IOP

The Intensive Outpatient Program is a state-wide community based family therapy program for children and their families. Our IOP program is funded by the Department of Child Mental Health.

In our view, mental health problems of children are caused (1) by a child's individual characteristics and (2) by broken and stressed family relationships and societal problems. Primary goals of therapeutic services are to enable kids and family members find new, meaningful, and appropriate social supports and develop additional resources within their own network of relationships, thus reducing or ending the need for mental health services. Our staff meets with clients in their homes, schools, community centers, churches, and occasionally in our office.

Meetings take many forms:

• We work with families toward goals that are meaningful to them
• We develop relationships with kids so that they can let us know what they need and how to help them
• We teach children and families how to tell stories and make up rituals that help them stay in touch with their family history and culture
• We have conversations with family members to help them discover strengths within themselves and their families
• We arrange family/team meetings with our psychiatrist to make sure a child's medication is helping and that parents are in agreement with its use. We go with parents to their children's school to have family meetings with teachers to improve family-school communication and develop solutions to school problems
• We involve kids, siblings, and other family members in enjoyable activities to strengthen family bonds

We work with you as a team to make mental health services more meaningful during treatment and less of a necessity as time goes on. Our primary goal is to reduce your need for social services and enable you to find your own resources for your family. To this end, Outpatient therapists are involved toward the end of treatment as a safety net.

Referral Process

All families admitted to the IOP program come referred to us by the Division of Child Mental Health Services (DCHMS) treatment teams. Most frequently they refer families in either of two situations. Often families have youngsters coming out of more intensive programs such as hospitals, residential treatment centers, or day treatment settings. Other times the families have children or adolescents who are in danger of needing such services, and more routine outpatient services have not been enough to bring about the needed change.