Partial Hospitalization (PHP) is the most intensive option in the four-level outpatient continuum at The Stepwell Center, sitting above IOP for daily clinical contact and below inpatient care for residential supervision. PHP runs approximately 20 hours per week across five weekdays, combining group therapy, individual therapy, psychiatric and medication oversight, and family or systems work. Patients sleep at home each night and return for treatment during the day. All four levels are delivered at our Lakeway, Texas facility.
Placement begins with your comprehensive assessment, not with a default curriculum. The assessment runs two to three days and gathers clinical, diagnostic, and medical context before any treatment plan is written. The output is a prescribed plan that names the level of care, the modalities, and the medication considerations that fit your clinical profile. This is what we call the Prescribed Care Model.
PHP is the appropriate level of care when symptoms are acute, when a patient has recently been discharged from inpatient or residential treatment, or when IOP-level care has not produced enough stabilization. The four-level outpatient continuum follows the field-standard ASAM Criteria for matching care intensity to clinical need, and PHP-level care has documented outcomes comparable to inpatient treatment for appropriately matched patients (PHP outcomes review, NIH; SAMHSA TIP 47).
