In early August 2024, Children’s of Alabama opened a new Intensive Outpatient Program for behavioral health patients.
A much-needed bridge between inpatient and outpatient care for adolescents facing mental health challenges arrived at Children’s of Alabama in 2020 in the form of the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). This program offers more intense treatment than typical outpatient structure provides and encourages success in symptom management and recovery. Following increased demand for the program in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Children’s has now launched an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), an extension of the PHP designed to better help these young patients adapt to daily life.
Just as the PHP was created to fill the gap between inpatient and outpatient services, the IOP is meant to help these young patients make another crucial step—back to normal living. “Many times, our parents and families say they wish there was something available between the PHP and outpatient setting,” program manager Lauren Byrd, MS, LPC, said. “This is something our community has been asking about for some time.”
In 2021 and 2022, The PHP served about 100 adolescents, most of whom were coping with depression with suicidal ideation, Byrd says. About 140 such patients accessed the program in 2023, and referrals continue to increase those numbers.
“Both the PHP and IOP have been really sorely needed for some time in our area for adolescents with mental health issues,” Byrd said. “Combine that with the pandemic—which was really a traumatic experience for a lot of youth in Alabama—and the need has only increased. If a silver lining could exist, the pandemic did a lot to help us address the stigma of mental health, and it helped more people feel empowered to access care who maybe wouldn’t have.”
The IOP, which opened in August, serves adolescents ages 12 to 18 and runs three hours a day, three days a week—a deliberate step back from the PHP’s five-day, six-hours-daily structure. The less-frequent, less-intensive schedule is its main distinction from the PHP. But both programs have the same staff support, including psychiatrists, nurses and other mental health clinicians. The IOP also coordinates a variety of community resources for patients and families that help adolescents build a comprehensive support network to enhance treatment outcomes.
“The PHP is designed to prevent or reduce the length of an inpatient stay,” Byrd said. “So the IOP is a natural progression to our efforts to reduce the time we’re removing a child from a home environment and helping them meet their goals in the least disruptive, least traumatic way possible.”
Family members are involved in the programming, as well, including weekly sessions and education. “We’ll discuss treatment planning goals with the family and help them however they may need,” Byrd explained. “Usually, that looks like building better communication and helping them understand how things are going to be after discharge.”
“The best outcome would be that we continue to grow,” she added. “We want to expand our services and help more kids in the community while providing the same high-quality care we’ve been proud of.”
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