[Speed3]

I go for an intake appointment for an Intensive OutPatient Program tomorrow.
If all goes well I will start on Tuesday.

The program is for Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 3:00. I did a program like this a long time ago about 12 years ago. I did not like it then, but I am sure things have changed.

I was wondering if anyone has done something like this and what you thought about it.

[dogwood1]

I was in an IO treatment center in December, It was somewhat helpful. Not a bad experience.

[belledisastre]

Yes! Well really in my program there were 2 parts: Partial Hospitalization (PHP), then Intensive Outpatient (IOP), as my signature illustrates. I actually graduated this past Wednesday, I forgot to update my signature though. I had so much success with the program. My life is so much more livable now. It really felt great to have a support system there for me as I recovered. And although I loved it, I felt ready to leave and move on with my life and onto new things.
The program didn't really work for me until about a month and a half into my treatment. It's not going to automatically start working on the first week, so don't feel helpless; it takes time. I entered in late November because I was in a severe depressive state and had almost tried to sui 2 times. A couple weeks after I started, I entered this crazy mixed state where I was still depressed and wanted to die; I was still tired but my body felt restless and full of energy (hard to explain); I was all over the place talking on and on to the point it "scared" everyone else in my group (I'm usually more reserved). That's just a condensed summary of how I was acting during that period of time. I entered IOP in the beginning of January, and the mixed state continued. I'll never forget, January 11th was the day I had a total meltdown during the program for no reason and entered another dark depressive state, and was almost sent to a hospital. But they just put me back into PHP for 2-3 weeks and stabilized me on working meds, that have lifted my mood and I've been great ever since. That depressive state went on for a week and a half and I kept trying so many coping skills but to no avail, and I felt like a hopeless failure. I wonder how long it would've lasted had I not been put on proper meds. I felt kind of bad about how it was the meds fixing my mood, and not me, but the people at my program told me that sometimes there are chemical imbalances so severe that they're beyond the patient's control. But I guess it's true, it's always darkest before the dawn, because I'm so much better now.
I'll give you a few tips though. Really put a lot of effort into using the coping techniques, etc. that they give you. Really take their advice. Because my sister has been in the same program as me twice, and she never used the techniques although I begged her to, and she's still as bad as she was in the first place, if not worse. No actually, yeah, she's worse. This program won't automatically make you better, you have to work at it as well, and if you use coping skills like I did and still don't feel better, maybe a medication change is in order. I was just very obsessive over completing the work and using the coping skills because for me it was like: my mom was paying $50 a day for me to be here, I'm not gonna just sit and waste my time and not get better. I'm gonna make the best of it.
You should do the same. If you do, you'll get great things out of the program.
I wish you the best of luck!

[avlady]

I don't know if what you're talking about is a day treatment program, but after i was hospitalised in the 1980's i ended up going to one and it helped tremendously. At first I was angry just to be there, but then i got to meet lot of people who could relate to me, and I became friends with several, if not all of them. We had group times and such, if that's what you mean, and learned different coping skills and learned from each other's experiences. We got our meds there at scheduled times, which made it easier to take my meds, as now I'm away from there and am on my own dealing with that, i mean the meds are hard for me to figure out but I do do it myself religiously. I hope for the best for you, and can tell you succesfully I did it and it helped tremendously-it was a life saver-so I say GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

[Speed3]

Originally Posted by avlady

I don't know if what you're talking about is a day treatment program, but after i was hospitalised in the 1980's i ended up going to one and it helped tremendously. At first I was angry just to be there, but then i got to meet lot of people who could relate to me, and I became friends with several, if not all of them. We had group times and such, if that's what you mean, and learned different coping skills and learned from each other's experiences. We got our meds there at scheduled times, which made it easier to take my meds, as now I'm away from there and am on my own dealing with that, i mean the meds are hard for me to figure out but I do do it myself religiously. I hope for the best for you, and can tell you succesfully I did it and it helped tremendously-it was a life saver-so I say GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

Yes this is what it is. The thing I am worried about is right now my severe depression was brought on by the death of my only child in January. I am afraid the other people there won't be able to relate to what I am going through.

Also, it costs 25 dollars a day copayment, that is 125 dollars a week. We are broke right now having to pay around 16,000 dollars for our son's funeral.
If I went inpatient it costs nothing. That doesn't make sense to me. I thought insurance companies were trying to keep people out of the hospital by going outpatient. Money wise there is no incentive to do that.

Yes, I did ...

It was most helpful.

Of course, Inpatient treatment was also helpful.

If your insurance covers that 100%, I'd go with that if I could.

As far as other people not being able to relate, I found that even though others and I weren't going through exactly the same thing, that many of the feelings we were experiencing were the same ... Some may find that overwhelming at first, but it does help in the long run.

[belledisastre]

I really have no experience with finances, considering I'm only 16 years old, but honestly I think that PHP/IOP is a lot more productive in the long run. Inpatient, I think, is beneficial in the short-term, their job is to make sure you're safe, while PHP/IOP is to give you the tools to get through life healthily. Maybe that's why IOP is more expensive for you. For my mom, the hospital for my sister involved copayments as well, but it was obviously less because it was for a week while PHP/IOP was for 3.5 months for me and 2 months for my sister.
What pfrog said is right. Although none of the people will have gone through exactly what you've been through, the feelings of grief and loss and sorrow and pain are universal. The other patients will be able to help you in some way. And hey, you never know. There may be another patient there that has gone through the loss of a child.
Maybe you could consider a grief support group? I lost my dad when I was 11, and it's not the same as losing a son, but my clinician at my program thought that my loss so young was a big factor in my mood problems today. So soon I'm starting at a grief program with other teens that lost loved ones. Maybe you could consider something similar. As far as I'm aware, support groups are free.