Types of mental health services
If you are interested in mental health services for your child, there are different types that can help your child or teen feel better when struggling with their thoughts or feelings. Understanding what these services are is the first step toward finding the right support for your child. Please visit the mental health treatment guide for more information.
Outpatient mental health services
This type of therapy is offered at a provider’s office and can include individual, family, and couple’s therapy. This therapy typically addresses mental health conditions that are mild to moderate in symptom severity. Outpatient therapy can be provided weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on the child/teen’s need.
Group therapy
Here, the child or teen meets with other children/teens that may be experiencing similar mental health symptoms to discuss their mental health condition(s) and find ways to cope with or to improve the symptoms. The group is typically led by one or more mental health providers that can guide the group discussions and interventions for the children/teens. The group typically meets at a provider’s office, or agency that provides mental health resources.
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
IOPs are intensive treatment programs used to address higher need mental health conditions/symptoms such as depression, suicidal ideation/past suicide attempts, eating disorders, or substance use that do not require detoxification or round-the-clock supervision. This type of treatment may require that your child attend daily or almost daily therapy services. Whereas residential treatment requires that clients reside on site, clients in intensive outpatient programs live at home.
Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
A Partial Hospitalization Program is a structured mental health treatment program that typically serves patients who are experiencing more severe mental health symptoms such as suicidal ideation, self-harm and/or past attempts to commit suicide. These programs usually run for several hours each day, three to five days per week. The child or teen participates in the scheduled treatment sessions during the day and returns home at night. These types of programs are a step down from 24-hour care in a psychiatric hospital setting (inpatient treatment). Partial Hospitalization Programs can also be used to prevent the need for an inpatient hospital stay.
Mental Health Inpatient Services
Inpatient mental health services typically occur in a clinic or hospital setting. A patient receiving inpatient services will stay in the clinic or hospital to receive intensive mental health services, such as individual, family and group therapy to help the patient address his/her/their mental health symptoms. Typically, inpatient services will be provided to patients who are experiencing severe mental health symptoms such as self-harm, recent suicide attempt, persistent suicidal or homicidal ideation. Typically, once the patient’s severe symptoms have been addressed and the patient is able to cope with the mental health symptoms, the patient will be referred to step-down mental health services, such as a Partial Hospitalization Program.
Types of Therapy
There are several different types of therapies used to address mental health symptoms, and you may have heard some of these acronyms thrown around but didn’t know what they meant. Here’s an overview of some of the most common therapies:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This is one of the most widely used therapies and focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how to change them into more positive ones. It is primarily used to help with depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
This therapy focuses on teaching skills to manage big feelings, cope with stress, and improve social skills. It is particularly helpful for teens struggling with intense emotions.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
This focuses on accepting thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them, while committing to making changes that align with one’s values.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
This is an approach that helps increase motivation to make positive changes in one’s lifestyle, including helping with medication adherence.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
A therapy designed for children ages 2 to 7 focused on improving behavioral problems and enhancing parent-child relationships.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
A type of therapy designed to help with overcoming the impact of traumatic experiences. It combines skill-building with cognitive behavioral therapy components.
