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Outpatient MH Care

Partial Hospitalization Program

Mental health services for children and adolescents who require coordinated, structured, and interdisciplinary treatment within a consistent environment.

About Our Partial Hospitalization Program

The partial hospitalization program (PHP) at CHKD provides intensive daily mental health services for children and adolescents who are in need of coordinated, structured, and interdisciplinary treatment within a consistent environment, but who do not require inpatient care. Goals of this program include improvement of your child’s symptoms and development of strategies to manage their mental health.

The program includes individual and group therapy; behavioral coaching; psychoeducation; social and emotional support; and psychiatric evaluation and management. Families are provided support from program clinicians to help patients practice skills in the home environment. Discharge planning includes coordination of school transition and access to community resources, including outpatient therapy and medication management, to support each child’s continued progress toward mental health goals and well-being.

What to Expect

Parents and legal guardians are invited to participate at every step from intake to discharge. You are encouraged to provide feedback and help to identify and prioritize goals for treatment plans as well as desired resources for discharge planning. Families also participate in family sessions throughout treatment. Ask your child’s therapist for information or to schedule a session. See frequently asked questions about our PHP program here. 

Group meetings

PHP groups meet each day the program is open. Various types of groups are offered to your child, including group therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills teaching and practice, psychoeducation, social-emotional skills, and other related therapies.

Individual Sessions

Your child will meet individually with a therapist several times per week. Individual therapy during PHP will focus on treatment goals developed collaboratively by the treatment team, including your child and family.

Medication Management

Your child will have weekly appointments with our attending psychiatrist or nurse practitioner for assessment and management of medications. Nursing staff may provide additional support with psychoeducation, medications, assessment, and monitoring of health status.

Family Engagement

Families are encouraged to engage with the treatment team to provide updates and ask questions during check in and check out. Other times, you will join your child for family-focused therapy or skill rehearsal.

Home Practice

Research shows that mental health treatment is more effective when therapy skills are regularly practiced outside the therapy setting. All PHP participants will have opportunities to practice skills learned in group and to reflect on how the skills work for them outside of PHP.

Meals and Snacks

Daily snacks and lunch are provided in our PHP. Special dietary needs should be communicated with the treatment team. If you would prefer to provide your child’s midday meal, please bring it in a labeled cloth container or paper bag to be stored on the unit.

Referral Process

We will consider all referrals from members of the community including parents, legal guardians, and medical providers. PHP may be recommended in response to escalating mental health needs for children and adolescents age 10-17. This is often in response to a sudden increase in mental health symptoms, difficulties maintaining previous functioning, or an emerging safety concern. Alternatively, PHP may also be recommended as a step-down from residential or acute hospital-based programs.

Internal Referrals from CHKD Providers:
Internal referrals are submitted via Referral Management or Mental Health Referral Order in Powerchart.

External Referrals from Community Members: 

Community referrals are accepted by calling (757) 668-4747 or by email to MHPHP@CHKD.org.

Arriving at Children's Pavilion

Parking is available in the garage adjacent to Children’s Pavilion. Parents and caregivers are invited to park on the second or third level and enter the building on the first floor. Please leave all unnecessary items in your vehicle. Once in the lobby, let a team member at the front desk know you are here for the partial hospitalization program and take the front elevators to the 9th floor where you will be greeted and checked in.

Please note: Our safety procedures include a metal detector screening and search of personal belongings.

Refer to Our Mental Health Program

CHKD is working hard to build a Mental Health Program with care access opportunities for all children in need. We currently have a high volume of requests and partner with mental health agencies outside of CHKD to ensure all children referred receive an appropriate treatment resource. Find inpatient, outpatient, and partial hospitalization referral information here.

Contact Us

To contact our Partial Hospitalization Program, please call (757) 668-4747 or email at MHPHP@CHKD.org

Suicide Prevention Lifeline

If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, please dial 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. Someone is available 24 hours a day in English or Spanish.