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Levels of Care

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) in Colorado.

Our most structured level of outpatient care, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You get a full treatment day, and you sleep at home.

The group lounge at a Redpoint center, with a navy sofa and warm mid-century seating.

What PHP is

A full treatment day, without the overnight stay.

A partial hospitalization program, or PHP, is the most structured care The Redpoint Center offers on an outpatient basis. You spend most of the day with your care team, Monday through Friday, then you go home to your own bed. There is no overnight stay and no hospital admission. Under the level-of-care standards used across the field, a partial hospitalization program provides 20 or more hours of treatment each week, against nine or more for an intensive outpatient program. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration places both on the same continuum of care, a step down from residential treatment and a step up from standard outpatient therapy.

The evidence behind it is strong. A national review published in Psychiatric Services, which counts partial hospitalization inside its definition, found that 50 to 70 percent of participants reported abstinence at follow-up, and rated the level of evidence high, with outcomes comparable to inpatient and residential care.

  • Are managing complex or persistent substance use alongside a mental health condition
  • Need day-long structure, but not 24-hour medical supervision
  • Are stepping down from residential treatment and want to keep the momentum
  • Have tried weekly therapy or IOP and needed more support than it gave you

Inside the day

What a PHP day includes.

Clients spend the majority of the day with us, Monday through Friday. The day is built from the same core pieces, arranged around what you are working on. This level is also called high-intensity outpatient (HIOP).

Group therapy and support meetings

The core of the day. You work alongside peers in group sessions and support group meetings.

Understanding your symptoms

Learning to identify and address the side effects and symptoms of substance use disorder as they show up.

Coping skills and routines

Establishing healthy coping skills and daily routines that hold once treatment ends.

Self-awareness and mindfulness

Building the self-awareness and mindfulness practice that makes a slip easier to see coming.

Case management and recovery coaching

Practical support between sessions, so the plan keeps moving outside the therapy room.

Medical and psychiatric care

Medication management overseen by our Medical Director, Ryan Hashem, MD.

Which level of care fits

PHP, IOP, and outpatient.

Three outpatient levels of care, and one real difference between them: how much structure you need right now.

Compare IOP and PHP

Moderate structure

IOP

Intensive Outpatient

Structured and flexible

Typical schedule

Half-days, 3 to 5 days a week (mornings or evenings)

Live at home

Yes

Best when you need

Real support while keeping work, school, or family

Includes
  • Group and individual therapy
  • Case management
  • Recovery coaching
  • Family support
  • Medication management
  • Alumni support
Fits in the continuum

Step down from PHP, or step up from outpatient

Least intensive

OP

Outpatient

The least intensive

Typical schedule

Weekly sessions

Live at home

Yes

Best when you need

To hold your progress once you are stable

Includes
  • Individual therapy
  • Ongoing check-ins
  • Alumni support
Fits in the continuum

A step down from IOP

PHP and IOP hour thresholds reflect level-of-care standards from the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Your exact plan is set with your care team.

Mental health conditions we treat.

We treat mental health conditions whether or not substance use is part of the picture. When both are present, our clinicians use integrative, trauma-informed care so that one is never left to drive the other.

Mental health treatment

Anxiety disorders

Including PTSD, social anxiety, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Depressive disorders

Including major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder.

Bipolar disorder

Mood episodes that swing in both directions, treated on their own or alongside substance use.

Trauma, treated carefully

Our team is trained in trauma-informed care, so processing does not risk re-traumatization.

Substance-induced psychosis

Psychotic symptoms brought on by substance use, stabilized with medical oversight.

Eating disorders

Including anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating, treated alongside recovery.

Personality disorders

Including borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

Schizophrenia and seasonal affective disorder

Longer-term conditions managed with coordinated medical and therapeutic care.

How we treat

The modalities behind the work.

Weekly group and individual sessions draw on a range of clinical approaches. Treatment plans are tailored to each client, and modalities are often adjusted or combined. Our care team has decades of experience helping clients build the essential life skills that hold up in long-term recovery.

Trauma therapy and healing

Trauma-informed work that avoids the risk of re-traumatization.

Motivational interviewing

Working with your own reasons for change rather than against them.

Mindfulness-based relapse prevention

Noticing the early signals, and having a practiced response ready.

Family support groups

A group setting for the people around you, running alongside your own work.

A Redpoint counselor taking notes beside a client during a consultation on a couch.

Family involvement

Family sessions, five days a week.

Family support sessions run Monday through Friday, on the same rhythm as the rest of the program, and that frequency is one of the things that sets PHP apart. Families are encouraged to take part and to support their loved one through treatment. That involvement often eases the stress, anxiety, and depression that substance use puts on a household. We also know not every family is in a place to participate. Your care team decides with you whether family sessions will help your recovery, and the answer is allowed to be no.
  • Treatment works better when the household is part of it
  • Accountability becomes shared instead of carried alone
  • Self-esteem and confidence rebuild faster around people who know you
  • Family bonds strengthen and day-to-day dynamics get healthier
  • A support system is already in place when the program ends

Where PHP is offered

Three Colorado centers.

Our partial hospitalization program runs at three of our six Colorado locations. The other centers offer intensive outpatient and outpatient care. Teen PHP, for ages 13 to 17, runs separately at our Boulder and Thornton offices.

See all locations

Most major insurance covers PHP

The Redpoint Center verifies your benefits at no cost and explains any out-of-pocket amount before your first day. No surprises, and no obligation.

Accepted insurance

Employer and EAP partners

Don’t see your plan? Call us and we will check it, including out-of-network benefits.

Getting started

Admissions in three steps.

  1. 1

    Call or verify online

    About 10 minutes

    Call (303) 219-0973 or start your insurance check online. A real person answers, and there is no pressure to commit to anything.

  2. 2

    A clinical assessment

    We talk through what has been happening and confirm whether PHP is the right level of care, or point you toward the one that fits better.

  3. 3

    Start your first day

    Your first day starts at 9:00 a.m., with a treatment plan your care team builds around what you are actually working on.

Good to know

PHP questions, answered.

What is a partial hospitalization program (PHP)?

A PHP, also called high-intensity outpatient (HIOP), is the most structured level of outpatient care, where you attend treatment for most of the day and go home each evening. At The Redpoint Center, PHP runs Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It gives you daily clinical support without an overnight stay or a hospital admission.

Is PHP the same as being hospitalized?

No. Despite the name, a partial hospitalization program is outpatient care. You are not admitted, you do not stay overnight, and you sleep in your own bed every night. The name refers to how intensive the treatment is during the day, not to living at a facility.

How many hours a week is PHP?

Redpoint's PHP runs weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Level-of-care standards define a partial hospitalization program as 20 or more hours of treatment each week, compared with nine or more hours for an intensive outpatient program. Our care team has some flexibility to work around your schedule.

What is the difference between PHP and IOP?

The difference is how much of your week treatment takes. PHP fills most of the day, five days a week, while an intensive outpatient program meets for part of the day, three to five days a week, in the morning or the evening. Many people step down from PHP to IOP as they stabilize. For the full side by side, see IOP vs PHP.

Do you offer PHP for teenagers?

Yes, as a separate program. The PHP on this page is our adult program, which runs at Fort Collins, Boulder, and Longmont. Teen PHP serves ages 13 to 17 and runs at our Boulder and Thornton offices, with school coordination and family therapy built in.

Can you treat mental health and substance use at the same time?

Yes, and treating them together is the whole point of dual diagnosis care. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration calls this integrated treatment and notes it is both more effective and more preferred by patients and families than treating each condition separately. Our PHP treats conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and substance-induced psychosis alongside recovery.

How long do people stay in PHP?

There is no fixed length. Your care team reviews your progress regularly rather than counting down to a set end date, and most people step down to a lighter level of care as they stabilize. PHP usually steps down into IOP, and then into outpatient care and alumni support.

Does insurance cover PHP?

Most major insurance plans cover partial hospitalization. The Redpoint Center checks your benefits at no cost and explains any out-of-pocket amount before your first day. You can verify your insurance online or call (303) 219-0973.
Still have a question? Call (303) 219-0973