Hello my dear Kori.

I was in Day Hospital (Partial Hospitalization... they confused me everyday) and to be honest, it is a lot like IP, you just have more freedoms.

For example, my day went like this. If this helps at all.
- 6:30am, a taxi would pick me up and bring me to the DH location.
- 7:00am, I'd sign in and one of the nurses would take my vitals and ask me how I was feeling both mentally and physically and write them on the chart.
- 7:30am, I would go to the group room for morning group. Which was really just an over-view of what was going to go on for the day. Like what groups would be offered (usually there would be three a day and you could pick which you'd want to attend, though you NEEDED to attend at least one). Also breakfast was served at that time. It was really a "wow lets all wake up a bit" time.
- 8am, I saw my social worker. There was really nothing therapeutic done there. We went over payments and insurance and stuff.
- 8:30am, I had a one on one talk therapy session with one of the staff therapists.
- 9am, you'd either go to a group or do your one on one or, if in school (high school, college) you'd have time for homework and coursework.
- 11am, lunch. Which was delivered to us by the hospital.
- 11:30am, if you moved up a level (sometimes there are levels, sometimes there aren't, depends on the program) you were allowed to go outside, walk to 7-11 and get a drink, smoke, just sit outside until 12pm. You had to sign in and out. If you didn't come back, you'd be either found or kicked out of the program and put back in IP.
-12pm Group
-1pm Group/ OR family therapy. I had about ten family therapy sessions during my months in DH.
-2pm Meds if you needed them during the day (this included needing anxiety medications for sudden panic attacks, anxious thoughts, etc)
-2/3pm psychiatrist med check. They'd go over my chart and ask questions about how I was feeling, if I was getting any bad side effects, if I needed refills, etc. Any med issues were discussed there.
- 3:30pm, "goodbye" group meeting. We'd go over the day, they'd make sure everyone was okay to go home. If anyone had any complaints about staff or other patients, it was the time to bring it up and deal with it.
- 4pm, Signing out. Now I don't know if this is how it is in every DH, but every time we signed out we had to sign a paper that said something along the lines of "I promise I will not harm myself after leaving the program. I promise that if I feel like harming myself, suicidal, etc, that I will call the 24 hour crisis nurse."

Then we'd all go home.

My treatment lasted for three months. This is when my MDD and Anxiety were out of control and I couldn't function, but they decided I'd be better off in a partial hospitalization program than in IP.

One thing to keep in mind; it's NOT easier than IP. You have to work. You have to work to be open and honest and willing to participate in groups. You are held accountable for everything, and if you fail to sign in/out it is held against you and there are consequences. (I failed to call my crisis nurse and SH'd and I was moved down from a level 3 to a 1 which meant no leaving all day). It takes work and time and they don't expect you to be open the first day. They treat new patients gently and introduce you to your doctors, nurses, Pdoc's, etc. They will walk you through the day and if you have any questions someone is always there to answer.

It's okay to be nervous. I was terrified. But you will be okay. It was nice going because I met people my age who understood what I was going through and how hard it was. My meds were never adjusted better than they were when I was in PH. I loved how everything was scheduled and there were no surprises. The first few days are hard, but soon you get into the swing of things and you begin working and things start getting a lot easier.

Feel free to bring a book, a notebook, etc as they encourage journaling. If you're going to bring your own drinks, make sure you don't open them until you are there as some people do try sneaking in alcohol (and usually fail). They do not allow use of cellphones, computers (unless campus computers) as you are in a medical facility and HIPA laws and to keep people focused.

I think you'll be alright, Kori. Take it day by day.