Partial Hospitalization
Partial Hospitalization
Partial hospitalization is an intensive form of outpatient care that people experiencing mental health or substance abuse conditions attend three to five days a week. They spend several hours on these days engaged in treatment sessions, but they have the ability to return home each night. IOP and PHP sessions may be right for your loved one as they may be what keeps him out of the psychiatric hospital.
What Is a Partial Hospitalization Program?
PHP treatment is one step below inpatient treatment. A PHP program offers your loved one an intensive level of care, but he would not be required to live at the facility. It is an intensive outpatient program that gives people the secure and structured environment that they receive in the inpatient program. These programs require attendees to appear at the treatment center five days a week so that they can treat mental health issues with the intensive level of care that they need.
The Assessment Process.
To ensure that this program is right for your loved one, the treatment center performs an assessment. During this process, the staff interviews your loved ones, family, and friends.
If your loved ones fit into any of the following categories, they could be good candidates for PHP treatment plans:
- They are motivated to achieve better health and want to conquer their challenges.
- They have a supportive group of friends, family, and outreach programs.
- They are determined to fully commit to a partial hospitalization program.
- They are not at risk of harming themselves or other people.
What Types of Therapy Are Available During Treatment?
Individual Therapy
Your loved one receives individual therapy in PHP treatment. This type of therapy gives your loved one the chance to meet one-on-one with his own therapist and engage in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is also known as “talk therapy.” The environment offers your loved one a place where he can be completely safe as he learns more about his behaviors and feelings.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Your loved one may receive treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT helps your loved one examine the relationships between his behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. In a session, the therapist helps your loved one see where his unhealthy thought patterns lie. Then, he can learn how these unhealthy thoughts lead him to self-destructive beliefs and behaviors. As your loved one and his therapist examine these thought patterns together, they develop healthy and constructive thought patterns that lead to constructive behaviors and thoughts.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy was developed for the treatment of borderline personality disorder, but it can also treat many other types of mental health disorders. It is based on CBT and requires the patient to accept the fact that he has the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that he finds to be so uncomfortable. The point is for him to live with those feelings without trying to do anything to change them.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy treats several mental illnesses, including phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the therapy session, your loved one meets with her therapist with the purpose of identifying the things that trigger anxiety. The therapist teaches your loved one not to perform rituals when she is exposed to her triggers. She also learns not to become anxious when a trigger confronts her.
Interpersonal Therapy
Interpersonal therapy helps your loved one improve his relationships with others. The therapist helps your loved one examine his actions and many factors when he is interacting with other people. Then, he learns to recognize the negative patterns that present themselves at these times. His therapist helps him move away from negative actions so that he can learn how to interact positively with other people.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy works well for borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders and depression. The therapist teaches your loved one to identify behaviors and feelings from the past that are still distressing him. In therapy, treatment professionals teach him how to resolve those feelings. The therapist often asks questions that are open-ended. This is so that your loved one begins to talk freely about the things that are bothering him.
The therapist takes him even further into the discussion by helping him identify hidden thoughts and feelings. These thoughts and feelings are often negative, but your loved one learns how to keep these thoughts and feelings from causing him to experience further negativity.
What Happens in a Partial Hospitalization Program?
On a typical day, people receive individual and group therapy. They also receive instruction in psychoeducation that teaches you and your loved one about his illness and the treatments that will improve his mental health. In addition to that, your loved one develops new skills and is evaluated for his progress on an occasional basis.
Psychiatrists diagnose patients and may prescribe medication for the treatment of their symptoms. You and your family members will be welcome to join your loved one in family therapy. This is highly important because a strong family support system is essential to helping your loved one overcome his mental health disorder.
Your loved one receives individual therapy in the outpatient program. Cognitive behavioral therapy is just one option that the staff could present to her. It is a form of psychotherapy that helps your loved one alter the dysfunctional thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that cause problems in her life.
CALL NOWWhat Is the Difference between PHP, IOP, and OP Treatment?
An intensive outpatient program is different from the partial hospitalization program because the IOP allows your loved one to remain at home. The IOP provides the intensive level of care that your loved one receives in partial hospitalization programs, but she is free to live life on her own. Your loved one receives the same type of treatment in the IOP, and she can enjoy her weekends and evenings with friends and family.
The outpatient treatment program or OP is different from the IOP. The OP is also an outpatient setting that allows your loved one to remain at home, but your loved one has the opportunity to return to work or school in this program. In the OP, your loved one attends therapy sessions, and the facility schedules these sessions around your loved one’s responsibilities. Your loved one may be required to attend therapy at the treatment facility every week in this program.
What Is the Difference between the Partial Hospitalization Program and Inpatient Treatment?
As was mentioned above, PHP treatment allows your loved one to live at home and visit the facility during the day. Residential care is the highest level of treatment that your loved one can experience. Inpatient treatment offers 24-hour care in a facility that is highly secure. This option is the best one for your loved one if he needs to be monitored around the clock to prevent him from hurting himself or others.
The first thing that the staff must do during inpatient programs is to stabilize your loved one. Then, they will develop an ongoing treatment plan that will allow him to move on to a less intensive program. Inpatient programs do not last as long as PHP programs. Your loved one may be in an inpatient program for a week at the longest.
What Are the Benefits of Attending Partial Hospitalization Programs for Mental Health?
- One main benefit of PHP treatment is the fact that these programs are an alternative to residential treatment programs. If your loved one needs to be stabilized, they can accomplish that goal in partial hospitalization programs.
- The scheduling for therapy sessions is so flexible that your loved one can remain in school or a job. Parents can remain at home and take care of their children.
- When your loved one leaves the facility each day, she has the opportunity to practice the life skills she learned in her therapy sessions in the real world.
- The partial hospitalization program gives your loved one a place where he can slowly return to his normal life. He also continues to receive a high level of treatment for his mental health disorder.
- The IOP and PHP structured environments provide your loved one with more direction than she would receive in an outpatient program. For example, your loved one will have the additional support of the clinicians at her treatment center. She would also have the support of her peers at the treatment facility. The fact that they are spending so much time at the facility means that they have more time to spend on recovering from their mental health disorders.
- Your loved one may not be eligible for an inpatient program, and the outpatient program may not be enough for your loved one at this time. An IOP and PHP may be exactly the treatment that your loved one needs. It will make recovery possible for your loved one if he has tried other treatment modalities in the past and didn’t succeed.
Who Is Best Suited for a PHP?
Partial hospitalization is for your loved one if he is experiencing symptoms of a mental health disorder. It is ideal for those suffering from problems that present themselves in their relationships with their family members, at school, or at work.
If your loved one is currently in an inpatient program, a partial hospitalization program is an excellent option for him. Sometimes, your loved one’s physicians advise that you offer this option to your loved one in the event that inpatient treatment is no longer appropriate.
What Is the Value of PHP Treatment for Mental Health?
In the past, treatment for mental health disorders consisted of hospitalization and one-on-one counseling sessions with a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Since we added PHP treatment to this mix, the value of treatment for mental health disorders increased immensely. PHP treatment gives your loved one the chance to enter into an outpatient program that is highly structured. Each day is filled with several types of therapeutic sessions that aid in the recovery journey.
The structured environment gives your loved one the opportunity to be engaged in therapy sessions for the majority of the day. In contrast, outpatient sessions will only be scheduled for at least one day a week. These sessions only last for one hour in most cases. The structured environment of the partial hospitalization program can last for as long as 35 hours each week. Your loved one may even attend therapy sessions five days a week.
If you are seeking PHP for your loved one, contact us at Renewed Light. Our knowledgeable staff is here to inform you about our programs and treatment options.