ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Oxford IOP Clinical Director Joseph Lemieux and Program Assistant Director Sheana Grieves discuss goals of the program.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Oxford Intensive Outpatient Recovery Program is focused on life after drug and alcohol detox, creating an extra level of support for those in the early stages of recovery.
“It’s not enough to detox,” said Susan Spano, co-founder and administrator of Oxford IOP, as the program more commonly goes by. “You’ve got to do a lot more than that.”
Oxford IOP, which provides an extra level of support for those who may feel residential programs are not right for them, opened last October, but will mark its grand opening on June 20 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at its office, 173 Oxford St.
Spano said the point of the event was to let people know that the program is there and that it is important. Invitations have been sent out to police and fire departments, along with personnel from probation, parole and drug court, according to Sheana Grieves, program assistant director.
Spano said the drug and alcohol rehabilitation and recovery center is a branch of Psychiatric Associates of Lynn, also located in the same building. Psych Associates provides the resource of vivitrol and suboxone, which are used for opioid detox. The idea was to keep everything under the same roof, so patients can go from Psych Associates to Oxford IOP for continued treatment, Grieves added.
Spano said people must be almost detoxed completely when they come to Oxford IOP, or should be pretty clean — they can’t be there if they’re using. Typically, clients include those who are addicted to alcohol, heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and pain medication. She said the program is unique, as the attitude toward recovery is really different — patients are recovering from a holistic body and brain point of view.
Through a longer period of time in a program like the IOP with someone not using, she said the brain starts to reset itself and people begin to think more clearly and understand a lot more. She said the goal is to keep them in the program for three months, but provided program information detailing that clients typically stay for two to four weeks.
Joseph Lemieux, clinical director, said practices are done with mindfulness, thought reconstruction, reintegrating into the community, social skills, communication and how to cope with triggers both internally and externally.
He said the focus is on getting them reintegrated back into life so they can function normally. In addition, he said staff works really hard to find other care for them, including weekly therapy, and connecting them with social workers to help them with other needs they may have. In other words, he said it was about giving them stuff to do so they don’t do the stuff that got them there in the first place.
Spano said part of the opioid crisis is people may say there’s no place to go after their child got detoxed. It can be a revolving door with people detoxing, going back on the street, picking up again and going back into detox again, Grieves added. Spano said the program was created as the need was recognized, that it was very clear there wasn’t a place people go when they got better.
“This is where people can go when they’re detoxed and ready to get back into the world,” Spano said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.