When it comes to mental health treatment, there is a spectrum of options for how you receive care. It’s a common cadence to receive once-a-week outpatient therapy sessions, but for more specialized or severe needs, an intensive outpatient program (IOP) or partial hospitalization program (PHP) will provide daily support. Each of these has advantages, but all of these options also require you to fit your care into the responsibilities of your daily life. Residential treatment, on the other hand, provides the dedicated support and structure that encourages you to focus on your health 100%.

Why choose a residential treatment center for mental health?

Residential treatment offers you a safe space to focus exclusively on your mental health, with a team of experts to support your needs. THIRA Health is now able to offer adult residential mental health treatment, in a center that provides a comfortable space for you to prioritize your mental health.

When you are struggling with mental health, the stresses of everyday life can make healing difficult. It can be hard to avoid impulsive decisions or harmful behaviors, and you may not be surrounded by people who are understanding of your mental health needs. A weekly therapy session—or IOP or PHP—may not provide enough care if your mental health struggles are severe and disruptive to your day-to-day life.

Residential treatment offers safety and healing

Residential treatment centers for mental health allow you to take a step back from everyday responsibilities, so you can put your time and energy into your mental well-being. In a depression treatment center like the one at THIRA, you’re in community with people who know how you feel, and you’ll work with a team of experts who believe you and want to support you. You’ll live in an environment created for your safety, where it is much easier to avoid impulsive decisions or unhealthy behavior.

Residential treatment offers a consistent schedule that centers your care, so you can lean on predictability and the assurance that your needs are a priority. Residential treatment is useful at any point in your mental health journey, but is particularly useful when you’re working with a new diagnosis, when you’re getting started on a plan of care or adjusting your plan of care, or when you’re experiencing a mental health crisis.

Will I have to cut off all contact with friends and family in residential mental health treatment?

Isolation is never the goal of residential treatment. We know that community is key to healing. THIRA Health includes family engagement in your plan of care. Having therapy sessions that include family members offers them insight into what you’re experiencing, and how you’re working to heal. These sessions can create a shared vocabulary and skill set between you, so when you leave residential treatment, you’ll return to a life with people who understand you better.

Residential treatment is helpful for people with:

• Anxiety and depression
• Mood disorders and personality disorders (e.g. BPD, bipolar disorder)
• Self-harm or suicidal thoughts
• Trauma, PTSD, and cPTSD
• Eating disorders

DBT treatment in a residential mental health program

Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, lends itself particularly well to residential treatment programs for mental health. DBT incorporates consistent therapy—both individual and group—and offers specific skills to practice so you can develop healthy coping behaviors.

In a residential treatment program that uses DBT, you’ll have your individual therapist and group support in processing thoughts and feelings, so you’ll be able to dig into the root of your mental health struggles, while also practicing ways to navigate symptoms.

Alongside consistent therapy sessions, there are DBT programs that encourage holistic healing activities like breathwork and yoga, as well as expressive arts therapy. Cultivating a space of calm and connection to the present moment and choosing a healthy way to express your feelings both contribute to the DBT skills of emotional regulation and mindfulness. THIRA Health incorporates both of these in their adult residential treatment program, to provide a whole-person healing approach.

Residential vs. IOP, what is the difference?

Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) incorporate individual and group therapy sessions, but instead of living where they receive care, people travel for treatment, and return to their homes each day. IOP programs provide substantial support and are a helpful option when taking time away from home isn’t possible.

Conversely, people in a residential depression treatment program live where they receive care. Their nutritional needs, medication needs, therapy needs, and activities to enrich their lives are all provided for while they’re in the program, so their focus can be on healing. Residential treatment is a larger commitment than an IOP, but it provides a head start toward healing, with coordinated care that ensures consistency.

That said, this does not need to be an either-or process. IOP programs are also a great way to transition out of residential treatment, while still maintaining consistency in a treatment plan, which can be crucial to ensuring long-term healing. When you’re considering residential treatment centers for mental health, it is always worth asking about IOP programs that you can enter after residential treatment ends. THIRA Health specifically offers multiple stages of care, so you know you’ll have consistent support whatever your treatment needs may be.

Residential treatment with a comprehensive DBT program

THIRA Health’s adult residential treatment program for mental health incorporates the strong mental health recovery structure of DBT into a program that provides expert medical care. The comprehensive program includes:

• Individual therapy sessions
• Daily DBT skills groups
• Personalized treatment plans
• Psychiatric medication management
• Nutrition and physical health support
• Expressive arts and mindfulness
• Family engagement

If you’re ready to offer yourself the space to fully focus on your mental health, or if you have more questions about the residential treatment program at THIRA Health, connect with us today. We are ready to help and can provide you with guidance for every step of your recovery journey.