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Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Sacramento in Sacramento, CA

Structured mental health treatment that fits around your life. Our intensive outpatient program gives adults across Greater Sacramento several hours of therapy a few days a week while you continue living at home.

An intensive outpatient program, or IOP, is a level of care that sits between weekly therapy and full-day treatment. You attend structured sessions, typically a few days a week for a few hours at a time, while living at home and keeping up with work, school, or family. IOP is a step up from standard outpatient therapy for people who need more support than a single weekly session, and a step down for people transitioning out of residential or partial hospitalization care. For adults across Greater Sacramento and Placer County, it offers real clinical structure without stepping away from daily life.

Who an IOP Is For

Adults 18 and older whose symptoms need more than weekly therapy
People stepping down from a partial hospitalization or residential program
Those who need structure and accountability but can safely live at home
People balancing treatment with work, school, or family responsibilities

How IOP Compares to Other Levels of Care

Matching the level of care to what you actually need is the point of a continuum. The table below shows where IOP fits.

Level	Time commitment	Lives at home?
Outpatient therapy	About 1 hour a week	Yes
Intensive outpatient (IOP)	About 9 to 12 hours a week	Yes
Partial hospitalization (PHP)	About 25 to 30 hours a week	Yes
Residential	24 hours a day	No, you live on site

For a fuller breakdown, see our guide to the levels of mental health care.

For adults who need more than day treatment, see our residential mental health treatment in Sacramento. Placer County residents can also explore mental health treatment in Roseville.

Related Conditions

Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Substance use disorder involves a pattern of substance use that causes significant impairment or distress, often co-occurring with mental health conditions.

PTSD Treatment

Post-traumatic stress disorder develops after exposure to traumatic events and involves intrusive memories, hyperarousal, avoidance, and negative mood shifts.

Schizophrenia Treatment

Schizophrenia involves persistent symptoms across positive (hallucinations, delusions), negative (flat affect, withdrawal), and cognitive domains.

Schizoaffective Disorder Treatment

Schizoaffective disorder combines features of schizophrenia (psychotic symptoms) with significant mood symptoms (depressive or bipolar).

Personality Disorder Treatment

Personality disorders are persistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that significantly impact relationships, work, and self-concept.

Psychotic Disorder Treatment

Psychotic disorders involve disruptions in thinking, perception, and reality-testing — including hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thought patterns.

Other Conditions Treated

Beyond named diagnoses, residential mental health care can support adults with adjustment disorders, acute stress reactions, and complex co-occurring patterns.

OCD Treatment

Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors or mental acts that can consume hours of each day.

Mood Disorder Treatment

Mood disorders are conditions that primarily affect emotional state, including depression, bipolar disorder, and related diagnoses.

Persistent Depressive Disorder Treatment

Persistent depressive disorder is chronic depression lasting two years or more — often less acute than major depression but more pervasive.

Major Depressive Disorder Treatment

Major depressive disorder involves episodes of severe depressive symptoms lasting two weeks or longer, often recurring across the lifespan.

Depressive Disorder Treatment

Depressive disorders involve persistent low mood, loss of interest, and shifts in sleep, energy, and the capacity to function.

Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment

Co-occurring disorders — also called dual diagnosis — describe living with both a mental health condition and a substance use disorder at the same time.

Bipolar Disorder Treatment

Bipolar disorder involves shifts between depressive and elevated mood states that can disrupt sleep, judgment, and daily functioning.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental condition affecting communication, sensory processing, and social interaction in adults.

Social Anxiety Treatment

Social anxiety disorder is the persistent fear of being judged or scrutinized in social situations — strong enough to shape work, relationships, and daily choices.

Anxiety Disorder Treatment

Anxiety disorders involve persistent, excessive worry and physical tension that interfere with sleep, work, and daily functioning.

Adult ADHD Treatment

Adult ADHD affects attention, planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation across work, relationships, and daily life.

Our Treatment Approach

What Treatment Includes

An IOP delivers many of the same evidence-based components as higher levels of care, in a schedule you can sustain from home.

Group therapy that builds skills and connection
Individual therapy focused on your specific goals
Evidence-based approaches including CBT and DBT skills
Psychiatric medication management where appropriate
Family involvement when it supports your care
Relapse-prevention and coping-skills work

Every plan starts with a comprehensive assessment so the focus fits your situation.

Explore Treatment Approaches

Trauma-Informed Therapy

Trauma-informed therapy creates the safety and structure needed to address post-traumatic stress, complex trauma, and related conditions.

Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention focuses on identifying triggers, building coping strategies, and maintaining long-term recovery after intensive treatment.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy supports deeper work on the patterns underneath mental health symptoms through individual and group sessions.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational interviewing is a client-centered approach that helps resolve ambivalence about behavioral change, often used in substance use treatment.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Mindfulness-based stress reduction trains attention and present-moment awareness as a counterweight to anxious rumination.

Life Skills

Life skills programming supports adults in rebuilding routines, executive function, and daily-living competencies that mental health symptoms have disrupted.

Holistic Therapy

Holistic therapy supports nervous-system regulation alongside clinical work through yoga, music, movement, and mindfulness practices.

Family Program

Family programming supports family members through education, communication coaching, and structured sessions during a loved one's residential treatment.

Exposure and Response Prevention

Exposure and response prevention is the gold-standard treatment for OCD — gradually exposing the individual to feared situations while preventing the compulsive response.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical behavior therapy combines cognitive techniques with mindfulness skills to support emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Comprehensive Assessment

Comprehensive assessment identifies the specific mental health conditions, co-occurring concerns, and treatment history needed to build a personalized care plan.

Behavior Modification

Behavior modification uses structured techniques to identify, replace, and reinforce behavioral patterns affecting mental health and daily functioning.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy focuses on values-driven action rather than fighting difficult thoughts and feelings head-on.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Accelerated resolution therapy uses eye movements and imagery techniques to help process traumatic memories — often achieving results in fewer sessions than EMDR.

Why Choose the Mental Health Treatment and Stabilization Center of Sacramento

Why Choose Our IOP

Our program treats adults across Greater Sacramento and Placer County with structured, evidence-based care led by our clinical team. We admit and treat directly rather than routing you through a referral chain, we coordinate therapy and medication in one plan, and we build a clear step-up or step-down path so your level of care always matches where you are. When an IOP is the right fit, it gives you momentum you can carry into daily life.

Next Steps

Where you are in this matters. Find the path that fits where you are right now.

If you're ready to talk

A 15-minute call with our admissions team is the fastest way to get clarity. We’ll cover symptoms, fit, coverage, and timeline.

Call (916) 527-9606

If you're not sure residential treatment is right

Many people start by sitting with the question of whether residential care is the right next step. A comprehensive clinical assessment is the most reliable way to find out — it maps the diagnostic picture, severity, any co-occurring conditions, and the level of care that actually fits.

Learn how the comprehensive assessment works

If you're researching for a loved one

Bringing residential treatment into a family conversation is hard. Start by meeting the clinical team who would actually treat your loved one, and seeing how admissions handles family involvement.

Meet our clinical team

Coverage and Payment

Sacramento Mental Health works with families to make residential mental health care accessible. Call (916) 527-9606 to discuss coverage and payment options with our admissions team.

See What Our Clients are Saying

      EXCELLENT  
   Based on 5 reviews 
    
 
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Bryan W 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This program changed my life I can’t lie.. I was there before this last time because I kept messing around and I didn’t care to much about the program, but this last time I came back something clicked while I was there and tbh I couldn’t have done it without any of the staff there, the clients, or the great environment they provide. They typically ask in surveys, “how likely are you to recommend this to a friend” and my answer is YES.. 11/10 if I could help someone prevent going through what I did, I would. And this program is THE BEST place to do that.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Raven � 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had a great time at MHC SAC! i was able to come off the streets and learn to live like a real person again. The staff really pushed me every day to do better. I think they believed in me more than I believe in myself. They helped me feel at home, but kept me just enough out of my comfort zone to keep improving. Shout out to Sharon and Noelle for being great mentors and always helping me get closer to my needs and goals.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Justin R 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I sent my family member to mental health treatment and stabilization center of San Diego. They have been to multiple facilities in Sacramento and Southern California inthe past. The team and facility was exactly what my family member needed. He was there for 43 days and then transferred to an outpatient. This was the best mental health treatment facility me and my family have dealt with. Not only with stabilizing her psychosis and getting her on the right medications. Then finding an aftercare facility that fit her needs in the area she was looking for. I would highly recommend this facility for those that need help.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Errl L 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had a friend who was going through a crisis and referred them to this facility. Even though they were reluctant, the staff there (Keith and Noel) made the process great. They were communicative and welcoming and the facility was very nice. My friend told me he is waking up for the first time in the mornings with hope instead dreading the day. Highly recommend to anyone needing mental health treatment and was convenient they were in Roseville because we couldn’t find any other facilities for Placer County.

Tour Our Facility

The work described on this page happens in a real place. Our 6-bed residential facility in Roseville is built around the principle that residential mental health treatment should feel residential — not institutional. Tour the spaces where the daily clinical work, group programming, and wellness practices actually take place.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an intensive outpatient program?

An intensive outpatient program (IOP) is a structured level of mental health care in which you attend therapy several hours a day, a few days a week, while living at home. It offers more support than weekly therapy and is often used as a step up from outpatient care or a step down from residential or partial hospitalization treatment.

How many hours per week is an IOP?

An IOP typically involves about 9 to 12 hours of structured treatment per week, spread across a few days. The exact schedule depends on your needs and the program. This makes it possible to continue working, attending school, or caring for family while in treatment.

How is IOP different from PHP?

Both are structured outpatient levels of care, but a partial hospitalization program (PHP) is more intensive, involving most of the day, most days of the week. An IOP involves fewer hours and offers more flexibility, which makes it a common step down from PHP.

Can I work while in an IOP?

Yes. One of the main advantages of an IOP is that its part-time schedule is designed to fit around work, school, and family. Many people attend sessions in the morning or evening and continue their daily responsibilities.

Does an IOP treat co-occurring conditions?

Yes. Our IOP addresses co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, and substance use in an integrated way, because treating them together produces better results than addressing them one at a time.

Get Treatment for Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in Sacramento in Sacramento, CA

If you need more than weekly therapy but can safely live at home, an intensive outpatient program may be the right fit. Call (916) 527-9606 to discuss coverage and payment options, or to request a clinical assessment.

Medically Reviewed By

Dr. Bonnie J. Mitchell DBH, LPCC

Dr. Bonnie Mitchell is a behavioral health leader, clinician, and advocate dedicated to expanding access to compassionate, evidence-based mental health and substance use treatment. She earned her Doctor of Behavioral Health degree from Arizona State University in 2018, holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling for Mental Health, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in California. Throughout her career, Dr. Mitchell has served in executive and clinical leadership roles including Executive Director, Regional Clinical Director, and C-suite behavioral health executive.

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