If you’re moving into recovery, you’re not alone. Every year, some 13+ million Americans go to rehab or substance abuse treatment of some kind. For many of us, that means making a number of choices about how, when, and where to receive treatment. Of those, choosing whether to go to an inpatient, outpatient, or partial hospitalization program is one of the major ones. Fortunately, having choices means that it’s easier to choose a treatment plan that meets your needs, your lifestyle, and your budget.

Here, it’s also important to keep in mind that PHP and IOP are delivery vehicles. The actual content of the programs can change between recovery centers and clinics. This means that you’ll also have to look at treatment types, program customization, etc., when choosing a program.

However, the following will go over the pros and cons and what to expect from each IOP and PHP programs and how you look at your own needs to select the best fit for your needs.

Understanding PHP and IOP

PHP and IOP are two types of outpatient care but partial hospitalization is the more intensive of the two.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)

A partial hospitalization program is a residential treatment method that is usually seen as a step down from inpatient care. Here, instead of staying in a clinic, you live in a sober or supported living accommodation attached to your treatment clinic or facility. Often, it’s intended for longer-term living, and you may spend several months in treatment at the facility and then step down to an IOP without ever leaving your group living accommodation. This means you’ll have structured living and support that isn’t part of treatment.

• Full days of treatment. You normally have 20-30 hours per week of treatment and therapy activities, averaging about 6-8 hours per week, 5 days per week
• You get a high level of support without 24/7 supervision. You also have more free time than an inpatient program, but you do not live in your own home, which means you get separation from triggers and potential stress at home
• Group accommodation with your own private space but communal eating, chores, and activities like walks, sports, and meditation

Essentially, PHP is a step down from inpatient care in that you still get the structured living and intensive therapy of an inpatient program. You don’t have to live in your own home, which is also beneficial if you don’t yet have your own place to go back to. Instead, you live in an assisted living or group facility where you’ll have some constraints on schedule, obligations to contribute to communal chores, and help maintaining routines like sleep wake schedules, exercise, and healthy eating. However, you won’t get 24/7 monitoring or living with nurses like you do in inpatient care.

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

An IOP program is like a PHP program in that you go to a clinic most days. However, the duration, intensity, and living arrangements are all different. For many clinicians, an IOP is a great step down from an inpatient program or a PHP program.

Here, the largest difference is that instead of staying in facilities attached to the clinic, you stay in facilities you arrange for yourself. That can be a group living accommodation or sober living home you pick out for yourself, your family home, etc. You go to the clinic during the day and then home in the evening. In addition, with a lighter treatment schedule, you’ll typically have time to take care of kids, to go to work, or to go to school around treatment. That makes IOP a first choice for individuals with a light addiction who want to maintain their responsibilities.

• Partial days of treatment. You can expect about 20 hours of treatment per week or 2 full days of treatment for a weekend program or about 3 hours per day 5 days per week for a weekday program
• Options for morning, afternoon, or evening treatment to align with work, school, or childcare responsibilities

Staying in your own accommodation means you have more freedom and more independence. It also means you can take on things like going back to work or to school while continuing to get support. If you’re taking on IOP as your first treatment, it means you’ll need a significant amount of personal control and motivation. However, as follow-up therapy, it means you’ll have an opportunity to do follow-up treatment with therapy that helps you adjust to real-world stress and life as it happens – which means your therapy will be more hands-on than when you’re not going to work or living with family.