The St. Joseph Hospital Intensive Outpatient Behavioral Health Day Program offers a therapeutic, nurturing environment to support patients who do not require 24-hour care, but still need an intensive level of treatment. Operating Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, the program is designed for patients who have a major mental illness, but have adequate support in their home environment to ensure safety during the evenings and weekends.
We develop a unique treatment plan specifically tailored to each patient in the program. Since we are hospital based, patients have access to a multidisciplinary team of experts that includes physicians, psychiatrists, registered nurses, psychotherapists, and chemical-dependency counselors. Patients and their families are also encouraged to consider themselves part of the "treatment team."
Basic Requirements for Admission
If inpatient hospitalization is not clinically necessary, patients may be directly admitted to the program. They may also be admitted after a short stay in the inpatient unit. Patients who may require restraints or seclusion or who are non-compliant with treatment are not appropriate for the partial program. Other basic requirements for the program include:
- Diagnosed with a major mental illness and the patient is willing to participating in active treatment
- 18 years of age or older (17 or older for the Eating Disorders Program)
- Medically able to participate in treatment
- Willingness to be admitted voluntarily by an attending psychiatrist
Treatment and Program Services
The partial program offers a variety of services based on our patients' needs. As part of the program we provide a Bipolar Track and track for patients with both psychiatric and Chemical Dependency issues. These tracks enhance the opportunity for patients to increase their knowledge and coping methods in these specialty areas. See our page on Eating Disorders for additional information on our Eating Disorders program. Patients attend the program 5 days a week, and see a psychiatrist once a week. Services offered include:
- Medical supervision and medication management by a psychiatrist
- Patient and family education about the patient's psychiatric disorder, coping challenges, and symptom management
- Patient and family education about substance abuse, dependence, and the recovery process (dually diagnosed patients)
- Individual, group or family therapy (when appropriate)
- Comprehensive aftercare planning and referrals to community services
- Transportation to and from the program