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Treatment Programs

Partial Hospitalization Program

PHPs can be a beneficial option for anyone with mild or moderate symptoms, or who may have already completed an inpatient or residential program.

PHP/IOP

Laguna Beach

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Want more information? Contact our admissions team for a free consultation or to get more details about any of Alter’s programs.

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TALK TO ADMISSIONS

Want more information? Contact our admissions team for a free consultation or to get more details about any of Alter’s programs.

Call Us 24/7 

What is Partial Hospitalization Treatment?

The Partial Hospitalization (PHP) Program is more comprehensive than its IOP counterpart. It is a full-time mental health treatment program that runs six hours each day. Every day, patients under PHP attend a combination of group and individual care led by licensed therapists.

Alter’s PHP implements a variety of evidence-based therapies, including psychiatry, individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, experiential therapy, and additional specialized services, if needed. The length of PHP treatment depends on a patient’s progress. Often, the goal is to step down to IOP, which is considered a lower level of behavioral health care.

Participant Goals

  • Develop insights into mental health and addiction within a supportive and empathetic setting.
  • Acquire evidence-based techniques to effectively cope with stress, anxiety, and cravings.
  • Master tools for identifying triggers and responding thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively.
  • Incorporate healthy living habits, encompassing internal and external boundary setting, self-esteem maintenance, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation.
  • Demonstrate the capacity to maintain positive behavioral changes over time.

PHP is Recommended if You

  • Have completed a residential treatment program but still require continuing care as you transition back into your everyday life.
  • Are in recovery but require a moderate to high level of mental health care.
  • Have been diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder (for instance, Depression with Substance Mis-Use Disorder).
  • Are unable to make progress even after taking an intensive outpatient program.
  • Have difficulty maintaining day-to-day activities at home, work, or school.
  • Are not at risk of harming yourself or others.

Benefits of a PHP

  • Scientifically backed care: PHPs are evidence-based for treating mental health conditions. They have been found to be especially effective in improving social functioning.
  • Structured care: PHPs provide a greater amount of structure than inpatient care. While enrolled, clients have access to therapy every week in a familiar, friendly environment.
  • Access to community: Mental health challenges can be isolating. In a PHP, clients can meet others dealing with similar difficulties, learn from them, and access support that is often inaccessible otherwise. In addition, the presence of mental health professionals ensures that all individuals in a PHP are safe, welcome, and heard.
  • Stigma-free recovery environment: Stigma for mental health issues is still all too common. When in treatment, clients can learn about their symptoms and begin recovery in a space free of judgment or shame.
  • Control over one’s schedule: Accessing treatment shouldn’t mean one can no longer decide their schedule. Clients in a PHP maintain control over their daily schedules and can continue to go to work, classes, and other events.
  • Client autonomy: PHPs allow a great level of autonomy and choice, with clients working with staff to ensure their treatment effectively meets their needs.

Alter Wellness Care PHP Treatment

Our facility is located in beautiful Laguna Beach, California, offers a state-of-the-art PHP for those experiencing mental health difficulties. This program lasts an average of 30 to 45 days. Therapy sessions are offered three to six days a week at the following times:


9:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.


During their entire treatment program, our clients stay in a local sober-living house.

IOPS vs. PHPS

Alter offers two intensive outpatient programs (IOPs). The primary difference between our IOPs and our PHP is the time investment. While our PHP spans a similar length of time, clients are not expected to be in treatment for as many hours per day.

What Makes our Laguna Beach PHP Treatment Unique

At Alter, we believe everyone deserves quality, holistic care. Our team of experts carefully designed our PHP in accordance with the most current studies and knowledge to ensure clients have the most effective recovery experience possible.

Trauma-Informed Care

Trauma-informed care is a treatment philosophy originating in the 1970s to treat veterans of the Vietnam War. Since then, this type of care has been used in a variety of healthcare settings. Trauma-informed care aims to better recognize and treat those who have experienced traumas and create space for healing. At Alter Wellness Care, we utilize trauma-informed care practices to ensure that all clients’ histories and struggles are fully recognized and addressed.

Whole-Person Wellness

We believe effective treatment must account for all aspects of an individual’s well-being. Our PHP is designed around whole-person wellness, a six-dimensional approach to mental health and wellness. These six pillars include emotional, social, physical, intellectual, spiritual, and occupational wellness.

Local Convenience

One of the main benefits of a PHP is the ability to control one’s schedule. For those living far away, convenience is considered. It can be difficult if attending a PHP requires driving a long-distance multiple times a week. To ensure comfort and convenience, our clients stay in a nearby sober living house during treatment, ensuring ease of access to their treatment.

Alter Wellness Care’s PHP offers holistic, evidence-based treatment and a safe place to recover. Call (866) 497-2736 to learn about our services and access help.

TALK TO ADMISSIONS

Want more information? Contact our admissions team for a free consultation or to get more details about any of Alter’s programs.

Your Mental Health Team

The team around you matters in your success, so we’ve packed it with deep experience and a variety of specialties. Our clinical team contains industry-renowned leadership and a diverse lineup of master’s level therapists with expertise in anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, trauma, bipolar, and more.

Why Partial Hospitalization Programs Are Effective

Research shows that when a patient has achieved a degree of psychiatric stability and wellness in an institutional setting and immediately re-enters life without adequate psychiatric and recovery support, the person often digresses. As a result, decreasing treatment exposure commensurate with increasing life becomes an essential part of treatment across the continuum of care. This is why it is strongly recommended that from a residential treatment experience individuals step down to a day treatment program. This level of care provides the necessary psychiatric support while the recovering person acclimates back into life with its associated challenges.

Behavioral health facility

Laguna Beach

Reach Out Today

We understand that choosing the right program can be challenging. By filling out this contact form, our experienced team will review your information and reach out to guide you throughout the next steps.