Knowing the difference between PHP vs IOP is the simple key to determining which program is right for your child. We make the right choice an easy process. We do all the work in assessing, preparing, and charting the most effective course designed to meet your child’s individual needs. The insights below put all these questions, concerns, and confusions to rest.
What is a Partial Hospitalization Program?
Partial hospitalization programs, or PHP, are the most hands-on, highly monitored treatment for people needing more attentive therapeutic access. This offers full-time care and access for children who are exhibiting moderate to severe behavioral or mental health problems. Even with capable parents, the need for PHP programs means they require close attention from a trained therapeutic professional. These daytime sessions are intended to keep the child and those around them safe when they go home at night. Once behaviors or mental health symptoms toward others and themselves have improved, doctors can proceed with less intensive treatment practices.
What is an Intensive Outpatient Program?
IOP, though less intensive than PHP, has many of the same therapeutic elements of PHP, but with more relaxed standards. These sessions are done at a neutral setting, most often at the child’s home. These relaxed environments enable physicians to more easily implement parental involvement into the progressive mental health process. This is usually achieved by infusing parentally involved group therapy sessions into your PHP sessions. Despite these more accommodating surroundings, you still receive the same top-quality standard of care, simply with fewer restraints.
How To Choose Between PHP vs IOP for Your Child
Choosing the right program comes down strictly to their needs. Let all of the following factors contribute to your choice of program.
Be Aware of Scheduling Necessities
PHP has very different scheduling parameters than IOP, as it takes up the majority of the day. Therefore, it’s imperative to consider their job and schooling schedules and work around them. All school and work schedules considered, choose a program that allows them to maintain and fulfill job and school requirements.
Know Their Treatment Needs
Observing their behavioral cues gives you a clear indicator of how much help and what kind of help they need. These can be difficult to spot if you’re unsure what to look out for. Nonetheless, how they act, respond, and treat you sheds a clearer light on their needs. We can guide you to specific behavioral and mental aspects your child needs help with through our comprehensive assessment process.
Consider the Financial Obligations of Each Program
Your teen or adolescent needs to receive the unwavering therapeutic quality and duration that suits their condition needs. This means accounting for how much it would cost for them to undergo the full duration without cutting corners. To put your mind and finances at ease, we’ve made provisions for such concerns through our flexible insurance verification process. While it’s important to consider the finances, we do our best to temper these concerns. That’s why we go the extra mile to work with several insurance providers to get your child the treatment you can afford.
Consider the Long-Term Impacts of Each Program
Your therapeutic specialist will lay out the long-term impacts of both programs to give you an educated outlook. This is vital to ensure lasting effects and full-spectrum healing that can be independently sustained through adequate mental training. If your child requires more elaborate and intensive care, PHP may be the right choice. However, if your child’s case isn’t severe, IOP can have a more beneficial long-term impact.
Seek Medical Assessment
While the decision ultimately boils down to you, seeking medical assessment for program placement is highly advised. Our medical assessment team makes the process very easy for the parents and children involved. We make the right choice clear and concise through our personalized assessment procedures. Reach out to us today to find the best program for your teen or adolescent.
What are the Key Differences Between PHP vs IOP?
As hinted at earlier, PHP and IOP have very similar levels of care, but for different stages of therapy. Here is a detailed outline of those differences to help you choose which one is best for you.
Flexibility Discrepancies
PHP treatment sessions take up the majority of the day, diminishing your ability to fulfill other obligations. IOP almost completely revolves around your schedule as therapists seek the best schedule that works for your work and academic priorities. It’s worth noting that most jobs and schools are sensitive to these needs and provide leave to accommodate these necessities.
Session Location and Convenience
Partial hospitalization programs require sessions to take place at an on-site location. IOP, on the other hand, is conducted at a neutral site of the patient’s choosing, usually in their residence. However, these sessions can take place mostly anywhere the patient prefers, like parks, coffee shops, or other public settings. These location conveniences add an easing layer of comfort to your sessions.
Treatment Program Duration
PHP, despite its high monitoring and elevated care attentiveness, has a duration of around two and a half weeks. IOP, on the other hand, usually lasts around one month. Bear in mind that these treatment durations can vary based on need, necessity, and other personal factors. Speak to our therapy experts to see which treatment type, duration, and care level is best for you.
Session Frequency
A primary discrepancy between PHP vs IOP is the length of each session and weekly session frequency. IOP programs usually last at least 3 hrs, but not typically longer than 5, requiring around 15 hrs per week. These hours are spread between 3-5 days, and are done mostly at your convenience. PHP sessions are often longer, lasting as long as 8 hours per day, with sessions taking place anywhere between 3 to 7 days per week. Again, daily and weekly durations are heavily dependent on your needs and condition severity.
Practical Application Discrepancies
IOP works hard on incorporating the lessons learned in PHP or other treatment programs into your everyday life. This is mainly because PHP’s in-house sessions don’t afford this same opportunity, temporarily taking the place of normal routines. While IOP still teaches your mental and behavioral training practices, it focuses primarily on applying previously taught processes. This helps aid the transition from on-site care to daily life.
How Do You Start the Conversation with Your Teen about Going to Treatment?
No matter what you say, bringing up a conversation about going to treatment is likely to ignite some degree of tension. However, bringing it up through the following methods is likely to appease their reservations and apprehensions.
Ask for Their Thoughts and Listen
As with any conversation, when you start the discussion about treatment, don’t let it be a one-sided conversation. Ask them for their thoughts and concerns, and listen to what they have to say. This approach method allows them to vent and express themselves, increasing their likelihood of being more open to the idea.
Maintain a Sincere and Kindhearted Tone Throughout
Regardless of their emotional response, it’s important to maintain a caring and kindhearted tone in your speech throughout the conversation. Raising your voice or sounding irritated will only worsen matters and elevate the conversation to unproductive banter. Keeping your voice low, caring, and irritation-free is an important key to getting your message across effectively.
Exhibit Patience
We understand the potential difficulties of dealing with a teen or adolescent who exhibits behavioral or mental problems. However, their behaviors make your patience an even more important attribute. Without patience, there is no progress in such discussions. Be patient and understanding as you approach them with their need for personal treatment.
Reiterate Your Love
Teens can often feel as if their lives are being bombarded from all directions. That’s why it is important to express that you care and put their needs and health number one. This helps show them you’re on their side no matter what life throws their way. Reiterating your love for them will help put their mind at ease about giving therapy a try.
Talk Up Therapy
In our therapy for teens and adolescents, we strive to make it as enjoyable as it is proactive. Correlatively, talk up those aspects of our therapy as an enjoyable opportunity to take on new activities and experiences. We’ll show them just how much fun they can have in our therapy sessions through our vast selection of activities and hobbies.
Can a Teen Transition from PHP to IOP If Their Condition Improves?
Yes, if your child’s condition improves, they will be transitioned from PHP to IOP. The whole purpose of our PHP programs is to graduate them to IOP. From there, we help them apply previously learned lessons to behavioral and mental health struggles encountered in their daily lives. The ultimate goal is to make the transition from PHP to IOP to independently sustainable mental stability.
Ohio Center Offers Superior IOP and PHP for Adolescents
If you need help determining between PHP vs IOP, Ohio Center has you covered with our top-tier programs. Our highly efficient staff does all the work to make sure your child gets the best, most personalized treatment. Your stress over trying to figure out what to do and where to go ends here. Alleviate all of your mental and physical burdens by reaching out to us now.
