July 18th, 2025
As a parent, it can be overwhelming to watch your child struggle with their mental health, the pressures of adolescence, and the challenges of growing up—especially when it’s not always clear how to best support them. It’s that difficult space between recognizing your child is struggling and wondering if hospitalization is the right step.
Outpatient mental health programs such as Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) for teens, offer a supportive middle ground—providing structured care without full hospitalization.
PHP and IOP programs are structured mental health treatment programs for people who need more support than regular therapy but don’t need to be in the hospital.
Our mental health clinics in Arlington Heights and Evanston, Illinois, offer both outpatient mental health programs, PHP and IOP for teens. They typically involve a variety of therapies such as group, individual, family, and medication management.
Throughout generally 6-8 weeks, your child will be introduced to healthy coping skills and methods to help manage their symptoms and increase distress tolerance. Once introduced, teenagers and participants within the family structure can begin to implement these skills in their interpersonal lives and real-world situations, fostering gradual and sustainable improvement in their day-to-day lives and relationships.
Our mental health treatment programs are great at addressing stress for teens, depression in teens, mood disorders, and severe anxiety.
The hours of the programs can vary, but generally follow a typical structure:
• Time Commitment: 5-6 hours per day, 5 days a week
• Hours: typically 9:00-3:00 or during school hours
• Considered to be a step down from inpatient care, or a step up from intensive outpatient
• Time commitment: 2-4 hours per day, ranging from 3-5 days a week
• Hours: can be scheduled to accommodate school (i.e., evening hours)
These levels of treatment consisting of multidisciplinary approaches address the multitude of aspects of your teen’s mental health while maintaining home life and important social connections.
Mood swings are natural, and to some degree, expected throughout the teenage years. So how do you know if what your child is experiencing warrants an outpatient mental health program like a PHP program or IOP program? These mental health treatment programs are generally a good fit for teenagers who don’t present immediate danger to themselves or others but still require more support than weekly therapy sessions.
Additionally, an outpatient mental health program may be a good fit if your child has not had success or fully responded to other types of treatment. Taking a look at how much your teen’s mental health concerns interfere with their daily life, relationships, school or social lives can be a great indicator to assess appropriateness.
Check to see if your teen deals with stress and anxiety, if they report feeling anxious, feeling depressed, or you notice them going through any form of emotional dysregulation or behavioral challenges (self harm, social withdrawal, anger, stress, & more)
The following include but are not limited to common experiences:
- Read more about self-harm
- Read more about depression in children and young individuals
- Read more about drug addiction and getting help
Clarity Clinic’s mental health treatment programs are great if your teen is struggling with severe depression, severe anxiety, stress, mood disorders, behavioral challenges, or emotional dysregulation.
As a parent, it can be helpful to be involved in your child’s mental health treatment. Encouraging open communication during care and helping your teen set individualized and realistic expectations for recovery alongside their teen mental health care team, creates a firm foundation of restoration. If your teenager is closed off or refusing to talk to you, you may need to introduce other channels of communication.
Participating in family therapy sessions and connecting with your teen’s care team can help an outsider better understand their conditions and concerns. Asking open-ended questions can help foster an environment where your teenager feels respected, heard and comfortable. Remind your teen, and yourself, that recovery is a process.
Change or improvement does not require a size in order to be celebrated. Additionally, your own self-care trickles down into helpful support for your teenager.
When your world feels like it’s in freefall, creating small moments of structure—like regular meals, a consistent bedtime, or mindful movement—can help ground you. And remember, let go of the pressure to be perfect or the guilt that comes with it. What matters most is showing up with consistency, not perfection. If there were a guide to parenting, it would be constantly rewritten.
First and foremost, if your child is having thoughts or actions of self-harm, take a deep breath. Remind yourself that what your teenager needs most is safety, empathy and support. Work with your teenager’s therapist or treatment team to identify what may be unsafe for your child in the home (i.e., razors, scissors, lighters), and/or how to safely store them.
Our initial instinct may be to panic or control the situation, which can lead to “fixing” behaviors, and making the home environment constricted and a place of surveillance.
Your teen needs to know that they’re not in trouble; they’re in pain, and you’re a safe person to come to. Instead, focus on collaborative safety planning by asking what your teen needs nearby to help them feel safe, or ask them specifically what they think you should remove from easy reach for the time being. This supports autonomy in your teen when things already feel confusing and lost.
Your teenager may be experiencing guilt themselves; feeling like a burden is a common experience. A way to soften these harsh beliefs is to focus on supporting rather than rescuing.
Your steady presence is one of the most powerful parts of their healing process. Responding with compassion rather than punishment can look like changing “Why would you do this to yourself?” to “You don’t have to go through this alone. I’m here and I want to help.”
A supportive home environment helps reinforce the skills they’re learning. Creating this space isn’t about being perfect or being stress-free, but it can be a place where your teenager feels safe to grow, waver, and heal.
Congratulations! Your child finished the program! Transitioning from PHP to lower levels of care is viewed as a continuous path rather than an endpoint. This helps teens understand that finishing a program isn’t “graduating” from mental health care but growing into a new version of themselves and their support. Success comes through consistent practice of learned skill, maintenance of support, routines, and recognition.
Helpful conversation topics during the transition of care include reviewing the coping skills your teen found effective during treatment, identifying triggering situations in their daily life, and discussing how to apply those skills in real-world settings outside the program.
The collaborative effort it takes to get to this point can feel exciting, relieving, and also scary. Asking your teen what their thoughts are about continuing therapy after their outpatient mental health program (IOP program or PHP program), opens the door for collaborative decision making rather than dictating the plan. This will help your teen feel empowered and supported.
Questions about recovery that are less intrusive can look like:
Growing pains aren’t always physical—emotional and mental growth can be just as challenging, even painful or scary. Recognizing and addressing mental health concerns takes incredible courage—for both you and your teen.
Educating yourself and your teen about mental health treatment options, offering ongoing support, and prioritizing your own self-care are all essential parts of the treatment journey. Outpatient mental health programs like Intensive Outpatient Programs and Partial Hospitalization Programs are designed to help you navigate these worries and meet you where you are with compassion, clinical care, and skills to help you and your teen live a happier and healthier life.
If your teen is feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or showing signs of depression, you’re not alone—and help is available. Our teen PHP and IOP programs offer structured, compassionate care for teens facing severe anxiety, stress, depression, and mood disorders. Whether your family is navigating treatment or looking for the next step, our mental health clinic is here to support you.
Explore personalized outpatient mental health care programs for your teen in Evanston and Arlington Heights, IL. Get your teen the mental health support they need—right here, close to home.
Request More Information: Teen Mental Health Treatment ProgramsRelated Readings:
- Take a Depression Test for Free
- Take an Anxiety Test for Free
- Questions Parents Should Ask Before Choosing a PHP/IOP for Teens
- The Importance of Family in PHP & IOP For Teens
- Teen IOP: How Do Intensive Outpatient Treatment Programs Work?
Is an outpatient mental health program a good fit If your teen is constantly feeling anxious and stressed?
If your teen is constantly feeling anxious, battling stress and anxiety on a daily basis, and typical anxiety therapy is not working, our PHP or IOP program can be a good fit. Reach out to schedule a call and see if your teen qualifies for our mental health treatment program and get the best anxiety treatment for your teen. For our Evanston location : (312) 815-9660 and for our Arlington Heights location: (847) 666-5339
Is an outpatient mental health program a good fit If you notice your teen feeling depressed?
If you notice your teen feeling depressed, and have tried typical depression therapy but it does not seem to be helping, then our PHP or IOP programs can be a good fit. Reach out to schedule a call and learn more about our mental health treatment programs. Our team can help you discover if your teen is a good fit for our outpatient mental health programs. For our Evanston location : (312) 815-9660 and for our Arlington Heights location: (847) 666-5339
What is outpatient mental health treatment?
Outpatient mental health treatment is a type of care that allows individuals to receive therapy and support for mental health conditions without staying overnight in a facility. It typically includes scheduled sessions such as individual therapy, group therapy, medication management, or intensive programs like IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) and PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program), while allowing the person to live at home and maintain daily responsibilities.
What is an Intensive outpatient program?
An Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is a structured mental health treatment program designed for individuals who need more support than weekly therapy but don’t require 24/7 care. IOP typically involves attending therapy sessions several times a week for a few hours each day, allowing participants to receive focused care while still living at home and maintaining daily routines like school or work.
What is a partial hospitalization program?
A Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is a more intensive level of outpatient care that provides comprehensive treatment during the day while allowing individuals to return home at night. PHP usually involves attending a program 5 days a week for several hours each day and includes individual therapy, group therapy, medication management, and other therapeutic activities. It’s ideal for those who need a high level of support but do not require inpatient hospitalization.
I'm feeling depressed, can an outpatient mental health program help me?
Yes, an outpatient mental health program can be very effective for treating depression. Whether you're experiencing mild symptoms or struggling with more severe depression, programs like IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) or PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) offer structured support through therapy, coping skills, and medication management—all while allowing you to live at home.
These programs are designed to help you feel better, regain stability, and build tools for long-term mental wellness. We offer adult outpatient programs in our Loop, Evanston, and Arlington Heights location. We offer teen outpatient programs in our Evanston and Arlington Heights location.
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