It is important for our patients to stay in touch with their families and friends while they receive treatment – you will be able to maintain a balance between your personal needs and daily responsibilities. Moreover, in group therapy you will have an opportunity to meet peers who relate to your experiences and might even become your friends as you are starting a new chapter in your life.
An outpatient program is very similar to an intensive outpatient program as you can see from the names of these therapeutic methods. The main difference lies in the duration of the treatment – for instance, outpatient mental health care may mean a single therapy session you attend every weekend while an intensive outpatient program will require you to spend at least ten hours every week on various procedures. You can upgrade to intensive treatment if you believe you no longer manage your condition with an occasional counseling session or a single support group you have joined just as you can opt for outpatient treatment when your mental state improves.
Another widespread treatment program is a partial hospitalization program. If we compare it to outpatient mental health treatment, it is more demanding – in order to maximize the benefits for the patient, partial hospitalization may last only a few weeks yet require a patient to spend the entire day at the mental health facility undergoing various procedures to eliminate their symptoms. Outpatient treatment, naturally, implies only a few sessions per week, making it a preferred program for people whose symptoms do not affect their functioning that seriously.