Hi Pink Girl,

I attended several Partial Hospital Programs in the past, or Intensive Outpatient Programs, which in my area are pretty much the same except the PHPs were full day (9:30 am to 3:30 pm), while the IOPs were half days (9:30 am to 12:30 pm). Generally when I attended the PHPs, they were five days per week (M-F). The IOPs were sometimes five days per week, or sometimes fewer days. Most of the times I attended PHPs/IOPs were directly after hospitalizations, though a couple of times my private psychiatrist sent me directly to the IOP. Sometimes I was in the IOP and was so ill that the IOP sent me inpatient.

At my PHP/IOPs, the early morning was usually process groups (group therapy). Then after process groups there were various classes, like art therapy, various coping skills classes, maybe grief counseling (if applicable), anger management, and other options. They varied over the course of the week. Art therapy was among the most common class options. Sometimes you could choose between two at any given time. Sometimes not.

Since the PHP was full-day, the outpatient facility provided lunches. The IOP participants went home before lunch.

During the course of a PHP or IOP, I would see one of their psychiatrists anywhere from once or twice (or more, if needed) per week. Sometimes I also had a private session with a therapist there. That private session was usually with a different therapist than the one I had for process groups.

During the course of a PHP or IOP, I would also go to the nurse at least a couple of times for vitals, etc.

When I would first enter the PHP or IOP, my designated process group therapist would give me an interview where she/he would ask several questions, mostly about my mental state, Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), sleep habits, and other habits. That helped them gauge where I was mentally and perhaps how big of a risk I might have been to my own or others' well-being.

I remember that during most of my PHPs/IOPs, there would be a family session arranged where my husband and I would together meet with my process group therapist AND designated PHP/IOP psychiatrist.

At the end of my PHPs (which usually eventually turned into IOPs), my designated process group therapist would be sure that I had follow-up care either with my private psychiatrist and therapist. Or, if I didn't have a private psychiatrist or therapist, they would help me find one and get appointments. That can be very helpful in cases where patients don't have a private psychiatrist or therapist. Sometimes waiting lists are long or it's hard to find one taking new patients. I think that in some cases PHP/IOP participants get a bit of priority because of the situation and referral from a PHP/IOP.

My PHPs/IOPs had both coed programs and a women's program. The women's program often focused on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), while the coed program was more talk therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I did attend the women's program a couple of times. At the women's program, they had some groups that included process groups plus the other types I mentioned above (i.e. art therapy, medication counseling), and others that were strictly Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills training and "check-ins". Usually, either a hospital psychiatrist or the coed PHP/IOP head psychiatrist provided recommendations on which program I would attend. I, personally, preferred the coed program, but it was useful learning DBT skills. If your PHP/IOP does not offer a women's program or a DBT program, perhaps DBT skills could be an elective class option at some point. I think DBT could be just as useful to men as women. I sort of felt that it was obnoxious that only women were put in DBT classes. I won't go into why.

At my outpatient facility, the lengths of PHPs/IOPs varied depending on the following:

* Severity of mental health situation and speed of progress
* Insurance company's willingness to pay
* Patient's willingness to continue paying
* Maybe something else?

Again, many PHPs would eventually turn into IOPs. What was originally five days per week would gradually decrease in hours, then maybe from five to three or two days per week.

I think many people only stayed in the above programs for between four and eight weeks. However, the very first time I went I was there for six months before "graduating". Unfortunately for me, I attended a PHP and/or IOP a total of 10 times (12 actually) in a 3.5 year period. It was costly. The reason was because my psychiatric hospitals pretty much required that I attend a PHP or IOP after every hospitalization. I was hospitalized 10 times during that period. I had been extremely unwell.

I'm sure some PHPs/IOPs are a bit different than the ones I attended.