaviors.
- Domestic violence groups teach about domestic violence. You learn about safety planning. We also offer referrals to other services.
- Dual focus groups help people who have both an addiction and a psychiatric diagnosis. You see how addiction affects your psychiatric disorder. You also learn about how the disorder affects your addiction. We offer education and coping strategies.
- DWI screening, assessment, and referral services are for people who are sent by the court system after an arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Please bring all court-issued documents. We will fax any required documents to the courts after you complete the evaluation. If we diagnosis you with substance abuse, we will refer you to a DWI-specific program.
- Family therapy happens one-on-one and in groups. We focus on your family and how addiction affects your family members.
- Gender-specific groups center on the needs of men and women in recovery. They provide education, support, and discussion.
- The women’s group addresses relationships, trauma, setting limits, and self-esteem.
- The men’s group talks about resentment, respect, being valued, and healthy relationships.
- Group therapy is our primary approach. It includes all aspects of education and the recovery process.
- Health education lectures happen regularly. Our nursing and medical staff focuses on your medical, health, and nutrition needs.
- Individual counseling is working one-on-one with a counselor. You meet with your counselor throughout treatment.
- Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Group focuses on issues LGBT patients experience during recovery.
- Parenting groups teach ways to raise your children. We use education and emotional support.
- Psychiatric Services are available if you need them. We can also provide psychiatric consultation and treatment.
- Spanish-speaking relapse prevention group takes place in Spanish. It has the same curriculum as the other relapse prevention group.
- Stress management helps prevent relapse. You learn to relax using breathing, exercise, guided imagery, and meditation.
- Substance use disorder education helps you understand addiction as a disease. We explore how it affects your body chemistry and behavior. You learn coping strategies.
- Vocational preparation can assist in your job search. Our vocational counselor helps you explore different careers, prepare to work, fine-tune our resume, and search for employment. We can refer you to training programs and practice job interviews.
Outpatient Programs at Mount Sinai West
The Outpatient Program at Mount Sinai West offers the full spectrum of addiction treatment ranging from outpatient rehabilitation (5 days per week) to less intensive programming. The primary focus is group therapy, with access to psychiatric care and medications (for both addiction treatment and other psychiatric conditions).
Individual therapy is offered on a limited, case-by-case basis. As a harm reduction program, we work with patients who have a variety of recovery goals from complete abstinence to moderation, tailoring treatment to each individual’s needs.
We offer treatment tailored to specific populations (e.g., young adults, older adults). For example, the Crystal Clear program focuses on the intersection of methamphetamine use and sexuality with an emphasis on supporting LGBTQ+ individuals.
Outpatient Rehabilitation: Best suited for individuals whose lives are severely impacted by substance use (e.g., problems with work, school, relationships, housing, or legal issues); people transitioning from inpatient or residential settings; or anyone who simply want a higher level of support.
Structure:
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5 days per week (Monday-Friday), 2 groups per day.
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Each day starts with “core group” to explore interpersonal relationships and develop a recovery-focused support system. The second group changes each day and focuses on specific skills or topics to help patients further their recovery goals.
Scheduling Options:
(a) In-person Track (Monday-Friday, 9am-11:30am)
(b) Hybrid Track (Monday/Wednesday via Zoom; Tuesday/Thursday/Friday In-person, 10:30am-1pm)
Examples of Skills-Based Groups (“Second Group”)
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Relapse prevention
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Recovery skills
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Psychoeducation (lead by one of our physicians)
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Cognitive behavioral therapy
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Family of origin
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Men’s group
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Women’s group
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Emotional regulation
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Weekend planning
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Crystal Clear: A unique program for people who use crystal methamphetamine, specifically designed to meet the needs of marginalized populations disproportionately impacted by methamphetamine use (e.g., LGBTQ+ people)
Less Intensive Treatment Options: We offer a variety of options for individuals further along in their recovery or who have work/school/family obligations that prevent more intensive treatment. These groups meet 1-3 times per week, depending on the track. There are morning, afternoon, and evening options. Each group is last 90 minutes and combines interpersonal work to strengthen recovery support with concrete skills-based approaches.
Below are some examples of groups in this track:
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Recovery Relationships: addresses complex relationship dynamics during and after recovery
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Recovery for older adults: focused on navigating the unique challenges of recovery, strengthening social connection, and building strategies for healthy, meaningful living
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Dual Diagnosis Group: provides support for individuals seeking treatment for substance use while also living with or in recovery from another mental health condition (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia)
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Interpersonal Process Group: utilizes group discussion and group dynamics to understand factors that contribute to substance use
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Integrating Recovery into Practice: transitions from structured addiction treatment programs to real-world settings (applying learned skills, navigating challenges, and maintaining long-term recovery)
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Young Adult Recovery – Connection, Growth, Change: A supportive group for young adults focused on exploring substance use, strengthening recovery skills, building healthy relationships, and navigating the unique challenges of early adulthood
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Emotion Regulation (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy): helps participants better understand and manage difficult emotions, cope with distress, and respond more effectively to challenging situations
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Self-compassion in recovery: focused on reducing self-criticism, promoting emotional resilience, improving self-care, and building a supportive community
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Resilience after Trauma: provides a safe space for individuals to process and heal from past traumas that may have contributed to their addiction
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Crystal Clear: A unique program for people who use crystal methamphetamine, specifically to meet the needs of marginalized populations disproportionately impacted by methamphetamine use (e.g., LGBTQ+ people
Alumni Group: Specifically designed for individuals who have met their primary treatment goals. This group focuses on stable recovery, community engagement, continued learning, personal growth and fulfillment, and an improved quality of life.
Schedule: Two 90-minute groups per month in the evening. Available in-person or by video.
Medication Treatments for Addiction: Medications can be a vital part of recovery for many patients. Our addiction physicians conduct in-depth assessments to understand each patients’ recovery goals and make treatment recommendations. We offer medications for opioids, alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use problems. This includes both pills and monthly injectable treatments. We are not licensed to dispense methadone but can easily refer patients to partner Mount Sinai programs that do. We are also always happy to work with clients who are currently being treated with methadone by an outside provider.
Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment
Our team includes board-certified addiction psychiatrists who offer comprehensive psychiatric assessments and treatment planning for a variety of mental health conditions including depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder (like panic attacks), and schizophrenia. This is an optional service available to patients. If you already have a psychiatrist or therapist, you can keep working with that person while participating in group therapy or receiving medications for addiction treatment at our clinic.
Crystal Clear Program (Methamphetamine)
We designed Crystal Clear to address the growing problem of crystal methamphetamine use. We also focus on its link to HIV/STI risk, particularly among some LGBTQ+ individuals. This program is open to individuals who use other drugs in addition to methamphetamine (e.g., GHB), including during chemsex.
The Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai West is a welcoming place for open conversation about drug and alcohol use, sex (including chemsex), homophobia, and intimacy. We hope that this environment helps patient feel better about their sexual and gender identity. We also provide linkage to primary care and HIV/STI prevention and treatment.
Patients can access Crystal Clear in the outpatient rehabilitation program (mornings) and stand-alone in once or twice weekly groups (in the evening).