Partial hospitalization

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Partial hospitalization is a type of program used to treat mental illness and substance abuse. In partial hospitalization, the patient continues to reside at home, but commutes to a treatment center up to seven days a week. Since partial hospitalization focuses on the overall treatment of the individual, rather than purely on his or her safety, the program is not used for people who are acutely suicidal.

Origin- the partial hospital programs used today are the result of the movement to deinstitutionalize chronic mental health patients. This was thought to be a way to provide a better living environment in a less restrictive setting for the patient and a way to reduce the cost of long-term care.

Partial hospitalization should not be confused with day treatment which is sometimes referred to as partial hospitalization. Partial hospitalization is provided on or in affiliation with a hospital. This separates them from partial care or day treatment which are either non-profit or profit agencies not affiliated with a hosptial.

Treatment during a typical day may include group therapy, individual therapy,and psychopharmacological assessments and check-ins.

Programs are available for the treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse problems, Alzheimer's disease, anorexia and bulimia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses. Programs geared specifically toward geriatric patients, adult patients, adolescents, or young children also exist. Programs for adolescents and children usually include an academic program, to either take the place of or to work with the child's local school.

Funding- the majority of service providers are funded by fees collected from Medicaid.

Currently, many providers are moving away from the partial hospitalization model of day treatment and are adopting a psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) model instead. The focus of PSR is on patient (or "member," as they are often referred to) empowerment, while seeking to "rehabilitate" patients with chronic mental illness so they can function more independently in the local community (see Clubhouse Model of Psychosocial Rehabilitation for a description of these types of services).

Additionally, some people have objected to the term partial hospitalization itself, since hospitalization for mental illness generally seeks to prevent injury to the patient or to those people whom the patient encounters (in the United States, for a person to be hospitalized involuntarily, it is necessary to demonstrate that he or she poses an immediate danger to him- or herself or others. This is generally done via a report from a witness, such as a neighbor, friend or family member, that the person is dangerous. The person is transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital, where he or she waits until a psychiatrist is available to diagnose him or her--a period that sometimes lasts hours, especially if the transport is done late at night. The psychiatrist speaks to the person for a few minutes to determine whether he or she poses a threat). Many of the patients in partial hospitalization programs do not, have not, and likely will never be psychiatrically hospitalized. As such, they object to the implication that a partial hospitalization program is "one step away" from actual hospitalization.