Thrive IOP: An Alternative To Hospitalization
Oakwood’s Intensive Outpatient Program
Thrive IOP vs. In-Patient Hospitalization
However, some individuals are in a middle zone in which they are not actively suicidal, but they need more support than weekly therapy. The Thrive Intensive Outpatient (IOP) program was created to meet that specific need, specifically for college students.
The Thrive IOP is a powerful therapeutic model that provides the care and support students need while allowing them to continue with their daily academic and social lives on campus.
According the the National College Health Assessment, 73 percent of college students reported moderate to severe psychological distress in 2023. With Texas A&M, Sam Houston State, and Blinn college having a combined student population of 110,000, it can be estimated that up to 80,000 students in the Brazos Valley are at-risk for requiring more extensive psychological and academic support.
In both 2023 and 2024, Forbes conducted studies ranking states according to access to mental health care. Both years, Texas fell at 50 of 50, making it the most difficult state to access mental health care services. In the Brazos Valley, outpatient mental health care providers are typically booked many months out, limiting student access to longer-term weekly therapy.
Intensive Outpatient Program Workflow
Students are onboarded via an intensive clinical interview and psychosocial assessment. Formal assessment measures include the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory and the SPECTRA Indices of Psychopathology.
Students participate in three, three-hour group sessions per week. An additional, fourth “make-up” session is offered when scheduling conflicts arise. Session content is based in dialectic- behavior therapy, and includes both mental health and academic components.
Students participate in individual therapy one hour weekly. Therapy sessions are facilitated by the group therapy facilitator,
allowing students the opportunity to truly personalize the learning.
Thrive staff provide liason services between the student, relevant medical health care providers and relevant academic advisors at their college.
Has Demonstrated Potential
Students who will be successful in the Thrive IOP have already demonstrated academic potential in that they have been accepted into their college or university. The Thrive IOP will support that academic potential by providing both psychological and academic support.
Has Demonstrated Desire
The fact that any student would actively seek additional support with their mental wellness speaks to demonstrated initiative to maximize their living. While the Thrive IOP is not an ideal program for students whose presenting issue is substance abuse related, the program will offer vast benefit to those students whose primary needs are rooted in anxiety and depression.
The ideal client for the Thrive IOP is the undergraduate or graduate college student with the
potential to achieve both behavioral and academic success given the appropriate support.
