session at newcircle with clients

What is a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)?

An eating disorder PHP is a day treatment program designed for individuals who need more support than an IOP but do not require 24/7 residential care. It offers a comprehensive schedule of therapeutic services—typically six hours per day, five days a week —with a focus on restoring stability, building coping skills, and reinforcing recovery.

Each personalized care plan may include individual and group therapy, family counseling, medication management, expressive therapies, and supported meals. Our experienced team—psychiatrists, nurses, therapists, dietitians, and case managers—works together to guide your healing every step of the way.

What to expect in PHP care

While each day is personalized to meet your goals, a typical PHP schedule may include:

  • Individual therapy and weekly psychiatric check-ins
  • Skills-based group therapy (DBT, CBT, body image, emotion regulation)
  • Family therapy and caregiver support (as needed)
  • Creative or movement-based therapy groups
  • Supported meals and snacks—some at our center, some at home
  • Ongoing coordination with your care team and case management

Meals are an essential part of PHP. Some will be supported onsite with a registered dietitian or therapist; others will be done at home, giving you space to apply the skills you’re building in a real-life setting.

music class at newcircle

Benefits of Eating Disorder PHP treatment

Structured, Daytime Support

Receive the intensity of residential care with the flexibility to return home each evening.

Individualized Treatment Plans

Your treatment is tailored to your needs, goals, and progress. No one-size-fits-all care.

Family & Community Integration

Stay connected to your support network and begin practicing skills in the real world.

Inclusive, Affirming Care

Our adolescent and adult tracks are LGBTQ+ affirming, inclusive of all genders and identities, and culturally responsive.

Interdisciplinary Team Approach

Receive care from psychiatrists, nurses, therapists, dietitians, and case managers working as a team.

Holistic and Expressive Therapies

Art, yoga, dance/movement, music, ceramics, and other experiential therapies designed to support whole-person healing.

Finding stability without stepping away

You don’t have to leave your life behind to receive the support you need. PHP provides the structure of intensive care and the flexibility to begin rebuilding your life at your own pace. At NewCircle, we offer compassionate, evidence-based care in a welcoming environment.

How it works

Admissions & Assessment

We begin with a thorough intake process to understand your history, needs, and current situation. This helps us develop a personalized PHP plan that supports your next steps.

Active Treatment

You’ll attend treatment, 5 days per week, for a minimum of 5 weeks (or longer, depending on your needs and insurance coverage). Programming includes therapy, supported meals, and experiential activities.

Step-Down & Aftercare

As you progress, we’ll work with you to step down to IOP or outpatient therapy. Discharge planning begins early and includes relapse prevention, referrals to therapists, and ongoing support options.

What happens after PHP?

Recovery continues long after your last PHP session. As you transition to lower levels of care, our team ensures you feel supported and prepared for what’s next—whether it’s IOP, weekly outpatient therapy, or continued nutritional and psychiatric care.

We’ll help you build a personalized aftercare plan that may include follow-up appointments, support groups, or resources to provide daily structure and emotional support. You won’t be walking this path alone

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NewCircle Reviews

“After my whole life of never being sure I could get help, this place blew me out of the water. I have fully graduated out of the program and my life is forever changed. All of the staff are amazing individuals who are there to really change lives. The facility is beautiful and has so many amazing qualities that it would take me pages to describe them. If you need help, I HIGHLY recommend here!”

– Residential Alumni, NewCircle
Date: 1/6/2026

“New Circle really did change my life for the better. I completed two months of Res and a month of PHP. The RC’s (especially Timmy) are fantastic and wonderful. Larry is the best intake coordinator in the WORLD (so kind and communicative!). The clinicians helped me work through so many struggles and to build a support system at home. This treatment program is SO individualized; it is able to meet the needs of so many individuals. There are so many things I could say, so I will leave it on this note…. If you are considering coming to New Circle, yes. Come, without a doubt. I am in a larger body, and that did not negatively impact my treatment whatsoever. I felt very accepted by staff. After struggling with my eating disorder from early childhood into adulthood, I’m finally able to see a life for myself without bulimia.”

– Residential & PHP Alumni, NewCircle
Date: 3/10/2026

“I would suggest this program to anybody struggling with an eating disorder. This program is so supportive and positive the people who work here really care about their jobs and the effect they have on others. From therapists all the way to nursing, everyone here is amazing!! If you’re struggling in any way, please call NewCircle.”

– Program Alumni, NewCircle
Date: 2/20/2026

Frequently asked questions

A partial hospitalization program is designed for people who need more support than a few therapy sessions a week can provide, but who are medically stable enough to return home or to supportive housing each evening. That might mean someone who has just completed residential treatment and is ready to practice recovery with a little more independence, or someone coming directly into partial hospitalization because their situation calls for intensive daily structure without full-time residential care. It’s also a strong option for people who have been managing an eating disorder in outpatient treatment and finding that it isn’t holding. If you’re not sure whether PHP is the right fit, that’s exactly the kind of question our admissions team is here to think through with you. Let’s figure it out together. →

For most people, partial hospitalization is a full-time commitment during the program. At six hours a day, five days a week, it’s designed to be the primary focus of your days — not something you schedule around a job or a full course load. That said, some clients are able to manage limited responsibilities in the evenings, and our team will work with you honestly about what’s realistic given where you are in recovery. For teens, we coordinate with schools so that academic progress doesn’t have to stop during treatment. If work or school continuity is a significant concern for you, it’s worth raising in your admissions conversation so we can talk through what the partial hospitalization schedule actually looks like and what might be possible. Talk through the logistics with us. →

Days in partial hospitalization are structured and full, but they’re built around recovery — not just schedules. A typical day runs about six hours and includes individual therapy, skills-based group sessions covering areas like emotional regulation, body image, and relapse prevention, and supported meals and snacks with our registered dietitian team on site. Creative and movement-based therapies — art, music, ceramics, yoga, dance — are woven into the week alongside psychiatric check-ins and case management. At the end of the day you return home or to supportive housing, which is an intentional part of the partial hospitalization program — it gives you the space to start applying what you’re building in a real-life setting before the support of the next day begins. No two days are identical, but you’ll always know what to expect. Explore what our programs involve →

No. While many of our partial hospitalization clients are stepping down from residential treatment, PHP is also a starting point for people who need intensive support but don’t require 24/7 care. Some clients come directly into partial hospitalization after an assessment determines it’s the right level. Others arrive from outpatient settings where progress has stalled. The level of care that’s right for you is determined by your clinical picture — not by a sequence you have to follow. If you’re wondering whether you can start with partial hospitalization, that’s a straightforward question our admissions team can answer quickly. One call clears it up. →

The main differences between PHP vs IOP are hours and intensity. Partial hospitalization runs approximately six hours a day, five days a week — it’s a full-day commitment that provides a high level of structure and clinical support. IOP is less intensive, typically running three to four hours a day, three to four days a week, making it more compatible with work, school, or other daily responsibilities. Both programs include therapy, nutrition support, and skills-based group work. A partial hospitalization program is the right fit when someone needs a higher level of daily structure and clinical oversight. IOP works well for people who have built enough stability to manage more independently. Many clients move from partial hospitalization to IOP as a natural step-down in their recovery. Learn about our IOP program →

Yes. Meals and snacks are a central part of partial hospitalization, not an afterthought. One to two meals or snacks are supported on site each day with our registered dietitian team and therapeutic staff present. The rest are practiced at home — intentionally, because learning to navigate eating in your own environment is part of what the partial hospitalization program is designed to build. Supported meals at NewCircle aren’t clinical or sterile. They happen in a warm, comfortable setting with people around you who understand what mealtimes can feel like and how to help. Reach out to learn more about what nutrition support looks like. →

Yes. Co-occurring conditions are the norm rather than the exception in eating disorder treatment — anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and trauma are part of the picture for a significant number of our partial hospitalization clients. Our integrated team includes psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed therapists who address co-occurring conditions as part of the same care plan, not as a separate track you have to manage elsewhere. We use EMDR for trauma processing, DBT for emotional regulation, and build each person’s plan around the full combination of what they’re carrying — not just the eating disorder in isolation.

For most clients, the natural next step after partial hospitalization is our Intensive Outpatient Program — continuing the therapeutic work at a less intensive level while taking on more of daily life. Discharge planning begins early in the partial hospitalization program, not at the end, so by the time you’re ready to transition you’ll have a clear and realistic aftercare plan built with your team. That plan may include IOP, ongoing outpatient therapy, nutrition follow-up, family support, and connections to local providers. The goal is that you leave partial hospitalization with more than just progress — you leave with a map for what comes next. Learn about our IOP program →

Yes. NewCircle’s partial hospitalization program serves adolescents starting at age 13 in a track that is completely separate from our adult program. Teen PHP includes developmentally appropriate group therapy, family involvement built into the structure, coordination with schools to support academic continuity, and a clinical approach that accounts for the specific ways eating disorders present and function in adolescence. Parents and caregivers are an active part of the process throughout. Learn about adolescent eating disorder treatment →

Yes. Eating disorder partial hospitalization is a covered benefit under many major insurance plans. Our admissions team will verify your benefits before you make any decisions, explain exactly what your coverage means in plain language, and handle the coordination on our end. You don’t need to navigate insurance alone — that’s part of what we do. Verification takes about two minutes. Check your coverage now or call us and we’ll walk through it together. →

It is. We believe that everyone who needs care deserves to receive it in a place where they feel genuinely safe and respected — not just accommodated. Our team reflects a range of backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences, and we’ve built dedicated programming for LGBTQ and BIPOC communities because we know that identity shapes the experience of an eating disorder, and it should shape the experience of treatment too. Whoever you are and wherever you’re coming from, there is a place for you here.

Most clients participate in partial hospitalization for a minimum of five weeks, though the actual length depends on clinical progress, individual needs, and insurance coverage. The partial hospitalization program isn’t a fixed track with a predetermined endpoint — it’s something we reassess throughout based on how things are going and what makes sense for your recovery. Some clients move through in five to six weeks. Others benefit from a longer stay before stepping down to IOP. What we can tell you is that the timeline will always be honest, transparent, and built around what’s actually right for you.

Sources

    1. National Eating Disorders Association. (n.d.). Treatment: Levels of care. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/levels-of-care/
    2. National Institute of Mental Health. (2024). Eating disorders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders
    3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2017). Eating disorders: Recognition and treatment (NICE Guideline NG69). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng69
    4. Mayo Clinic. (2023). Eating disorders — Diagnosis and treatment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-disorders/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353609
    5. Academy for Eating Disorders. (n.d.). Medical care standards guide. https://www.aedweb.org/resources/publications/medical-care-standards
    6. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (n.d.). Eating disorders. https://www.eatright.org/health/diseases-and-conditions/eating-disorders
    7. American Art Therapy Association. (n.d.). About art therapy. https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/
    8. American Music Therapy Association. (n.d.). What is music therapy? https://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/
    9. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2023). Eating disorders. https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Eating-Disorders
    10. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2011). Teenagers with eating disorders. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Teenagers-With-Eating-Disorders-002.aspx