Programs / IOP
Intensive Outpatient Program.
Intensive outpatient program mental health care at High Tide — structured behavioral health in part-day sessions, several days a week, that fits around work, school, and the life you’re trying to rebuild.
Admissions answers when you call.
A real person — never a call center.
Session length
Part-day
Days per week
Several days
Length
Clinical need
Groups
Small cohorts
What an intensive outpatient program is
Intensive care that respects your schedule.
The question isn’t whether you need support. It’s whether the support you have matches the weight you’re carrying.
An intensive outpatient program for mental health sits between a full PHP day and weekly therapy. You attend part-day clinical sessions — individual therapy, psychiatry, group therapy, and skills training — several days a week, then return to your home, your job, or your campus the same day.
That same-day return isn’t a shortcut. It’s the clinical point. Every evening becomes a rehearsal for life after treatment — you practice coping skills from that afternoon’s group in your real kitchen, with your real family, against your real stressors. Your therapist hears about it at your next session, and the plan adjusts.
At High Tide, IOP runs in small cohorts out of our Laguna Beach facility. Groups stay small enough that your clinicians know what happened in your week — not just your chart.
Who it's for
For when weekly therapy isn’t enough — but a full PHP day is too much.
This level of care sits between partial hospitalization and traditional outpatient therapy. It’s built for people who need several structured clinical touchpoints per week while still sleeping in their own bed and keeping much of their daily routine.
This level of care fits when
- You’re stepping down from PHP or residential treatment and need structured outpatient care without full-day programming.
- Your symptoms — depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, mood instability — need more than one therapy session a week, but you can’t pause work or school entirely.
- You need regular psychiatric oversight and medication management while a plan stabilizes.
- You’re safe at home overnight, but unstructured days feel unmanageable alone.
- You want intensive outpatient treatment without pressing pause on your whole life.
A different level may fit better when
- You’re in immediate crisis or at active risk — inpatient care comes first, and we’ll help you find stabilization fast.
- Your symptoms are steady and weekly outpatient therapy is holding — stepping up may add structure you don’t need.
- You need full clinical days (9 AM – 4 PM) and daily psychiatric check-ins — our PHP delivers that intensity.
- You need 24/7 supervision or medical detox — we’ll refer you to trusted residential treatment partners and help plan outpatient step-down when you’re ready.
What we treat here
Built for the hard middle of mental health.
IOP is a primary mental health program — not an addiction program with therapy attached. Our clinical team treats the full picture, including the substance use that often rides along with it. Most people arrive carrying more than one of these at once — the program is built for that overlap, not around a single diagnosis.
01
Mood disorders
When the baseline itself has shifted — persistent low mood, cycling highs and lows, or a flatness that medication alone has not moved.
- Major depression
- Bipolar I & II
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Grief & adjustment disorders
02
Anxiety & trauma
For nervous systems stuck in alarm — panic that arrives without warning, intrusive memories, or vigilance that never fully powers down.
- Generalized & panic anxiety
- PTSD & complex trauma
- OCD
- Burnout & acute stress
03
Personality & self-harm
Patterns that touch every relationship — emotional intensity, identity instability, and behaviors that hurt even when they briefly help.
- Borderline personality disorder
- Self-harm behaviors
- Suicidal ideation (non-acute)
- Emotion dysregulation
04
Co-occurring concerns
The complications that ride alongside a primary diagnosis — treated inside the same plan, by the same team, at the same time.
- Co-occurring substance use
- Life transitions
- Relationship & family strain
- Work & academic collapse
Not sure where you fit? Most people don’t map neatly onto one column — and an exact diagnosis isn’t a prerequisite for calling. Our clinical team completes a full assessment in your first days and builds the plan around what they actually find.
See everything we treatWhat to expect
Programming hours and weekly groups.
Here is how PHP and IOP are structured — plus the group types offered every week. IOP uses morning and afternoon tracks several days a week. Individual therapy and psychiatry land inside those part-day blocks — not a fixed sample-session clock.
Our groups aim for a holistic, clinically excellent, and human approach to healing. Programs address the whole self — brain, mind, and body — with a wide range of perspectives and ways to engage in treatment. Individual therapy and psychiatry are scheduled inside PHP or IOP; the weekly mix shifts with your plan.
PHP
9 AM – 4 PM
Full-day programming five days a week — individual therapy, group work, psychiatry, and holistic practices in one integrated day.
IOP
Morning & afternoon tracks
Part-day sessions several days per week. Morning and afternoon tracks are offered so you can keep work, school, or family routines while staying anchored in treatment.
Group
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT focus)
Dialectical behavior therapy skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
Group
Therapeutic Process Groups
Small-group therapy where emotional triggers, relationship patterns, and recovery challenges surface and get worked in real time.
Group
Relationships / Family Based Groups (IFS/ACT Focus)
Internal Family Systems and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy lenses on attachment, family dynamics, and values-aligned connection — including family therapy themes when clinically useful.
Group
Physical Movement Groups
Body-based sessions that support regulation, energy, and the physical side of recovery — part of the clinical week, not optional fluff.
Group
Recovery (SUD & MH track focus)
Integrated recovery groups with substance use and mental health tracks — cravings, relapse prevention, and the mental health drivers underneath both.
Group
Somatic Healing Groups
Breathwork, sound bowls, and mindfulness exploration for nervous-system regulation and trauma-informed body awareness.
Group
Art-Based Expression / Music-Based Process Groups
Creative process groups for clients who access emotion and insight more readily through art and music than talk alone.
Group
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT focus)
Cognitive behavioral therapy for thought patterns, behaviors, and the loops that keep depression, anxiety, and related symptoms going.
Group
Aftercare Planning Groups
Discharge and aftercare planning so outpatient therapy, medication, recovery support, and home structure are mapped before you leave.
Group
Adventure
Experiential outdoor and adventure-based groups that practice regulation, trust, and peer connection outside the therapy room.
What's included
Everything your treatment plan may draw on.
Your plan is built by your clinical team in the first days of the program — these are the tools they build it from.
01
Individual therapy
One to two therapy sessions weekly with a licensed primary therapist who carries a deliberately small caseload — often drawing on cognitive behavioral therapy and related approaches.
02
Psychiatry & medication management
On-staff psychiatric care with unhurried appointments — evaluation, prescribing, and medication management throughout IOP.
03
Group therapy
Process and skills groups small enough that there is nowhere to hide — and no need to.
04
EMDR & trauma work
Trauma reprocessing woven into the weekly structure, paced by clinicians trained to move only as fast as you can integrate.
05
Somatic & holistic practice
Breathwork, movement, and mindfulness by the ocean — regulation skills the body keeps after discharge.
06
Family involvement
Structured family sessions and communication coaching, because recovery lands better when the people around you understand it.
What changes
What structured part-day sessions actually do.
IOP isn’t designed to fix everything. It’s designed to stabilize the acute phase, build a working set of skills, and hand you off — to outpatient therapy or back to your life — with a plan that holds.
12–15
Clinical hours per week — more structured care in one week than most people get in months of weekly sessions.
1–2×
Individual therapy and psychiatry sessions each week, adjusted in real time as your plan evolves.
Planned
Discharge planning with next level of care, medications, and follow-ups mapped before you leave.
Week 1
Psychiatric evaluation happens in your first week, not months in — medication questions get answered early.
Not sure IOP is the right level?
PHP and IOP, side by side.
PHP offers full clinical days (9 AM – 4 PM) five days a week — often the right step when symptoms are acute. IOP delivers the same clinical quality in part-day sessions. Here’s how the two levels actually differ.
IOP
This program- Time commitment
- Part-day sessions, several days a week
- Best for
- Moderate symptoms, stepping down from PHP, working or in school
- Psychiatry
- Weekly or as-needed appointments
- Work & school
- Designed to run alongside your regular schedule
- Length
- Follows clinical need
PHP
The step down- Time commitment
- 9 AM – 4 PM, 5 days a week
- Best for
- Acute symptoms, stepping down from inpatient, medication changes
- Psychiatry
- Multiple check-ins weekly with close monitoring
- Work & school
- Usually paused or reduced during the program
- Length
- Follows clinical need
How to start
From first call to first day — usually within a week.
Admissions is one phone call, not a paperwork gauntlet. Here’s the whole process.
01
Call or verify online
A confidential conversation with our admissions team — what’s going on, what you’re looking for, and whether IOP is the right fit. We verify your insurance the same day, usually while you’re still on the phone.
02
Clinical assessment
A licensed clinician conducts a full biopsychosocial assessment — history, symptoms, safety, and level-of-care fit. If PHP, IOP, or outpatient is not the right match, we’ll say so and help you get there instead.
03
Start within days
Clients often begin within a few days of assessment when clinical fit and insurance align. Your first days include psychiatric evaluation, meeting your primary therapist, and building the treatment plan everything else draws from.
Most PPO plans cover this program. Verification is free, confidential, and usually same-day.
Common questions
Answers before you have to ask.
Can't find your question? Call us — a real person answers, and there's never pressure to commit.
Will insurance cover an intensive outpatient program for mental health?
Most PPO plans cover intensive outpatient for mental health, and California parity law requires insurers to cover mental health care at the same level as physical health care. We verify your exact benefits before you commit — free, confidential, and usually same-day. Start at /insurance or read /mental-health-guides/does-insurance-cover-php-iop.
Can I work or attend school during IOP?
Yes — that’s one of the main reasons people choose this outpatient program. Part-day sessions are typically scheduled in morning or afternoon blocks so many clients keep part-time work, school, or caregiving responsibilities. If you need a fuller clinical day, see our partial hospitalization program.
How long is IOP normally?
Length follows clinical need, not a fixed package. Your team reviews progress weekly, and you step down when your symptoms — not the calendar — say you’re ready. Many clients transition to outpatient mental health treatment. Compare levels in /mental-health-guides/php-vs-iop.
What if I’m coming from out of town?
Many of our clients travel to Laguna Beach for treatment. We can help arrange optional supportive housing within a few minutes of the facility. Local families often start on our Orange County IOP page.
Is IOP the same as inpatient care or rehab?
No. There is no overnight stay, no locked unit, and no hospital setting. An intensive outpatient program delivers structured clinical intensity — group therapy, individual sessions, psychiatry access — inside a calm outpatient facility you leave the same day. See /mental-health-guides/what-is-iop-mental-health for a fuller definition.
What happens after I finish?
Nobody leaves without a plan. Before discharge, your team builds a written aftercare plan: referrals to outpatient mental health treatment, psychiatry and medication management when needed, and follow-up check-ins from our team in the weeks after you leave.