Outpatient Programs

At Lakeside-Milam, our treatment philosophy is quite simple. Our outpatient programs are effective, convenient and discreet. We build individualized treatment programs to help patients get back on track—with minimal disruption to their busy lives. For many clients, the flexibility of outpatient care allows them to remain within a supportive family environment and to keep working. We offer programs that work. Over 80% of Lakeside-Milam clients get help through our outpatient programs. We have over 10,000 recovering alumni, with thousands of new patient referrals coming from former clients.

Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers offers intensive outpatient programs for adults at 9 locations throughout western Washington. Our convenient outpatient programs offer day and night sessions, and are discreetly located in office parks and medical/dental buildings. All outpatient locations feature ample parking and are easily accessible from major highways.

The main thrust of our outpatient program is to help patients recognize that alcoholism and addiction is a primary, progressive disease, rather than any manifestation of a moral consequence, character weakness, or psychological dysfunction. We teach alcoholics and addicts to approach their disease as a treatable condition with a high potential for lasting recovery.

Lakeside-Milam also conducts educational programs for families of alcoholics and addicts. The main goal of the Family Education Program is to furnish family members with education about the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions and provide a variety healthy communication skills and behaviors.

Very often, we find that alcoholics and addicts whose disease is in early to mid-stages can be treated at an outpatient center near their home. Our goal is to find the least restrictive treatment regimen possible for all patients.

Over 80% of Lakeside-Milam clients get help through our outpatient programs. These programs help addicted clients who do not require inpatient withdrawal management or residential hospitalization. In addition, residential patients use outpatient programs to transition from inpatient care to continuing care. Following are brief descriptions of our outpatient services and programs:

Eight hours of education which addresses how alcohol and drug addiction affect the body.

A day program for individuals living in a supportive environment.

Counseling and education for adults, followed by continuing care.

Two years of treatment that meets all state guidelines for those under deferred prosecution in Washington State.

Designed to assist those who live with alcoholics and addicts. LMRC conducts an  educational program for families of alcoholics and addicts. Family members learn about addiction dynamics, primary social stressors, and maladaptive reactions.  This program is held weekly in each of our outpatient centers and is open to the public.

Group discussions allow family members to ventilate long-suppressed emotions and to share those feelings with other families. Skilled facilitators use a variety of techniques to teach families healthy communication patterns and behaviors. These newly acquired skills nurture a sense of competence in family members who may have lost all hope for change.

LMRC staff members evaluate a client’s involvement with alcohol and/or drugs, including the dosages and length of time that one has been using, and then recommend a treatment plan. Each plan is fully individualized according to the client’s unique needs, diagnoses, and personal history.

Staff members use one-to-one counseling sessions to explore a course of treatment and chart a client’s recovery. A variety of talk therapy models are offered, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). Please phone our admissions office to learn more about our specific treatment modalities.

Our partial hospitalization program is a day program that runs 4 ½ hours a day, five days a week with clients living at home, or if need be, a local sober living house. Individuals work intensively with seasoned substance use disorder professionals and mental health therapists to learn new skills for recovery. This program affords a higher level of support and accountability along with the freedom to explore and practice skills in the community, at work, and in the home environment after the treatment day ends.

In addition to psychoeducational lectures, films and process groups, individuals engage in meditation, yoga, mindfulness, recovery arts, relapse prevention, and community support groups.

Clients who can maintain abstinence without residential treatment receive a concentrated, focused program of group therapy, individual therapy, and evaluation. This approach brings structure to one’s day-to-day life and creates a recovery-focused outlook perfect for those who need to maintain obligations at home.

We understand that transitioning from consistent treatment back to one’s home life can be a complex process. Your sobriety should always come first. An individualized continuing care plan will follow the Intensive Outpatient Program.

In a key differentiator for Lakeside-Milam, patients leave residential treatment fortified with an action recovery plan—a blueprint for successful living. The continuing care outpatient program helps patients return to their community and face up to the same problems that were there before treatment. Continuing care plans are monitored by counseling staff at any of our LMRC outpatient centers or agencies in patient’s home community. This way, patients are able to seamlessly transition back to their own lives while also staying involved in LMRC’s support system.

During continuing care, most patients become active in Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and Alateen. Within these groups, patients establish new friendships and practice living one day at a time.

For individuals enrolled with our program or in need of any of our treatment services and cannot attend our program in person due to health risks, we are offering virtual treatment. We use HIPAA compliant Zoom Telehealth that is included as part of our free app. These virtual services allow those who are currently in treatment to stay engaged while staying safely at home.

Outpatient programs are available at any of the following LMRC locations
(click on link below for specific Office Site contact information):