Levels of care

Mental health levels of care, explained

Mental health treatment is organized into levels, from a weekly therapy appointment to living inside a treatment program. The differences come down to how many hours of care you receive, how closely you are monitored, and whether you sleep at home.

This page is educational, not a recommendation.No website can tell you which level of care you need. Placement decisions require an evaluation by a qualified professional who can review your history, current symptoms, safety, and supports.

In crisis right now? Call 911 if someone is in immediate danger, or call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. See all crisis resources.

Compare the five levels

Comparison of mental health levels of care
Level	Lives at home	Intensity	Monitoring	Typically for
Outpatient	Yes	Lowest	Usually none between appointments	People who are safe, managing daily responsibilities, and working on symptoms that respond to regular therapy and, when appropriate, medication.
IOP	Yes	Moderate	Regular clinical contact; prescriber on the team	People for whom weekly therapy is not holding, or who are stepping down from PHP, inpatient, or residential care.
PHP	Yes	High during the day	Daily clinical contact and psychiatric oversight	People who need hospital-level structure during the day but are safe overnight at home, and people stepping down from inpatient care.
Inpatient	No — overnight stay in a hospital unit	Highest, and briefest	24-hour nursing and medical supervision	People at immediate risk of harming themselves or someone else, or who cannot function safely because of acute psychiatric symptoms.
Residential	No — the person lives at the program	High and sustained	On-site staff around the clock; medical intensity below hospital level	People who have not improved at lower levels of care, or whose home environment makes recovery unrealistic right now.

Not sure how these levels apply to your situation?Residential care is the level families ask about most often. Our guide explains when residential treatment may be considered — and when it is not the right first step.

Read about each level

Standard outpatient care

Standard outpatient care is the level most people start with: scheduled appointments with a therapist, a prescriber, or both, while continuing to live at home and keep up with work, school, and family.

Intensive outpatient program (IOP)

An intensive outpatient program adds structure to outpatient care: several hours of group and individual treatment, multiple days a week, while the person continues living at home.

Partial hospitalization program (PHP)

A partial hospitalization program is the most intensive level of care in which a person still sleeps at home — a full weekday of structured clinical treatment, five days a week.

Inpatient psychiatric care

Inpatient psychiatric care is short-term hospital treatment for people in acute crisis. Its purpose is stabilization and safety, not long-term therapy.

Residential mental-health treatment

Residential treatment is live-in care in a non-hospital setting: 24-hour support and a full daily clinical schedule, for people who are not in acute crisis but cannot make progress while living at home.

How placement decisions are usually made

Clinicians generally recommend the least restrictive level of care that can keep a person safe and produce meaningful progress. In practice, the decision weighs current safety, symptom severity, how much support exists at home, response to previous treatment, and any co-occurring medical or substance-use conditions. Insurance medical-necessity criteria also shape what a plan will authorize.

People move between levels in both directions. Stepping down from inpatient to PHP to IOP to outpatient is common, and stepping up when symptoms worsen is normal rather than a failure.