Adolescents & Children >
Partial Hospitalization Program

Acadia Abilene offers a unique Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for children ages 5-18. The Child and Adolescent PHP is designed to meet the specific needs of our younger patients, and can be accessed at several levels on our continuum of care:

  1. As a stand-alone option, whereby children can enter the PHP directly with a qualifying diagnosis;
  2. As a step-down from inpatient hospitalization; or
  3. As a step up from Intensive Outpatient (IOP) therapy or outpatient counseling.

PHP patients attend programming Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There are a minimum of four group sessions held each day, but typically patients will attend six group sessions each day. A minimum of two of these sessions are group therapy sessions, which are led by licensed, masters-level therapists, and the other sessions are educational in nature and are taught by registered nurses or other qualified staff. The program is designed to assist individuals in developing coping skills in order to handle issues they face in a healthy way. Topics vary and may include coping skills, conflict resolution, chemical dependency, socialization, anger and stress management, play therapies, and relaxation techniques. The patient will have a weekly visit with his or her attending psychiatrist, and individual and family therapy are also included at the attending physician's discretion.