01
On Video
Group, individual, and family sessions run over a secure connection with cameras on. Virtual treatment here is intensive, and every session is live therapy with a clinician rather than a webinar.
Teen Virtual IOP In California
Your teen joins evening mental health sessions over a secure video connection and then sleeps in their own bed. This program is for families too far from our campus to drive in, and for teens stepping down after a stay here.
Verify insuranceClinically reviewed by Alejandro Alva, M.D., Medical Director.
- 8-12 weeks
- Ages 12-17
- 9-12 hours
- Joint Commission accredited
- Family-owned since 2021
What this is
Intensive Treatment By Video, From Home
Our virtual intensive outpatient program gives your teen nine to twelve hours a week of group, individual, and family therapy over a secure connection. Sessions run on school-night evenings, after your teen's own school day ends. Many families use teen virtual IOP as a step down after a stay in our Southern California houses, or as a first intensive option when distance makes in-person treatment impossible. If nights at home are not safe, virtual IOP is not the right level of care, and we will tell you so.
When this fits, and when it does not
- 01
You Are Too Far To Drive In
You may live hours from the campus, and a week of in-person evenings may not be realistic. With virtual therapy, the same clinical team can work with your family from your own kitchen instead.
- 02
Stepping Down After A Stay Here
Residential care builds a foundation, and the next months are practice at home with clinicians who already know your teen, instead of a new behavioral health clinic starting over.
- 03
Nights At Home Feel Safe
You feel able to go to sleep at night, and a parent can be in the house during evening sessions. If the middle of the night is still the hardest time, ask us about residential care.
- 04
Your Teen Is Still Attending School
Your teen goes through the day at their own school, and sessions start afterward. We do not enroll virtual IOP teens in our on-site school.
- 05
Weekly Therapy Was Not Enough
Once-weekly therapy may already have been tried while your teen's mental health concerns kept getting worse. Your teen may need a full clinical team and a steady schedule of therapy sessions, rather than a week between appointments.
- 06
Honest Guidance If Video Is Not Enough
If the week becomes hard to manage on video, Aaron Earnest and the admissions team will recommend residential mental health care. We do not keep a teen in a program that is not working.
Weekly life
Where Virtual IOP Fits In Our Care
Sessions happen on video from home, and our residential houses are the step before virtual IOP or the step up from it.
02
After A Stay Here
Young people who finish a residential stay in one of our houses can step down to our virtual adolescent intensive outpatient program. Treatment then continues on video with our clinical team once they move home.
03
When Home Is Not Safe Yet
If evenings at home are not safe yet, residential mental health care in one of our houses is the higher level of care. Admissions will tell you which level fits your teen.
Our approach
What Virtual IOP Includes
This virtual treatment program is built for families who cannot drive in, or for teens who already completed a stay here. It is not a scaled-back copy of our in-person program.
- Core of the plan
Real Group Therapy On Camera
Small groups of young people the same age meet with a clinician who runs the session. Cameras stay on, because group therapy does more to help teens when everyone is fully present.
The Same Therapies, A Different Setting
Sessions use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD, and motivational interviewing. The approach is not scaled back just because sessions happen on video.
Evenings That Work Around School
Sessions run after the school day to help teens protect their credits and their place in class. Treatment does not have to cost them the year.
A Written Plan For The Evenings
The bedroom, the phone, Sunday evenings, and the coping skills your teen is practicing go into the same weekly plan. If the plan is not working, we talk with you about stepping up to residential care rather than adding another video hour.
- When needed
Honest Guidance About Stepping Up
If the nights become hard again and your teen needs more support, we do not stretch a remote program. Residential care in one of our houses is the other option, and we will talk it through with you.
Your part
Your Home Covers The Hours Video Cannot
A remote program has no overnight staff, so a parent needs to be in the house during evening sessions. Family involvement is part of every week, because your home is the treatment setting.
They logged in, so we are covered.
Being Home During Evening Sessions
An adult stays in the house while your teen is in group. Your teen gets privacy for the session, and you stay present in the home. Both are part of the plan.
The screen hour is their business.
Attending The Family Sessions
The patterns at home belong to the whole family, and no camera can supervise the house after a session ends. Joining these sessions lets you work on them together, which a teen-only video call cannot do.
They can do group from under the covers.
Setting Up A Space That Works
A private room, a door that closes, a charged device, and a reliable connection all need to be set up before week one. We walk through the setup with you.
Once group ends, the night takes care of itself.
Planning The Hours After They Log Off
Our staff do not cover the house after a session, so phone use, bedtime, and Sunday evenings are written into a plan with you. We review together whether that plan is holding.
Academics
Your Teen Stays At Their Own School
Virtual IOP runs in the evenings, so teens stay at the school they already attend. It does not move your teen into our classrooms.
Their Own Campus
Your teen stays enrolled and attends their own school. We contact counselors only when the treatment plan needs the school involved.
Sessions After The School Day
Groups run on school nights, after your teen has finished the school day. Homework still needs to fit, so we plan the schedule with that in mind.
Working With Their Existing IEP Or 504
Please send your teen's current schedule and any plan they already have. We work with that plan and do not create a parallel one.
Please send your teen's current school schedule and any IEP or 504 plan they already have.
Length of stay
8
weeks of evening sessions, by progress
Most virtual adolescent IOP courses run eight to twelve weeks, depending on whether evenings and nights are genuinely holding.
12
How Long A Course Runs
A typical course runs eight to twelve weeks. It may run longer when your teen is stepping down from residential care and shorter when the goal is narrow. Nine to twelve hours a week happen on school-night evenings, and your teen sleeps at home. We do not set an end date before the work is done.
- Week one covers fit, technical setup, and a written plan for the evenings, with no pressure for a quick breakthrough.
- Most teens finish in eight to twelve weeks, with hours reducing as the week steadies. Some continue longer.
- Aftercare means a local therapist and a family who already knows the approach, so the end of the course is not an abrupt stop.
When to call
Call Us. We'll Tell You If This House Fits.
If your teen is leaving our houses and needs a next step, or distance makes in-person mental health treatment impossible, here is how we can help. Aaron Earnest and the admissions team will help you work out which treatment program fits. If you can still drive to our campus after school, our in-person outpatient program may be the better fit. They will also tell you if nights at home are not safe enough for virtual IOP.
What Is A Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program?
A virtual intensive outpatient program (IOP) is a behavioral health program with several hours of live therapy a week over video, while your teen lives at home and attends school.
Our virtual adolescent intensive outpatient program serves young people ages 12 to 17 who live in California. It runs nine to twelve hours a week of group, individual, and family therapy on school-night evenings.
What Conditions Does Our Virtual IOP Treat?
The mental health conditions we treat in our teen virtual IOP are anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma and PTSD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, self-harm, and insomnia.
Many teens arrive with more than one, so each behavioral health treatment plan draws on CBT, DBT, ERP, motivational interviewing, and family therapy.
- Anxiety
- Generalized and social anxiety that keeps your teen out of class, worked on with CBT in group and individual sessions.
- Depression
- Depression that has outlasted weekly therapy, with CBT, family sessions, and a written plan for the evenings at home.
- OCD
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder treated with exposure and response prevention, practiced in sessions and then at home between them.
- Trauma and PTSD
- Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, with CBT and DBT skills your teen practices in group and uses at home.
- ADHD
- ADHD that is straining school and home, with skills work in sessions and a plan for the hours after school.
- Bipolar disorder
- Bipolar disorder, with DBT skills for mood shifts and medication management when medication is already part of the plan.
- Self-harm
- Self-harm, when nights at home are safe and a parent is in the house, with DBT skills for the urges.
- Insomnia
- Insomnia and sleep problems, with CBT for insomnia and an evening plan that covers phones, screens, and bedtime.
How Do Virtual Adolescent IOP Sessions Work?
In our virtual intensive outpatient program, young people join live group therapy, individual sessions, and family therapy over a secure video connection, and a clinician leads every session.
Your teen logs in from a private room with a door that closes, and a parent stays in the house during evening sessions.
Is Virtual IOP Enough For Your Teen?
A virtual intensive outpatient program fits young people who need more mental health support than weekly therapy can give. It works when nights at home feel safe and a parent can be in the house during sessions.
If the middle of the night is still the hardest time, residential care is the next level of care to discuss, and admissions will say so.
Virtual IOP, Outpatient, And PHP Compared
A partial hospitalization program (PHP) is a daytime program with more hours than an intensive outpatient program, and we do not offer one. If a partial hospitalization program is the better fit, admissions will say so and help you find one.
Our in-person outpatient program meets after school at our Southern California campus, and virtual IOP brings the same clinical team to your home over video.
How Long Does Virtual IOP Last?
A typical virtual adolescent IOP course runs eight to twelve weeks. It may run longer when your teen is stepping down from residential care and shorter when the treatment goals are narrow.
How Does A Teen Start Virtual IOP?
Start with a call to admissions, who will check whether nights at home are safe enough for a remote program and verify your behavioral health benefits at no cost.
Week one covers fit, technical setup, and a written plan for the evenings, so your teen's first group is not also the first test of the connection.
When Does A Teen Need More Than Weekly Therapy?
Once-weekly therapy can be too little for mental health challenges that keep school, sleep, or safety slipping between sessions. A virtual intensive outpatient program adds nine to twelve hours a week of group therapy, individual sessions, and family therapy at home.
If even that is not enough mental health support, residential care in our Southern California houses is the next step. Admissions will tell you which one fits.
Before you call
The Details Families Ask About First
- Who treats your teen
- Clinical care is led by Alejandro Alva, M.D., our Medical Director, and Stacia Ponce-Rodriguez, LMFT, our Clinical Director.Meet the team
- Cost and insurance
- We verify your benefits at no cost before anyone is asked to commit, with plans including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Carelon, Cigna, GEHA, and Magellan. Benefits vary by plan, and verification is not a guarantee of coverage.How insurance covers treatmentWhat residential treatment costsHow admissions works
- How progress is tracked
- Your teen's treatment plan is reviewed as their progress changes, and the next step is planned around that progress instead of a set date.Residential vs IOP for teensHow long residential treatment lasts
- Where we are
- Our three homes are in Orange County and Riverside County in Southern California. Families can tour them by appointment through admissions.Our Orange County homesOur Riverside County homeTour the homes
FAQ
Questions About Teen Virtual IOP
Answers to what parents often ask before calling about evening mental health treatment by video. If your question is not here, admissions can talk through how we can help.
How many hours a week is virtual IOP?
Your teen takes part in nine to twelve hours a week of group, individual, and family therapy over a secure video connection. Therapy sessions run on school-night evenings, after your teen's own school day ends.
How long does a virtual IOP course usually run?
A typical course runs eight to twelve weeks, longer when stepping down from residential care and shorter when the goal is narrow. We do not set an end date before the work is done.
Who is virtual IOP meant for?
Our virtual IOP is designed for young people ages 12 to 17 in California whose families live too far from our campus to drive in. It is also a step down for teens leaving a stay in our houses.
What do we need to provide at home?
A parent needs to be in the house during evening sessions, since a remote program has no overnight staff. Your teen also needs a private room, a door that closes, a charged device, and a reliable connection.
When is virtual IOP not the right fit?
If nights at home are not safe, virtual IOP is not the right level of care, and we will tell you so. Aaron Earnest and the admissions team will recommend residential care when the week becomes hard to manage on video.
Is medication management part of virtual IOP?
A psychiatric evaluation is available when the clinical team asks for one. Medication management continues when medication is already part of your teen's plan, and we do not lead with a prescription.
Does insurance cover virtual IOP?
We work with plans including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Carelon, Cigna, GEHA, and Magellan, and benefits vary by plan. Admissions will verify your behavioral health benefits for teen virtual IOP at no cost before you commit.
Sources And Further Reading
This page is reviewed by Alejandro Alva, M.D., our Medical Director. These free guides from public health agencies and medical groups cover the topic in more depth.
MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
National Institute of Mental Health
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents: Different Types (opens in a new tab)