Empowerment Program

The Empowerment Program offers both a standard Outpatient Program and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for people in Denver seeking structured substance abuse treatment without stepping away from their daily responsibilities. The IOP provides a higher frequency of contact for those who need more support during early recovery, while the outpatient program suits people further along who are consolidating the skills and community connections that sustain long-term sobriety.

Operating Monday through Friday during daytime hours, the clinic's schedule is built for people who are balancing work, housing, childcare, or legal obligations alongside their recovery. For anyone who has already completed residential treatment elsewhere, the Empowerment Program can serve as the outpatient aftercare layer — the ongoing recovery community and clinical support that research consistently links to better long-term outcomes.

Sustained recovery rarely happens through clinical programming alone. The Empowerment Program pairs its addiction treatment services with wraparound supports including WAGEES re-entry services, community outreach, SUD support, and PrEP/PEP referrals — connecting clients to the housing, employment, and health resources that underpin a stable life outside substance use. This approach reflects the center's explicit mission: removing barriers to health, housing, education, and employment for the people they serve.

Group classes and Project Bedtime Story further embed the program in the fabric of community and family life. For recovery-oriented individuals and their families who are evaluating long-term care options in Denver, this combination of clinical treatment and community infrastructure is what distinguishes the Empowerment Program from a standard outpatient clinic.

The Empowerment Program's clinical model centers on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which equips clients with concrete skills for identifying and shifting the thought patterns that drive substance use and relapse. Alongside CBT, the program applies harm reduction principles — a pragmatic framework that meets people where they are and has strong support in the addiction treatment literature for engaging people who might not yet be ready for complete abstinence.

Acudetox, an auricular acupuncture protocol used in substance abuse treatment settings, rounds out the therapeutic toolkit. The program also specializes in co-occurring disorders and trauma/PTSD, acknowledging that for a significant portion of people seeking recovery, unresolved trauma or mental health challenges are woven into the fabric of their substance use — and need to be addressed directly for treatment to hold.

Few outpatient programs in Denver match the breadth of populations the Empowerment Program is equipped to serve. The center works with veterans, pregnant women, young adults between 18 and 25, seniors, men, women, transgender women, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those referred through the court system. This range reflects a deliberate commitment to removing the access barriers — linguistic, cultural, logistical, and financial — that prevent underserved groups from entering and staying in addiction treatment.

Financial assistance is available for those who need it. For family members supporting a loved one in recovery, the center's community-oriented programming and wraparound services mean that treatment here is designed to strengthen the social fabric around a person, not just address substance use in clinical isolation. Reach the Empowerment Program at (303) 320-1989 or [email protected] to learn more about enrollment.