When most people think of treatment for addiction, they think of either “going away” to treatment at a 28-day rehab or inpatient treatment facility (often either in on campus or based at a hospital) or they think of going to an intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment program. While both levels of care are either stand-alone addiction treatment services that can be accessed by someone suffering from substance use disorder or part of a longer-term continuum of care, they are not the only levels of care available for someone in need. One level of care in addiction treatment is a partial hospitalization program, otherwise referred to as a PHP.
PHP is an outpatient level of care that provides intensive and comprehensive treatment for someone suffering or struggling with addiction without requiring them to go to an inpatient facility or residential rehab. Sometimes PHP is also considered or called day treatment.
A PHP program can be a stand-alone clinical program, where individuals live at their homes, with their families, or at a local sober living and attend PHP treatment during the day. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), PHP treatment is considered an ASAM Level II level of care, which includes both intensive outpatient programming and partial hospitalization programming services.
A PHP treatment program is a structured, clinically driven level of care that can deliver addiction and co-occurring treatment services during the day, before or after school or work, in the evening or on weekends. There is no defined time for a PHP program, although most PHP programs operate Monday through Friday during daytime hours. In terms of state licensure or insurance company requirements, there is a defined number of hours that an individual needs to be receiving services weekly to be considered in a PHP program.
What are the Benefits of a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)?
The benefits of a partial hospitalization program for someone suffering from addiction is that is delivers essential clinical services outside the confines of an inpatient rehab setting. It is similar in the number of clinical services offered at an inpatient rehab or residential treatment center, without needing to “go away” to treatment. It also offers more robust clinical services (such as treatment, therapy, and education) than an intensive outpatient (IOP) program, as traditional IOP programs only offer group therapy for 9 hours per week. In a PHP setting, individuals are able to receive individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, psychiatry, medication management, and case management in an outpatient setting.
Another benefit to most PHP programs is that they offer a “real world” environment where a patient receives services, can go out and apply what they learn in treatment into their everyday lives, and process necessary issues and situations in treatment. The vital treatment services become integrated into the lives of the patient, so that the primary therapist and clinical team can help a patient in real time learn necessary healthy coping mechanisms, behaviors, and reactions as they experience situations in the real world in real time. This type of community-reintegration model of care that a PHP program offers, allows patients in treatment to apply tools they are learning, make mistakes with the clinical support of their treatment team, integrate what they are learning in treatment and therapy, and begin to create more healthy approaches into their lives on a daily basis. When issues come up or situations arise, they are able to bring them to their therapist and the treatment center to process them and learn best ways to handle situations that in the past would have caused distress or potentially lead to a relapse. The ongoing process helps the individual receiving care in treatment to build a healthy foundation in early recovery and create habitual actions that can lead to a sustained recovery.
If you or someone you know needs help for addiction or co-occurring disorder issues, please give us a call. Maryland Addiction Recovery Center offers the most comprehensive dual diagnosis addiction treatment in the Mid-Atlantic area. If we aren’t the best fit for you or your loved one, we will take the necessary time to work with you to find a treatment center or provider that better fits your needs. Please give us a call at (410) 773-0500 or email our team at info@marylandaddictionrecovery.com. For more information on all of our drug addiction, alcohol addiction and co-occurring disorder services and recovery resources, please visit our web site at www.marylandaddictionrecovery.com.
