What is Virtual PHP/IOP?
When to Refer to Virtual Schedule an Appointment Why Treatment Length Matters
What is Virtual PHP/IOP?
Compass Health Center’s virtual Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) Programs are comprehensive treatment options for individuals who are struggling with debilitating symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and/or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that interfere with daily functioning. These programs are at various levels of intensity. PHP is a full-day program (approximately five hours a day) that is attended daily. IOP is a half-day program (two to three hours a day) that is attended three to five days per week. Both daytime and afternoon/evening options are available.
Both programs are centered around interactive, group-based therapy and individual care. The group therapy curriculum is based on scientifically-proven treatment models. Individual care includes psychiatry, individual therapy, family therapy, and additional specialized services if needed. Areas where specialized services are offered include Substance Use Disorder, Trauma, and OCD.
Treatment plans are developed by a multidisciplinary treatment team that includes a psychiatrist (or psychiatric nurse practitioner), an individual therapist, group therapists, and typically a family therapist, in consultation with the patient’s family/support network and their outpatient team.
Do I Need Virtual PHP/IOP?
The goal of the PHP and IOP levels of care is short-term stabilization for patients in a crisis or in need of crisis-level support at the time of admission. Most patients are ‘stepping up’ to a more comprehensive level of care (usually from an outpatient psychiatrist or outpatient therapist) due to needing additional support. Some patients are ‘stepping down’ from inpatient or residential treatment facilities. Regardless of the most recent level of care, the goal is to return patients to their daily functioning with the ability to manage their symptoms more effectively.
Compass specializes in Mood & Anxiety, Trauma, and OCD; however, the center also provides significant support for comorbid or secondary diagnoses. At Compass, the programs are delivered and segmented based on age. This includes the Adolescent Program (ages 13 to 18), Young Adult Program (ages 18 to 23), and Adult Program (ages 23 and up). Woven through the age-based programs, Compass offers specialty services as indicated.
Recommendations for programming are made by an expert therapist based on a virtual intake discussion in consultation with board-certified psychiatrists as needed. Intakes are a great opportunity to determine whether a program is a good fit and if the individual is interested in Compass Virtual’s services.
What Can I Expect from Virtual PHP/IOP?
The virtual PHP/IOP programs, while through a different medium, are designed to directly mirror the well-regarded in-person programs that Compass has delivered for over a decade. Programming runs for the same hours, involves the same treatment team approach and customized approach to treatment but is adapted to a virtual format in numerous ways. Since launching Compass Virtual programming, there has been incredibly positive feedback from staff and patients on the effectiveness of this model.
Compass Virtual leverages a secure HIPAA-compliant teleconferencing platform for both group and individual work. Compass’s patients remark that sometimes they forget that they are not in the same room as the rest of the group. Others find this to be a more helpful platform for interaction given their symptoms or schedules.
PHP or IOP Which Is Best
PHP stands for “Partial Hospitalization Program”; IOP stands for “Intensive Outpatient Program.” Both are intermediate levels of behavioral health care that are designed for times when you need more intense care than once-a-week therapy sessions but do not require inpatient hospitalization or a stay at a residential facility. Both PHP and IOP programs involve a mix of group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, and psychiatric evaluation/consultation–they allow you to address your symptoms in a concentrated manner while sleeping in your own bed each night.
An easy way to think of the difference between PHP and IOP is that PHP is a “day program” while IOP is a “half-day program.” PHPs deliver a full day of therapy (with breaks of course!) typically spanning five to six hours per day, while IOPs are typically two to three hours in duration. Additionally, PHPs are attended five days per week, while IOPs are attended five days per week at first, and then reduced to three or four days per week as your symptoms improve.
The most important factor to determine whether PHP or IOP is right for you is the severity of your symptoms–this is assessed through expert intake therapists during Compass Virtual’s intake process and a clinically-appropriate “PHP vs. IOP” recommendation is made. A very common path is to start with PHP and then transition to IOP as your symptoms improve.
