Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
- The most intensive outpatient level, five to six days a week
- You sleep at home, or in sober living
- In person in Las Vegas, the same room and the same people
- Co-occurring eating disorders treated in the same program
Clinically reviewed by
Dominic Perry, LCSW, LCADC-S, Executive Director, Outpatient
Last reviewed August 2026
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PHP or IOP
The difference is how much of your week treatment takes.
PHP feels much closer to residential than to a weekly appointment. Your day is spoken for. What changes is that you go home at the end of it, and what happens there becomes part of the treatment rather than something waiting for you at the end.
Five to six days a week, several hours a day. Treatment is the main thing in your week.
About three days a week, a few hours at a time. Built to sit alongside a job or a course.
Choosing a level
Who is PHP right for?
PHP is a lot of treatment, which makes it exactly right for some people and more than others need. The assessment is how you find out which, with no obligation either way.
- You are stepping down from residential or detox and still need real structure
- You need more than IOP can give, but not 24-hour care
- Home is stable, and going back there each evening is safe
- Your days can be given over to treatment for a few weeks
- Withdrawal still needs medical supervision
- Home is where the using happens, or where the supply is
- The evenings are the part you are most worried about
- Mental health symptoms need daily clinical eyes on them
- You have already done PHP, or a full residential stay
- Work or study genuinely cannot pause for several weeks
- Support at home is strong and has held before
- You are further along than the intensity would suggest
The assessment settles this. Starting at the right level costs less than starting again.
The shape of it
What a PHP day looks like.
Schedules vary by location and by what your assessment shows, so treat this as the shape rather than the timetable. The consistent part is that it is a full day, it is the same room and the same people, and it ends with you going home.
The day opens with the group. How the night went, who is struggling, what needs attention before anything else.
One-to-one sessions with your therapist, or focused work using CBT, DBT, EMDR or motivational interviewing.
Not incidental. Eating properly and sitting with people is part of what the day is rebuilding.
Relapse prevention, coping skills, understanding what is happening in your body and why.
Medication management and psychiatric review where your plan calls for it, rather than as a separate referral.
Which is the point. What happens at home comes back to the group tomorrow, and that loop is where the work lands.
Where PHP sits
PHP sits in the middle of a five step path.
You do not start over between stages. The same team, the same plan, the same clinical record. What changes is how many hours a week it takes.
Medical detox
Withdrawal managed under medical supervision, where that is where you need to begin.
Residential
Living on site while you do the intensive clinical work, usually three weeks or more.
PHP
You are here. Residential-level intensity, your own bed at night.
IOP
About three days a week, arranged so work, study or family can restart around it.
Outpatient
Weekly sessions and aftercare, the level people stay in longest.
Not everyone enters at step one, and not everyone moves through all five. Where you start depends on the assessment, and where you finish depends on how things hold.
See All ProgramsWhat PHP includes
Everything residential includes, minus the bed.
The clinical content is the same. What differs is the hours and the overnight stay, not the quality of the work.
CBT, DBT, EMDR and MI
The clinical approaches behind the sessions, matched to what your assessment shows rather than applied uniformly.
Relapse prevention
Naming your triggers, planning for them concretely, and rehearsing what you do when one arrives anyway.
Dual-diagnosis support
Anxiety, depression and trauma treated alongside the substance use, by the same team, in the same plan.
Family involvement
Sessions that include the people you go home to each evening, because in PHP they are part of the treatment.
Drug testing
An accountability structure rather than a gotcha, and clinical information that shapes what happens next.
Medical and psychiatric care
Medication management and psychiatric review available within the program, not referred out elsewhere.
Where it runs
PHP runs at our Las Vegas program on Montessouri Street.
It is our dedicated outpatient facility, running both PHP and IOP, and it is also where co-occurring eating disorders are treated in the same program rather than referred elsewhere.
Because PHP is in person and takes most of your week, the building you can get to every day matters. At our residential locations, outpatient is handled through step-down planning or referral as you get closer to discharge.
In their words
What people say about the Las Vegas program
The therapists were very engaging and compassionate to each individual's needs. One on ones were extremely helpful. And the group sessions were very supportive and informative. This really helped me through some low and trying times in my life.
Las Vegas, NV · Google
This is a great place for helping people with their recovery from substance abuse and mental illness. They have a lot of people supporting you from counselors, nurses and therapists. Everyone is very genuine in their desire to help you in any way that you need. Highly recommend.
Las Vegas, NV · Google
Exactly what I needed. The people here saved my life. This past month I really feel like I've grown as a person. I felt very comfortable and got along with everyone there.
Las Vegas, NV · Google
Reviews are unedited and pulled from Google. They reflect individual experience and are not a guarantee of outcome.
Common questions
Questions people ask about PHP
Anything not answered here, ask during the assessment. It is confidential and commits you to nothing.
(866) 461-3339- What is a partial hospitalization program (PHP)?
- A partial hospitalization program (PHP) is the most intensive form of outpatient addiction treatment — you attend structured treatment for several hours a day, most days of the week, while living at home or in sober living rather than staying overnight. It offers a level of clinical support close to residential care, with the added flexibility of returning home each evening. PHP is often used as a step down from residential treatment or as a starting point for people who need significant structure but not 24/7 care.
- How is PHP different from IOP?
- The main difference is intensity and time commitment. PHP is more intensive — typically five to six days a week for several hours each day — while intensive outpatient (IOP) is usually about three days a week for a few hours. PHP suits people who need more structure and support, often right after residential treatment, and many step down from PHP to IOP as they progress. A clinical assessment is how you start at the level that matches your needs.
- Do I live at home during PHP?
- Yes — one of the defining features of PHP is that you attend treatment during the day and return home (or to sober living) in the evening. This lets you receive intensive, structured care while beginning to reintegrate into daily life in a supported way. For people with a stable, supportive living situation, it is an effective balance of intensity and independence.
- Is PHP a good step down after residential treatment?
- Yes — PHP is one of the most common and effective steps down from residential care. It continues intensive treatment and support while giving you more independence, helping you transition gradually rather than going straight from 24/7 care back to everyday life. This step-down approach lowers relapse risk and helps recovery hold as you return to your routine.
- Can I keep working during PHP?
- PHP requires a significant daily commitment, so most clients aren't able to maintain full-time work at the same time — though some arrange part-time or remote work in the afternoons. If flexibility around work or school matters most, IOP may be a better clinical fit; our team can talk through your specific situation.
- Do you treat eating disorders in PHP?
- Yes — at our Las Vegas Outpatient location, we specifically treat co-occurring addiction and eating disorders in the same program. This includes meal support, nutrition groups, body-image work, and EMDR individual sessions. Clients don't need to separate their eating disorder treatment from their addiction recovery.
- Does insurance cover PHP?
- Most commercial and PPO plans cover medically necessary partial hospitalization. Coverage depends on your specific plan, so the simplest next step is a free, confidential insurance verification.
You are allowed to ask
If you are calling for someone else
Most people who call us are calling about someone they love. You can ask about the options and check their insurance on their behalf, and it stays a conversation until you decide otherwise.
Related reading
Intensive outpatient (IOP)
About three days a week instead of five or six, arranged so a job or a course can carry on alongside it.
Read the guide →Residential treatment
If the evenings are the part you are most worried about, living on site for a few weeks may be the safer place to start.
Read the guide →Insurance
We accept most major insurance plans.
And most PPO plans. Coverage varies by plan and by facility, so if your carrier is not shown, ask rather than assume.
- Free, and there is no obligation at the end of it
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- You can check on behalf of someone else
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Call us and arrange a clinical assessment.
It exists to find the right starting point rather than to fill a program. Describe your week and what you have already tried, and it will point somewhere: here, residential, or IOP.
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