Another Option for Children Needing More Intensive Outpatient Therapy

The Enhanced Outpatient Mental Health Therapy Program, part of the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s, started in 2025 as a short-term, intermediate behavioral health treatment option—falling in between general outpatient care and partial hospitalization.

For four to five weeks, children and adolescents ages 6-18 receive brief, targeted and intensive interventions. The goal is to reduce specific symptoms quickly before a family continues care with an ongoing outpatient provider or starts with a new provider.

“With enhanced outpatient care, we can meet more frequently with patients and families than in a typical outpatient setting,” says Matthew Maley, PsyD, staff psychologist and clinical lead for the program. “But having two or more sessions per week instead of daily sessions or longer sessions often makes this program more accessible for families than traditional intensive outpatient programs (IOPs).”

Evidence-Based Interventions—More Often

Patients participating in the Enhanced Outpatient Mental Health Therapy Program meet with their therapist at least two times each week for up to five weeks. Depending on the patient’s presenting concerns, the family may also join group therapy.

The program uses these evidence-based therapies:

• For anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Exposure therapy; Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP); Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) skills; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); and mindfulness
• For depression: Behavioral activation and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• For behavior: Barkley Model; Containment, Awareness, Resilience and Engagement (CARE); and Regulating Together skills

Providing evidence-based interventions more often can help improve how children and teens manage their daily lives and emotions with the support of their caregiver(s). After identifying a goal to work on during treatment, patients and families learn and practice new skills during sessions and at home.

Participant Criteria

Typically, enhanced outpatient therapy is most beneficial for patients who don’t quite meet the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) criteria but need something more intense and more frequent to return to a functioning level before they go back to their outpatient provider.

The program is usually appropriate when:

• The patient (ages 6-18) has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, depression or behavioral concerns (other than physical aggression).
• The family is motivated to participate and able to attend multiple sessions per week.
• There is urgency to the referral, such as the patient showing moderate to severe symptoms, causing functional impairment (for example, not attending school or ineffective interactions with caregivers).
• There is not an immediate risk of death by suicide.

Meeting the Needs of Families Experiencing Distress

Previous intensive outpatient programs have existed at Cincinnati Children’s, but in April 2025, experts teamed up to rebuild the program in a way that met the needs of families more effectively. At first, the Enhanced Outpatient Mental Health Therapy Program focused primarily on those with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In August 2025, it expanded to include depression, emotional regulation and behavioral concerns.

In August 2026, the program will pilot a Regulating Together group for patients ages 8-12 and their caregivers, which may become an ongoing offering.

“This program exists to help patients and families who are experiencing distress,” says Dr. Maley. “We’re here to build as much momentum and skills as we can in five weeks.”

For more information or to refer a patient:
Call the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology (BMCP) at 513-636-8107 or enter a referral using AMB REQ FOR ENHANCED OUTPATIENT (FORMERLY IOP) through EPIC.

(Published June 2026)

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