Guided Meditation Practice Within PHP and IOP Treatment in Agoura Hills, California
FOY Wellness and Recovery is a licensed Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Agoura Hills, California, accredited by The Joint Commission and certified by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Meditation is offered daily as part of our holistic programming, supporting clients across both PHP and IOP as a complement to evidence-based clinical therapy.
What Is Meditation?
Meditation is the practice of intentionally directing and sustaining attention, most often on the breath, bodily sensation, or a specific point of focus, in order to build present-moment awareness and reduce automatic reactivity to internal and external stress. Meditation traditions span thousands of years and multiple cultures, but the specific techniques used in clinical and recovery settings today are typically drawn from mindfulness-based approaches that have been studied extensively in Western clinical research over the past several decades.
The Research Behind Meditation in Recovery Settings
Clinical research on mindfulness-based meditation has shown measurable benefit for stress reduction, emotional regulation, sleep quality, and relapse prevention specifically in substance use recovery populations. Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP), a structured program combining meditation with relapse prevention skills, has a growing evidence base in addiction treatment settings. It’s important to be direct about what this research does and doesn’t show: meditation is well-supported as a complementary stress-reduction tool, not as a standalone treatment for diagnosable mental health or substance use disorders. At FOY, it is used exactly that way, alongside, never instead of, individual and group clinical therapy.
How Meditation Works at FOY
Meditation sessions at FOY are led daily as part of holistic programming, using guided breath-focused and body-scan techniques appropriate for a group treatment setting. Sessions are structured to be accessible regardless of prior meditation experience, including for clients who find sitting still difficult in early recovery or during periods of high anxiety.
Benefits of Meditation in Treatment
- Supports reduction in daily stress and anxious rumination
- Builds present-moment awareness that can reduce automatic emotional reactivity
- Complements relapse prevention skills for clients in substance use recovery
- Supports improved sleep quality for many clients
- Provides a portable, no-cost coping tool clients can use after discharge
Who Benefits From Meditation
Meditation is commonly incorporated for clients managing anxiety, chronic stress, early recovery from substance use, and the racing or intrusive thoughts that often accompany trauma and depression. It is not typically recommended as a sole intervention for acute crisis states, and facilitators adjust technique accordingly for clients in more acute phases of treatment.
FAQs
Is meditation a replacement for therapy?
No. Meditation is a supportive holistic practice offered alongside evidence-based clinical therapy at FOY, never a substitute for individual or group treatment.
Do I need experience to participate in meditation sessions
No. Sessions are guided from the ground up and are designed to be accessible to clients regardless of prior meditation practice.
Is meditation clinically proven to help with anxiety and depression?
Mindfulness-based meditation has research support as a complementary tool for stress and anxiety reduction. It is used at FOY alongside, not in place of, clinical treatment for diagnosed anxiety or depression.
Can meditation help with substance use recovery specifically?
Structured mindfulness approaches, including Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, have research support in addiction treatment settings as a complement to standard clinical care.
What if I find it hard to sit still or focus during meditation?
This is extremely common, especially in early recovery. Facilitators offer shorter, more active formats such as guided body scans or walking meditation as alternatives.
Take the First Step
FOY Wellness and Recovery offers a free, confidential assessment to help determine the right level of care for your situation. Call us at (805) 659-8429 or visit foywellnessandrecovery.com/contact to get started. We are in-network with Blue Shield, Cigna, and TRICARE through TriWest, and accept most other major PPO plans, including Anthem, Aetna, Multiplan, HMC HealthWorks, and Blue Cross Blue Shield, on an out-of-network basis.