What Is a Partial Hospitalization Program?

A Partial Hospitalization Program is an intensive form of outpatient addiction treatment.

Unlike residential treatment, PHP does not require clients to live within the treatment facility around the clock. Instead, clients participate in structured clinical programming during scheduled treatment hours and live outside the program when treatment for the day is complete.

PHP is more intensive than a traditional outpatient program and generally provides significantly more weekly programming than an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

At Sanctuary, PHP may involve up to approximately 30 hours of programming each week, depending on the client’s treatment plan and clinical needs.

Programming can incorporate a combination of individual treatment, group therapy, behavioral interventions, recovery education, psychiatric or medication support when appropriate, and work focused on the practical challenges clients face as they begin rebuilding their lives outside a residential environment.

Although “Partial Hospitalization Program” remains a commonly recognized term among treatment providers, insurers, and clients, current addiction-treatment standards may also describe this intensity as high-intensity outpatient care.

Regardless of terminology, the purpose is similar: provide substantial structure without requiring the client to remain in a residential setting 24 hours a day.

Who Is PHP Appropriate For?

There is no single point in recovery when everyone should enter PHP.

Level-of-care decisions should account for the full picture of the person’s substance use, physical health, mental health, treatment history, recovery environment, support system, and current ability to remain stable outside structured treatment.

PHP may be considered for someone who:

• Has completed medical detox and no longer requires ongoing withdrawal management

• Has completed residential addiction treatment and is ready for greater independence

• Does not currently require 24-hour residential supervision

• Needs more structure than IOP or standard outpatient treatment can provide

• Has experienced repeated relapse after less intensive treatment

• Continues to experience significant cravings or triggers

• Needs frequent therapeutic and recovery support

• Is working through co-occurring mental health symptoms alongside substance use

• Has a living environment considered appropriate for outpatient treatment

• Can participate safely in treatment without continuous medical monitoring

• Would benefit from practicing recovery skills outside treatment while maintaining intensive clinical support

PHP is not automatically appropriate simply because someone wants outpatient treatment.

A person experiencing significant withdrawal, acute medical instability, severe psychiatric symptoms, an unsafe recovery environment, or another condition requiring continuous supervision may need medical detox, residential treatment, hospitalization, or another higher level of care first.

Sanctuary’s team can assess these factors through the admissions process before recommending where treatment should begin.

PHP as a Step Down From Residential Treatment

One of the most common roles of PHP is helping clients transition out of residential addiction treatment.

Residential treatment creates a highly structured environment in which many outside triggers, routines, relationships, and responsibilities are temporarily removed. Leaving that environment can be an important milestone, but it can also expose someone to challenges they have not had to manage while living in treatment.

Those challenges can include:

• Returning to family or relationship dynamics

• Encountering familiar people, places, and triggers

• Managing cravings without 24-hour staff support

• Rebuilding daily routines

• Handling transportation and appointments

• Returning gradually to work, school, or other responsibilities

• Managing money and personal decisions

• Experiencing stress without returning to substance use

• Maintaining medication and healthcare routines

• Rebuilding healthy social connections

Moving directly from residential treatment to very limited clinical contact can be too large a transition for some people.

PHP creates an intermediate step. Clients have more independence than they had during residential treatment while maintaining a substantial treatment schedule and regular connection with their clinical team.

Can Someone Begin Treatment at PHP?

Yes, in some circumstances.

Not everyone who enters addiction treatment needs detox or residential care first. Someone who is medically stable, is not experiencing significant withdrawal risk, and has an appropriate recovery environment may be able to begin treatment at the PHP level.

The decision should be based on assessment rather than assumptions about what treatment is “supposed” to look like.

Sanctuary considers factors such as recent substance use, withdrawal history, overdose risk, medical conditions, psychiatric symptoms, previous treatment, relapse history, current medications, home environment, and available support when discussing the appropriate starting level of care.

Some clients may begin with medical detox → residential treatment → PHP.

Another client may begin directly in PHP.

Someone else may be appropriate for IOP from the beginning.

The goal is not to require everyone to follow the same sequence. The goal is to provide enough support for the person’s current needs and adjust that support as those needs change.

What Happens During PHP at Sanctuary?

PHP is designed to make treatment a significant part of the client’s week.

Rather than attending one appointment and returning several days later, clients have repeated opportunities to identify problems, practice new skills, receive feedback, work through setbacks, and strengthen recovery behaviors.

An individualized PHP treatment plan may incorporate:

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy gives clients space to work privately with a clinician on the patterns contributing to substance use.

Treatment may explore triggers, relationships, trauma, emotional regulation, shame, grief, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, relapse patterns, and other issues relevant to the client’s recovery.

Group Therapy

Group treatment allows clients to learn alongside others working through similar challenges.

Groups may address topics such as coping skills, relapse prevention, communication, emotional regulation, relationships, boundaries, recovery planning, and recognizing patterns that increase the likelihood of returning to substance use.

The group environment can also help clients develop accountability and reduce the isolation that frequently accompanies addiction.

Addiction Education

Understanding addiction can help clients recognize that recovery involves more than simply deciding not to use.

Education may address cravings, conditioning, triggers, withdrawal and post-acute symptoms, overdose risk, reduced tolerance, medications for addiction treatment, relapse warning signs, and the effects substances can have on physical and mental health.

Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention involves identifying the situations in which recovery becomes vulnerable before a return to substance use occurs.

Clients can learn to recognize warning signs, identify high-risk environments, create plans for cravings, strengthen their support systems, and develop healthier responses to stress.

When setbacks occur, the treatment team can reassess what needs to change rather than simply treating the event as a failure.

Recovery Skill Development

PHP provides an opportunity to practice recovery while clients are beginning to spend more time outside a highly controlled treatment environment.

Treatment may focus on developing routines around sleep, relationships, appointments, medication, employment, education, physical health, meetings, sober recreation, and other areas that support greater stability.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment During PHP

Substance use rarely exists in complete isolation from the rest of a person’s emotional health.

Depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD symptoms, mood instability, grief, chronic stress, and other mental health concerns may contribute to substance use or become more noticeable once substances are removed.

Sanctuary can incorporate dual diagnosis treatment when substance use and mental health concerns overlap.

Rather than assuming every symptom is caused by addiction—or treating addiction without considering emotional health—the treatment team can evaluate how these issues affect one another and incorporate them into the overall treatment plan.

This becomes particularly important during PHP because clients are beginning to experience more of everyday life outside a residential setting. Stress, interpersonal conflict, anxiety, depression, trauma reminders, and other triggers may become more visible during this transition.

Treatment gives clients an opportunity to address those challenges while substantial clinical support is still available.

PHP vs. Residential Treatment

The primary difference between PHP and residential treatment is the amount of supervision and where the client lives.

Residential treatment provides a live-in treatment environment with 24-hour structure and support. It may be appropriate when someone needs greater separation from substances, triggers, an unstable environment, or other circumstances that make outpatient recovery difficult.

PHP provides intensive treatment during scheduled programming hours, but clients do not require the same level of around-the-clock residential supervision.

A person leaving residential treatment may transition into PHP when the treatment team believes greater independence is clinically appropriate.

PHP vs. IOP

Both PHP and IOP are outpatient levels of addiction treatment, but they differ significantly in intensity.

Sanctuary’s Partial Hospitalization Program may involve up to approximately 30 hours of programming per week, providing substantial structure across the treatment week.

Sanctuary’s Intensive Outpatient Program generally involves approximately 9 to 15 hours of programming per week, giving appropriate clients more time for work, education, family, and other responsibilities.

In general:

The decision between PHP and IOP should be based on clinical need, not simply which schedule is more convenient.

How Long Does PHP Last?

There is no universal PHP duration that is appropriate for every person.

The length of treatment can depend on:

• Substance use history

• Current stability

• Cravings and relapse risk

• Co-occurring mental health concerns

• Progress toward treatment goals

• Recovery environment

• Family and social support

• Previous treatment history

• Medication needs

• Ability to function safely outside treatment

• Insurance authorization

• The next level of care being considered

Clients should be reassessed as treatment progresses.

Some people may stabilize and transition to IOP relatively quickly. Others may benefit from a longer period of high-intensity outpatient support.

If a client’s condition worsens, returning temporarily to a more intensive level of treatment may also be appropriate.

Progress through treatment does not always happen in a perfectly straight line.

What Happens After PHP?

For many clients, the next step after PHP is Intensive Outpatient Programming.

IOP maintains structured treatment but involves fewer weekly clinical hours, allowing clients to assume additional responsibilities while remaining connected with their recovery team.

A broader treatment progression may look like:

Medical Detox → Residential Treatment → PHP → IOP → Outpatient Treatment → Aftercare

Not everyone needs every stage, and some clients enter the continuum at a different point.

Treatment can become more or less intensive depending on progress, symptoms, safety, and the challenges the person is facing.

This flexibility is an important part of continuing care. Recovery should not depend on someone remaining at one level indefinitely or being discharged from meaningful support simply because a predetermined number of days has passed.

Substance Use Disorders Treated at Sanctuary

Sanctuary provides addiction treatment in Los Angeles for alcohol and a range of substance use disorders.

Depending on individual needs, PHP may be part of continuing treatment for individuals recovering from problems involving substances such as:

• Alcohol

• Fentanyl and other opioids

• Heroin

• Prescription opioids

• Benzodiazepines

• Cocaine and crack cocaine

• Methamphetamine and other stimulants

• Prescription stimulants

• Marijuana

• Kratom and 7-OH products

• Synthetic and designer substances

• Multiple substances used together

The substance involved is only one part of determining the correct level of care.

The treatment team also considers withdrawal risk, mental and physical health, overdose history, previous treatment, relapse risk, current stability, and the environment to which the client returns after programming.

Does Insurance Cover PHP?

Many health insurance plans include benefits for substance use disorder treatment, including outpatient treatment such as PHP. Coverage varies substantially between plans.

Insurance coverage can depend on:

• The specific health plan

• Network status

• Deductible and coinsurance requirements

• Prior authorization

• Medical-necessity criteria

• Continued authorization reviews

• The recommended level of care

• Length of treatment

• Specific services provided

Sanctuary can verify insurance benefits and explain the information received from the insurance carrier.

Insurance verification does not guarantee that every service will be authorized or paid by the plan, but it can provide a clearer picture of available benefits before treatment begins.

Verify Your Insurance