Michael John Theron
Accessible & Personalized Mental Healthcare
TORP:
The Optimal Recovery Programme
Outpatient Recovery Support
TORP is a practical and progressive outpatient recovery initiative connected to Michael J. Theron’s addiction recovery focus. It was developed to provide human-centred support for individuals navigating addiction, early or sustained recovery, relapse prevention or management, and the process of rebuilding life beyond addiction.
NOTE: TORP is a distinct project and is not intended to replace MJT’s broader clinical psychology services. MJT continues to offer psychological support across a wide range of emotional, relational, and mental health domains. TORP is offered as a separate pathway for individuals who may benefit from a focused and clinically comprehensive outpatient recovery programme.
What Is TORP?
TORP is a structured outpatient addiction recovery programme designed to support individuals as they work toward sustainable recovery and meaningful life change.
It supports individuals navigating alcohol-related, substance-related, behavioural, or process addictions. Recovery is not limited to abstinence. It often requires the rebuilding of stability and structure, direction and purpose, practical and interpersonal skills, resilience and accountability, and a renewed sense of self.
TORP offers a recovery pathway that is structured but flexible, clinically informed but practical, and humanistic in its approach. The programme draws on psychological support, recovery coaching, psychoeducation, skills development, and collaborative care where appropriate.
The programme is designed to support individuals within the practical realities of everyday life, rather than treating recovery as a process disconnected from personal and professional life, routines and responsibility, and support systems and community.
Why TORP?
Why TORP Exists
TORP was created in response to real and ongoing gaps in the addiction recovery landscape.
Many people who seek help for addiction are offered a small number of familiar routes: attempt recovery alone, attend peer-support meetings, enter inpatient treatment, or continue with weekly psychotherapy. Each of these routes can be valuable, and in some cases necessary. But they do not meet every person’s needs.
Addiction recovery often involves much more than abstinence alone. It usually requires the collaborative work of rebuilding daily structure and routines, emotional regulation, self-trust, relationships, identity, personal health, purpose, and direction. Without this broader process of change, abstinence can remain fragile and relapse risk may remain high.
TORP was designed to offer a clinically informed outpatient pathway for people who need practical and meaningful recovery support while remaining connected to their daily lives. It provides a route for those who may need accountability, guidance, skills, therapeutic reflection, and continuity of care without necessarily entering an inpatient setting.
Gaps TORP Addresses
Inpatient treatment remains an important and sometimes necessary part of addiction care, particularly where medical stabilisation, detoxification, or a higher level of containment is required. For some individuals, inpatient care is the safest and most appropriate route.
But inpatient treatment is not the only effective or practical recovery option.
Many individuals require structured, sustained recovery support while remaining connected to everyday life, work, study, family, health needs, and existing support systems. Some may be returning to recovery after difficult or traumatic inpatient treatment experiences. Others may have medical, psychological, or practical support needs that make conventional inpatient environments difficult to access or sustain.
TORP was developed to help fill this space: a clinically informed outpatient recovery programme that is practical, flexible, and responsive to the person’s real-life context.
TORP may be especially relevant where individuals need:
Support that sees the person as a whole, distinct from symptoms or pathology
Structured recovery support without stepping away fully from daily life
Continuity after inpatient treatment, detoxification, or rehabilitation
Support during the early and most vulnerable stages of recovery
Sustained recovery support, relapse prevention, or relapse management
Practical focus on rebuilding routines, responsibilities, and coping strategies
A more flexible pathway where inpatient treatment is not feasible, suitable, or clinically indicated
A recovery process focused on agency, autonomy, dignity, and long-term change
** TORP does not exist to replace other forms of addiction treatment.
It exists because recovery needs are varied, and people may require different levels and types of support at different stages of the process.
Michael J. Theron:
A Personal and Professional Commitment to Recovery
TORP reflects Michael J. Theron’s long-standing personal and professional commitment to humanising and progressing the field of addiction recovery.
Michael’s strong grasp of the addiction recovery landscape has been shaped by clinical experience, specialised training, professional roles within addiction treatment settings, involvement in the development of treatment facilities, and his own first-hand experience of addiction, treatment, and personal recovery. These experiences left a lasting impression and helped shape an early but clear mission: to create recovery support that is humane, positive, sustainable, and connected to life beyond treatment.
“TORP is grounded in the belief that the person in recovery is always more than the addiction itself. The programme recognises that individuals navigating addiction are not defined by symptoms, pathology, relapse history, or the most difficult chapters of their lives.”
TORP approaches recovery as a way of life, not just a period of treatment. The broader focus is life beyond treatment: supporting long-term outcomes, personal agency and stability, connection and wellbeing, and a renewed sense of self and purpose.
For Michael, TORP is not simply a theoretical model. It represents a commitment to making addiction recovery a human-centred, collaborative, positive, and sustainable process. It is grounded in the belief that people in recovery need more than professionals telling them what is wrong or what to do. They need autonomy, dignity, sensitivity, non-judgemental support, healthy structure, accountability, practical assistance, and skills that help them build long-term recovery and a life worth living.
This perspective is central to TORP’s approach. Recovery is not limited to the removal of a destructive pattern. It also involves the purposeful rebuilding of the person’s relationship with themselves, with others, with daily life, and with future direction.
Who TORP May Support
TORP may be relevant for individuals who are navigating addiction, relapse, or the various stages of recovery and who need structured but flexible outpatient support, including those who:
are seeking recovery from alcohol-related, substance-related, behavioural, or process addictions
are in early recovery and need structure, accountability, and support
have experienced relapse and need help re-establishing stability and structure
are stepping down from inpatient treatment, detoxification, or rehabilitation
are stepping up from regular psychotherapy into a structured recovery pathway
cannot practically enter inpatient treatment because of academic or occupational commitments, family or social responsibilities, financial constraints, location, health needs, or other practical factors
need support while remaining connected to daily life and existing support systems
have had negative or traumatic experiences of inpatient treatment or rehabilitation
have struggled with unsuccessful or unsupported attempts to stop, stabilise, or sustain recovery
need help rebuilding routines, coping strategies, relationships, and self-direction
Suitability for TORP is always carefully assessed. In some cases, TORP may be an appropriate recovery pathway. In others, a different level or route of care may be recommended.
What TORP May Involve
TORP is designed to support recovery in a structured and practical manner. The specific programme may vary depending on the person’s needs, recovery stage, risk level, preferences, support system, and broader clinical context. Prospective elements include:
assessment and recovery planning
recovery coaching & recovery-focused psychotherapy
relapse prevention and relapse management
psychoeducation around recovery, coping, and change
practical skills development
support with daily structure, routine, and accountability
family or support-system involvement, where appropriate
referrals to additional professionals or services when needed
support groups or group-based recovery input where suitable
(optional) ongoing recovery support and recovery planning
The programme is intended to support the person as a whole. This means attending not only to addiction itself, but also to the emotional, behavioural, relational, social, physical, and practical dimensions of recovery.
TORP: Sample Programme Structure (2026)
TORP offers structured but flexible plans that may be adapted according to individual needs, clinical suitability, recovery context, and collaborative care requirements.
Psychotherapy vs. TORP
MJT is a clinical psychology practice offering psychological services across a range of client needs, including individual therapy, couples and family work, assessment, caregiver support, professional wellbeing, and addiction-related psychological support.
TORP is a distinct but related recovery programme. It is connected to Michael’s addiction recovery focus, but it has its own clinical team, programme identity and structure, and dedicated website.
MJT and TORP are connected by shared clinical values, but they are not interchangeable. MJT remains the broader psychology practice. TORP is a single but significant structured recovery pathway within a larger landscape of psychological and recovery-related care.
TORP is, however, not the only route into addiction-related support.
For some individuals, individual psychotherapy through MJT may be the more appropriate starting point. This may be the case when a person is unsure what kind of support they need, when addiction-related concerns are part of broader mental health or relationship difficulties, or when assessment and formulation are needed before deciding on a recovery pathway. Psychotherapy may be relevant for individuals navigating:
addiction-related concerns alongside anxiety, mood difficulties, trauma, stress, burnout, grief, or adjustment difficulties
emotional patterns, relational issues, or life transitions connected to addictive behaviour
recovery questions that require individual therapeutic exploration rather than a structured programme
family, partner, or caregiver concerns related to addiction and recovery
uncertainty around whether TORP, therapy, inpatient care, or another support route is most appropriate
NOTE: Where needed, MJT can help individuals consider the most suitable next step. In some cases, the individual may benefit from psychotherapy through MJT. In others, the individual may benefit from a customised TORP plan, sometimes as part of a broader recovery pathway involving collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Others may require specialist medical care, inpatient treatment, detoxification, or a different level of support, in which case MJT can help assess needs and recommend appropriate routes.
Starting TORP: Safety, Suitability & Referrals
Where TORP is considered, the process includes careful assessment around clinical suitability, safety, support systems, and the person’s broader recovery and life context.
Given that TORP is an outpatient programme, safety is of utmost importance. Some individuals may need a higher level of care before outpatient recovery support becomes appropriate. This may include medical stabilisation or support, supervised detoxification, inpatient treatment, psychiatric care, or other specialised intervention.
TORP may also be relevant to healthcare professionals seeking a structured outpatient recovery option for clients or patients requiring additional or alternate routes of addiction support, continuity of care, relapse prevention, or recovery-focused intervention. Professional referral routes help support appropriate communication, assessment, and collaboration where necessary.
Next Steps
If you are interested in TORP, please visit the TORP site for detailed information about the programme, services, team, and enquiry process.
If you’re unsure whether TORP, psychotherapy or an alternate route of care is the right starting point, please Contact Us to discuss your context.
For clinicians and professionals, TORP offers a dedicated referral path for clients who may benefit from structured outpatient recovery support.