Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Teens
CFF’s Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program provides comprehensive, integrated teen outpatient care helps adolescents to thrive while they maintain their current school schedule. Our teen IOP is for youth ages 13–18 who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, mood swings, substance abuse issues, or behavioral challenges, and need a higher level of care than a weekly individual therapy session.
Who is Intensive Outpatient Treatment for?
IOP can be the next step for adolescents who have completed a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), residential treatment, or inpatient psychiatric care. Because Intensive Outpatient Treatment provides more support and structure than teen outpatient counseling, a teen IOP is ideal for teens who will benefit from consistent, ongoing care on an outpatient basis.
How is IOP different from our Outpatient Treatment for Teens?
As with IOP, Center for Families’ outpatient services treat mental health and co-occurring issues through a comprehensive, integrated, and evidence-based approach. Outpatient care consists of an individual session once a week in conjunction with one of our outpatient groups. This allows for the accountability and support teens need to thrive once they, their parents and treatment team deem they are ready to cope with day-to-day life, attend school, and commit to wellness.
What is an Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program?
An Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program can provide a step down from a higher level of care, or a step up when a teen needs more support than they’re currently receiving. IOP is appropriate for adolescents who have completed a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), residential treatment, or inpatient psychiatric care. For teens who need ongoing care and community to help them stay on the right path, IOP provides more support and structure than teen outpatient services or teen counseling.
A Family-Focused Approach
At CFF, we recognize that the family is essential to healing, and our IOP programming provides numerous opportunities for strengthening the family unit and parent-child relationships.
Community and Connection
Our Intensive Outpatient Program ends isolation and builds leadership skills, teamwork, empathy, positive peer relationships, and the resilience needed for long-term recovery.
Integrated and Integrative Care
By blending behavioral and medical treatment (integrated care) and providing both clinical and experiential modalities (integrative), our teen IOP achieves outstanding results.
What’s Included in CFF’s Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program for Teens
Individual Therapy
Teens in our Intensive Outpatient Program work with our highly trained clinicians to gain self-knowledge and develop healthy coping skills that will support them throughout their lives.
Substance Use Awareness
Our teen IOP provides specific programming for clients who meet the criteria for a primary diagnosis of a mild or moderate substance use disorder, coupled with a co-occurring mood, anxiety, or personality disorder.
Experiential Therapies and Groups
Adventure therapy—such as rock climbing, paddle boarding, and hiking—yoga, and music and art therapy promote teens’ self-esteem and self-expression while allowing them to process traumatic experiences.
Attachment-Based Family Therapy
Every clinician at CFF has advanced training in ABFT, designed to repair parent-child relationships so teens can feel safe turning to their family for support.
Life Skills Training
Teens strengthen their executive functioning and build the skills they need to move into the next stage of adolescence with confidence and enthusiasm.
Evidence-Based Therapy
Through modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and EMDR, teens discover new, positive ways of seeing themselves and the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IOP therapy right for my child?
Intensive Outpatient Programs are best for teens who struggle with mental health symptoms to the point where daily functioning is impaired. This level of care often benefits teens who exhibit one or more of the following:
- Struggling in school and experiencing a drop in academic performance
- Losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
- Experiencing frequent or persistent negative moods (i.e., anxiety, irritability, depression, or hopelessness)
- Changes in sleeping and/or eating patterns
- Trouble concentrating
- Experiencing bullying
- Having suicidal thoughts
- Currently in outpatient therapy, but need greater support.
What is the typical schedule for a teen Intensive Outpatient Treatment program?
CFF’s IOP meets four days a week (Monday–Thursday) from 4:00–7:00 pm ET. We offer primarily after-school programming to accommodate your child’s schedule. Teens can continue their education while receiving mental health treatment to help them thrive. For teens who need less support or who are ready to transition to fewer days of programming, our Outpatient Services option may be the ideal choice.
Do all teens in IOP receive the same care?
At CFF, each client receives a tailored treatment plan that includes individual, group, and family therapy, using a variety of clinical and experiential modalities. Care is customized for each teen’s personal and family history.
Learn More About Our Approach
Which programming is right for your teen?
Therapeutic Day Program
Our Therapeutic Day Program helps teens build strong relationships, learn and practice healthy coping skills, grow their self-worth, and reestablish trust and connection with themselves and their loved ones, while staying on track with academics.
Outpatient Services
Based in our integrated approach, our Outpatient Treatment Services offer the tailored treatment young people and their families need to find healing but who don’t need quite the structure of IOP and PHP settings.
Therapeutic Day School
Our Therapeutic Day School, part of the Therapeutic Day Program, offers a nurturing educational environment in which students can reach their full academic potential alongside like-minded peers.