Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Identifies the thoughts and situations that drive use, panic, or shutdown, and replaces them with skills you can actually run under pressure.
Partial hospitalization program · Arlington, VA
Partial Hospitalization Program in Arlington, Virginia
Our most structured outpatient level of care — 6 hours a day, 5 days a week — for addiction, mental health, and dual diagnosis. A mix of evidence-based therapies, holistic programming, and clinical care, while you sleep in your own bed each night.
- 6 hrs/day · 5 days/week
- Most insurance accepted
- Structured living available
What PHP is
The bridge between inpatient care and everyday life
A partial hospitalization program gives you the clinical intensity of inpatient treatment during the day and sends you home at night. You get daily group therapy, individual sessions, medical monitoring, and psychiatric oversight — then you go back to your own bed, your own family, and the environment you'll eventually have to stay well in.
That last part matters. Recovery that only works inside a facility tends not to survive discharge. PHP lets you practice new skills in the real world every single evening while a full clinical team is still watching closely.
The schedule
6 hours a day, 5 days a week
The schedule is the same across all three programs — addiction, mental health, and dual diagnosis. What changes is the focus of your groups and the targets in your individual plan, not the amount of structure you get.
Morning
Check-in & process group
The day opens with a clinical check-in — sleep, cravings, mood, medication, and anything that happened overnight — followed by a facilitated process group where the real work usually surfaces.
Midday
Individual therapy & psychiatric time
One-on-one sessions with your primary therapist, plus psychiatric and medical check-ins scheduled into the day rather than tacked onto the end of it.
Afternoon
Skills group & holistic programming
CBT and DBT skills, relapse-prevention planning, and psychoeducation, closing with holistic programming — mindfulness, movement, sleep and nutrition work, and life-skills sessions.
Therapies
A mix of evidence-based therapies
PHP is where the therapeutic hours actually add up. Instead of one session a week, you get several a day — matched to your diagnosis rather than applied to everyone the same way.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Distress tolerance, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness — daily practice, not a handout you take home.
EMDR & trauma-focused therapy
Structured processing of traumatic memories so recovery isn't built on avoidance. Paced carefully within the intensity of a full-day program.
Group & process therapy
Multiple facilitated groups a day — process, psychoeducation, and relapse prevention — with people carrying something similar to what you're carrying.
Family therapy & education
Sessions that repair communication, set workable boundaries, and teach families what real support looks like while you're still in programming.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Collaborative, non-confrontational work for the part of you that wants change and the part that isn't sure yet. Both are welcome here.
Holistic programming
Care for the parts therapy alone doesn't reach
Sleep, movement, nutrition, and routine collapse long before anyone calls for help, and they don't rebuild themselves. Holistic programming is written into the daily schedule, not offered as an extra.
Mindfulness & grounding practice
Daily guided practice that gives you something concrete to do when the craving, panic, or flashback arrives — not just an instruction to breathe.
Movement & body-based work
Gentle movement and somatic exercises that help discharge the physical residue of withdrawal, anxiety, and trauma.
Sleep, nutrition & routine repair
Structured work on the basics that collapse first — sleep schedule, eating, hydration, and the shape of a day without substances.
Life skills & re-entry planning
Practical sessions on work, school, finances, and time structure so the hours PHP fills don't turn into empty hours at discharge.
Clinical care
Medical and psychiatric oversight, every program day
The difference between PHP and a busy therapy schedule is the medicine behind it. You are seen clinically, not just supported emotionally.
Daily medical oversight
Vitals, withdrawal monitoring, and medical check-ins built into each program day, especially during the first weeks of stabilization.
Board-certified psychiatric evaluation
A full diagnostic evaluation early in your stay, with ongoing psychiatric review as your treatment plan changes.
Medication management
Our medical staff may prescribe and adjust psychiatric medication for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and ADHD — monitored weekly, not left to drift.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
For substance use, our medical staff may prescribe Suboxone, Vivitrol, naltrexone, or Antabuse, with induction and dose adjustment handled inside the program day.
Optional
Structured living can be arranged
For some people, going home at night is the hardest part of outpatient care — an unstable household, a long commute, or an environment where using is close at hand. When that's the case, we can arrange optional structured living so you have a safe, substance-free place to stay while you're in programming.
It's an option, never a requirement. Our admissions team walks through availability, cost, and house expectations with you before anything is committed to — including for patients traveling in from elsewhere in Virginia or across the river from Maryland.
Ask about structured livingThree programs, one schedule
Addiction, mental health, and dual-diagnosis PHP
All three run 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Your assessment determines which track you start in — and plenty of people belong in the integrated one.
Addiction PHP
Full-day programming focused on withdrawal stabilization, craving management, trigger mapping, and relapse prevention, with MAT integrated where it's clinically indicated.
Mental health PHP
Full-day programming for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and OCD, built around psychiatric stabilization and skills that hold once you step down.
Dual-diagnosis PHP
One integrated plan when substance use and a mental health condition are feeding each other. Same team, same schedule, both conditions treated at once.
Who PHP is for
You may be a fit for PHP if you're
- Stepping down from medical detox, residential, or inpatient psychiatric care and needing structure before returning to normal life.
- Stepping up from IOP or weekly therapy when the current level of care clearly isn't holding.
- Coming off a crisis — an overdose, an ER visit, a hospitalization — and needing daily clinical eyes without a residential bed.
- Safe at home overnight, but unable to string together sober or stable days without daytime structure.
Levels of care
How PHP compares to IOP and outpatient care
Most people step down through these levels as stability builds — and step back up if things get shaky. You aren't locked into where you start. Still deciding? Read our guide to choosing between PHP and IOP.
- 016 hrs/day · 5 days/week
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
Our most structured outpatient level. Full-day clinical programming with daily medical and psychiatric oversight.
- 023–5 days/week · day or evening
Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
Group and individual therapy several times a week, with tracks that fit around work, school, and family.
- 03Weekly · ongoing
Outpatient & aftercare
Weekly therapy, medication management, and relapse-prevention groups that keep structure in place long term.
Where we provide care
PHP for Arlington, Alexandria, Washington DC, and beyond
Our center is in Arlington, VA, and we regularly see PHP patients from Alexandria, Washington, DC, Falls Church, McLean, and Fairfax. In-person PHP is open to Virginia, Maryland, and DC residents, and optional structured living helps when the commute is the obstacle. Telehealth programming is available throughout Virginia.
Common questions
PHP questions, answered
What does PHP stand for?
PHP stands for partial hospitalization program. It is the most structured level of outpatient care — full-day clinical programming with medical and psychiatric oversight — while you sleep at home each night rather than in a facility.
What is the PHP schedule?
Our PHP runs 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. The schedule is the same across all three tracks — addiction, mental health, and dual diagnosis — and combines group and individual therapy, holistic programming, and clinical care.
How long does PHP last?
Most people spend two to four weeks in PHP before stepping down to IOP, though length of stay is driven by your clinical progress rather than a fixed number. We reassess continuously and step you down when the structure is no longer what's holding things together.
What is the difference between PHP and IOP?
PHP is more intensive: 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, with daily medical and psychiatric contact. IOP runs fewer hours across 3 to 5 days a week, with day and evening tracks so you can keep working. Many people start in PHP and step down to IOP.
Can I work during PHP?
PHP is a full-time commitment, so most people take leave during it — we can explain FMLA and short-term disability options and provide documentation. If you cannot step away from work, IOP evening tracks are usually the right starting point instead.
Can you arrange housing during PHP?
Yes. Structured living can be arranged as an option for people who need a stable, substance-free place to stay during programming — including patients traveling in from elsewhere in Virginia or from Maryland. It is optional, not a requirement, and our admissions team walks through cost and availability with you.
Is PHP covered by insurance?
Most major commercial plans cover partial hospitalization when it is clinically indicated. Our admissions team verifies your benefits, handles the authorization, and tells you your expected cost before you start. Self-pay options are available if you're uninsured.
Do you offer virtual PHP?
Telehealth programming is available for Virginia residents, since our clinicians are licensed in Virginia. In-person PHP at our Arlington center is open to Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC residents.
In-person care at 5400 Shawnee Road, Arlington, VA for VA, MD, and DC residents. Telehealth for Virginia residents only.
When outpatient care is not enough
Detox, residential & inpatient referrals
Sometimes recovery starts with a higher level of care. When detox, residential, or inpatient treatment is the safest first step, we coordinate placement with trusted, vetted providers and take the guesswork out of the handoff.
- Same-day assessment for addiction, mental health, or dual-diagnosis needs
- Matched to a vetted detox, residential, or inpatient provider
- Seamless continuation of care with our outpatient team after discharge
Why families trust our referrals
We only refer to providers we have personally vetted for clinical quality, safety, and clear communication. From the first call to the day you step into treatment, our team walks with you through the process — so you are never left to figure it out alone.
Same day – 24 hrs
placement window
VA, DC, MD
regional partner network
Discharge planning & case management
Treatment doesn't end when the program does
The weeks after a program ends are where progress is most often lost. Our case management team builds the plan that carries you forward — the appointments, paperwork, support network, and practical logistics that keep recovery in place at home, at work, and with the people around you.
Discharge planning from day one
Your aftercare plan starts at intake, not the week you leave. Every step down — PHP to IOP to outpatient — is mapped with your clinical team so there is never a gap between levels of care.
Dedicated case management
A case manager stays with you through the whole episode of care, coordinating between your therapist, prescriber, family, and any outside providers so nothing falls through the cracks.
FMLA, disability & work paperwork
We help complete FMLA, short-term disability, and return-to-work documentation, and coordinate with employers and school administrators when you need protected time for treatment.
Community resource connection
Warm handoffs to local support — 12-step and SMART Recovery meetings, alumni groups, peer support, faith communities, and Arlington-area services rather than a printed list of phone numbers.
Housing, transportation & basic needs
Referrals to sober living and recovery housing, transportation options, food and benefits assistance, and legal or financial resources when stability outside the clinic is part of the plan.
An aftercare plan that covers your whole life
Written plans that address relapse prevention, medication follow-up, primary care, family communication, work or school re-entry, and what to do on the days that get hard.
Get help today
Talk to someone who's done this before
Whether you're calling for yourself or for someone you love, the first conversation is free and completely confidential.
- Admissions — 24/7(571) 586-2883
- Location5400 Shawnee Road, Arlington, VA
Insurance accepted
Insurance coverage for PHP
Partial hospitalization is a covered level of care under most commercial plans — Anthem, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Sentara Health Plans, UMR, and Johns Hopkins Health Plans. Because PHP runs six hours a day, five days a week, we pre-authorize your days of care up front so you know what's approved.
Don't see your plan? Call us — we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay.