Adolescent Behavioral Health Day Treatment Programs: IOP and PHP

Coping with a child's mental health struggles can be challenging. Our programs provide intensive care in a safe, structured, and supportive environment for preteens and teenagers (ages 12 through 17).

UCI Health offers a behavioral health day treatment program with two levels of care:

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)

PHP is the most intensive level of day treatment, often serving as a step-down from inpatient hospitalization or a step-up for teens whose outpatient care is no longer enough to keep them safe and supported.

We offer PHP Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for about four to six weeks. 

Learn more about PHP

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

IOP is less time-intensive than PHP and often serves as a step-down from PHP or inpatient care, or a step up from standard outpatient therapy.

We offer IOP Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 3 to 6 p.m. for about six to eight weeks.

Learn more about IOP

Our approach to behavioral health

Our programs provide intensive care in a safe and caring environment for preteens and teenagers (ages 12 through 17).

Your child's treatment team

• Board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist
• Child and adolescent psychiatry fellow
• Therapists, including Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs)

All treatment team members are experienced in working with adolescents with serious mental health conditions and their families.

What patients receive

• Group therapy, including mindfulness/meditation, process groups, creative expression, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Individual therapy
• Family therapy
• Psychiatric evaluation and medication management, when needed
• Academic support from a trained instructor to help students keep up with schoolwork, except during summer months

What we treat

Our multidisciplinary team helps adolescents with emotional issues and psychiatric conditions, including:

• Anger management issues
• Anxiety and panic disorders
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Body image issues
• Coping with divorce or grief
• Depression and mood disorders
• Low self-esteem or inner conflict
• Oppositional behavior
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Psychosis
• School anxiety, avoidance, and refusal
• Self-harming behavior
• Suicidal thoughts
• Trauma

Individual treatment plans

Teens and their families help develop and continually assess a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan. The goal is to help teens:

• Communicate effectively and relate constructively to others
• Manage emotions and moods
• Control impulses and high-risk behaviors
• Build stronger relationships with family, peers and others
• Improve attendance and performance at school

The program is also designed to ease a teen's transition from an inpatient hospital setting back to the family home, and to reduce the risk of relapse.

For teens who aren't yet ready to return to the full pressures of school, the team provides specialized supervision and works closely with families and schools to support a steady transition back to the classroom and community. 

Getting started with behavioral health

Families can self-refer, or a physician or therapist can make a referral — a referral isn't required to start the process.

Call our office at 714-456-2924, you will complete a brief screening call and then do an intake assessment. Wait times vary; in some cases, we're able to get a teen started right away.

Why choose UCI Health for behavioral health?

Ranked as one of the top 10 California hospitals, UCI Health is the premier choice for adolescent care. As the only academic medical center in Orange County, we provide:

• Highest standards and quality of care
• Academic support by a credentialed teacher
• Seamless transition of care after graduation from program
• Full-time, in-house psychiatrists for medication evaluation and management, as needed
• Collaboration with schools, parents, and outside providers
• Experts in adolescent mental health
• Daily admissions into the programs

Insurance

We are an in-network provider for most major insurance plans. When calling, please have your insurance information available. Learn more about the insurance we accept.