If you or someone you love is involved in mental health treatment or addiction recovery, you’ve probably seen the acronym, “PHP,” short for Partial Hospitalization Program. Maybe your therapist suggested looking into it, or maybe it was offered as a next step after being discharged from inpatient care.
But what exactly is a partial hospitalization program?
In this guide, we’ll explain what a PHP is, who it’s for, and what a typical day looks like. Once you understand what these programs involve, you can stop guessing about your next steps and decide if a PHP is a good fit for you.
Key Takeaways
- Key Takeaways
- PHP is intensive outpatient care, not inpatient. You'll spend several hours a day in structured treatment, typically five days a week, and return home each night.
- PHP is designed for people who need more than weekly therapy but not 24-hour supervision. PHP works well for moderate to severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, or co-occurring conditions.
- PHP and IOP differ mainly by time commitment. PHP runs 20-30 hours a week for two to six weeks; IOP runs 9-15 hours a week for four to twelve weeks.
- A typical day includes group therapy, individual check-ins, and often medication management, all coordinated by the same multidisciplinary team.
- Most insurance plans offer some level of coverage, and verifying your benefits is a free, no-commitment first step toward finding out if PHP is the right fit.
What Is a Partial Hospitalization Program?
A partial hospitalization program, or PHP, is a structured, intensive treatment program for mental health conditions or substance use disorders. You’ll attend several hours of clinical care each day (typically 5-6 hours a day, five days a week) and return home in the evenings.
PHP is classified as outpatient care, even though it involves structured programming in a clinical setting. It’s not inpatient care because you’re not being admitted to a hospital and still go home to sleep in your own bed at night.
As part of a PHP, you can be treated for mental health conditions as well as substance use disorders. It’s also common to seek treatment for both when you are experiencing co-occurring conditions as most partial hospitalization programs are equipped to address mental health conditions and substance use disorders simultaneously.
Because it’ is an outpatient program, PHP is not the appropriate level of care for those needing medical withdrawal management. However, it can be used to provide continuing support to those who have completed an inpatient detox program and are ready to move on to a less intensive, but still highly structured, level of care.
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Who Is Partial Hospitalization For?
In addiction and mental health treatment, PHP may be a good fit for those dealing with moderate to severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, or a combination of mental health and substance use conditions together. It is designed for people whose symptoms are affecting daily functioning, who have been recently discharged from a higher level of care and need a step-down program, or for whom regular therapy hasn’t been enough to support progress.
PHP isn’t the right level of care if you’re experiencing an acute crisis or need 24-hour supervision. It’s also not a replacement for a medical detox. Additionally, if your home environment isn’t stable or supportive of your continued healing, a program that sends you home each night may not be the right option for you yet.
PHP is structured around daytime hours, Monday through Friday, giving you consistent clinical support throughout the week. If evening or more flexible scheduling is a priority, IOP is often a better fit. However, because it is designed to be an acute phase of care, most partial hospitalization programs do not run longer than six weeks.
PHP vs IOP: What’s The Difference?
In addition to PHP, another common outpatient treatment option is an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). While both levels of care provide structured, evidence-based treatment without requiring an overnight stay, the primary difference between IOP and PHP is the amount of time spent attending programming.
PHP is the more intensive of the two. It typically runs four to six hours a day, five days a week, adding up to 20-30 hours of clinical programming weekly for two to six weeks.
IOP runs three to four hours a day, three to five days a week, closer to 9-15 hours weekly. A typical IOP will run for 4-12 weeks, depending on your level of need.
PHP tends to be better for people whose symptoms are disruptive enough that they will benefit from near-daily clinical contact and monitoring for a short, intensive time frame.
IOP may can be a better fit for people who are able to maintain their work and family responsibilities, but still need more care than a weekly session provides.
Choosing between a PHP and an IOP depends on your symptoms, daily responsibilities, and treatment needs. If you’re trying to figure out which one is the better fit for you or your loved one, our PHP vs. IOP comparison breaks the two down side by side in more depth.
What Does a Day in PHP Look Like?
A typical day in a PHP includes on-site group therapy sessions, an individual therapy check-in, coping skills training, and possibly a psychiatry or medication management appointment. Family therapy sessions will often be included in the programming when appropriate. At the end of the day, you’ll head home to sleep in your own bed.
Attending a PHP will be similar to the amount of time you would spend at a part-time job. You’ll be in the program most of the day, for most of the week.
Cornerstone’s PHP includes transportation, case management, and peer support as part of your treatment plan. That way, you can focus on your treatment without having to spend time coordinating your own transportation or trying to figure out what will come next for you after the program ends.
What Conditions Does PHP Treat?
Partial hospitalization programs are generally designed to stabilize acute symptoms as an alternative to inpatient care for people who don’t need 24-hour monitoring.
If you’re dealing with a mental health condition and weekly therapy is not providing enough support, PHP may be a type of care that will help.
Many people also attend PHP for treatment of drug use. Co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders are also common in a PHP. Treating them together, under the supervision of the same team, leads to better long-term outcomes.
PHP may be the right fit if weekly therapy hasn’t been enough to manage:
Benefits of a Partial Hospitalization Program
PHP brings your care into one coordinated place. Therapy, psychiatry, medication management, and case management are all managed by the same team, so you don’t have to worry about keeping multiple providers up-to-date on your progress.
In a PHP, you get significant amounts of weekly clinical contact without the restrictions of an inpatient stay. Going home every night to sleep in your own bed can help you maintain independence and prepare for the transition back to your regular routines and responsibilities once your acute phase of care is over.
If you find yourself needing a higher level of care during your time in a PHP, continuity of care can help ease the transition. At Cornerstone, you’ll have the ability to transfer to residential or inpatient care at our Phoenix or Scottsdale campuses without the hassle of changing providers or starting over.
Taking the Next Step
A partial hospitalization program provides intensive, structured care during daytime hours. It’s more support than therapy alone provides, but less restrictive than residential care can be. For many people, it can be exactly the amount of structure they need to see real improvement.
If you’re wondering whether PHP is the right fit, a 10-minute conversation can usually point you in the right direction. We can verify insurance for free and help you understand your options without any commitment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PHP in mental health and addiction treatment?
A partial hospitalization program (PHP), sometimes called a day program, is a structured treatment program where you attend several hours of mental health or addiction care each day, typically five days a week, and return home every evening.
What conditions does a PHP treat?
Cornerstone’s PHP treats depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions, along with alcohol, opioid, and stimulant use disorders. Co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions are treated together.
Is partial hospitalization considered inpatient or outpatient?
PHP is classified as outpatient care. Even though the daily hours are intensive, you don’t stay overnight at the facility, which is the defining line between outpatient and inpatient classification.
How long does a partial hospitalization program last?
At Cornerstone, PHP typically runs two to six weeks, with the exact length adjusted based on individual clinical progress.
What is the difference between PHP and IOP?
PHP involves roughly twenty to thirty hours of treatment a week and fits people who need near-daily clinical contact. IOP involves roughly nine to fifteen hours a week and fits people who are more independent but still need more than weekly therapy.
Are there PHP programs with evening or flexible hours?
Most partial hospitalization programs run during the day, Monday through Friday, which can be difficult for people who need to keep working. If scheduling is a concern, an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) with evening availability is often a better fit than PHP.
Does insurance cover partial hospitalization programs?
Most major insurance plans offer some level of coverage for PHP, including plans through Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, and others. Coverage depends on your specific plan. Verify your insurance for free to see what’s covered.
