Practice Policies
Hospitalization, Day Treatment [PHP],
& Intensive Outpatient Program [IOP]:
These services may be necessary to expedite
your treatment. You will be referred to appropriate
programs within your locale. Admission to these programs
is contingent upon your insurance carrier or your
independent financial arrangements with a facility.
You are required to have an intake assessment to determine
level of care at the facility and must meet your individual
insurance carrier’s admission criteria.. These
assessments must be completed at the program and facility
that you are considering entering. You may call the
programs directly for an Intake appointment. Some
of the programs offer 24 hour free assessments without
appointments.
Inpatient Hospitalization:
Inpatient hospitalization is utilized
whenever you feel you can not control your emotions
enough to participate in outpatient therapy. It is
also used whenever you fee suicidal or of danger in
hurting others or you are in need of medication management
that needs to be aggressively managed by your psychiatrist.
You may go to the local hospitals that offer inpatient
care for a free assessment and generally they do not
require you have an appointment. The facilities that
provide free assessments locally on a 24 hour basis
are: Lakeside Behavioral Health System,
Delta Medical Center, and St. Francis Hospital. The
assessor will contact your insurance company and provide
you with a psychiatrist is a hospital stay is needed.
Aftercare Post-Hospitalization:
In order to decrease recidivism regarding
hospitalization, I have found that weekly visits for
the first 4-6 weeks post-hospitalization is recommended.
I will work to reduce the frequency to bimonthly for
approximately 2 months. Gradually, I will reduce the
frequency to every 2-3 months then to every quarter.
I suggest at that point that you be seen semi-annually
for the first 1 -2 years post-hospitalization. I have
found that this plan greatly reduces the likelihood
of a rehospitalization and increases the optimal level
of functioning for the client in their home/work
environment. This is also very effective in working
with persons with severe and persistent mental illness
and often helps to reduce the number and frequency
of hospitalizations as problems can be identified
more readily and intervention is begun quickly to
stabilize the client.
