What IOP is.
Intensive Outpatient Program — IOP — is structured mental health treatment that runs several days per week, typically 9–12 clinical hours total, for adults who need more support than weekly therapy can offer. It's outpatient — you live at home, you keep working or studying if you can, and you come in for a consistent block of sessions on a fixed schedule. You don't need to take a leave of absence. You don't need a hospital.
Who it fits.
- Adults whose anxiety or depression has gotten more disruptive than weekly therapy can address.
- Adults stepping down from a higher level of care (an inpatient stay or residential program) who need scaffolding before going back to weekly outpatient.
- Adults stepping up when weekly therapy is no longer keeping up with what's happening.
- Adults working through a recent crisis — a relationship ending, a job loss, a death — that needs more than weekly support for a stretch.
It's not the right level of care for active suicidal crisis requiring immediate stabilization, active medical detoxification, or psychiatric emergencies. If those describe you, please call 988 or go to an emergency room — and we can help you find the right level of care after.
What a typical IOP week looks like.
Three to four days per week, 3 hours per day. The mix usually includes:
- Group therapy sessions — process and skills, in small groups of 6–9.
- Individual therapy with a primary clinician.
- Skills modules drawn from CBT, ACT, DBT, and behavioral activation.
- Family or couples sessions when relevant.
- Coordination with prescribers when medication is part of the plan.
Most clients are in the program for 6–10 weeks, transitioning to weekly outpatient care once they're ready. We don't keep people in IOP longer than the work requires.
Cost & insurance.
IOP is typically covered by major health plans, often after meeting medical necessity criteria. Our intake team handles the authorization process with your insurance — you don't have to figure that part out yourself. Insurance details →
You don't have to figure this out alone.
If you're trying to figure out whether IOP is the right level of care, the simplest path is a 30-minute clinical consultation. We do a thorough assessment, talk through what you've already tried, and recommend the level of care that fits — even if that's not us.
Request an IOP consultation Call (626) 354-6440