Depression, anxiety, and trauma become much more manageable with the right support, and you do not have to put life on hold to get it. A mental health IOP near Westlake Village brings adults into group and individual therapy with psychiatric care, day or evening, at our welcoming Thousand Oaks center, while you keep living comfortably at home.
DHCS licensed (560078AP) · Joint Commission accredited · LegitScript certified · Most insurance accepted · Medically reviewed by Codie Vassar, MD · Admissions answered 24/7
Which Conditions the Program Treats
This is a mental health intensive outpatient program, built for adults whose main focus is a psychiatric condition rather than substance use. The work centers on easing the symptoms that have been getting in the way, through group therapy, individual sessions, and psychiatric care matched to your diagnosis. It commonly supports people living with:
- Depression that has flattened motivation, sleep, or the ability to function
- Anxiety and panic that keep the body on alert and shrink daily life
- Bipolar disorder and mood swings that need steady structure and medication review
- Trauma and PTSD, including the sleep, memory, and startle symptoms that follow it
If what you are facing is primarily alcohol or drug use, that belongs in a different track: our drug rehab near Westlake Village covers substance use treatment, and the two programs coordinate when both are present.
A Week in the Mental Health IOP
A mental health IOP in the Westlake Village area runs several days a week, about three hours a day in a morning or afternoon block, with more structure than a weekly appointment and a lighter footprint than a partial hospitalization program. Groups meet during the day and through our evening program, so a job or school fits comfortably alongside care. The week blends process and skills groups, one-on-one therapy, and time with the psychiatric team, and your schedule is set at intake and eased back as you feel steadier. You live at home between sessions, where new skills take root in everyday life.
Therapies and Psychiatric Care
Treatment leans on the approaches with the strongest evidence for mood, anxiety, and trauma. Cognitive behavioral therapy reshapes the thought patterns behind depression and worry, dialectical behavior therapy builds skills for steadying intense emotion, and EMDR helps when trauma is part of the picture. Groups and family sessions round out the week where they help. Alongside the therapy, our psychiatric team provides oversight and manages medication for conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder when it is part of the plan, weighed together with you.
How This Level Fits Between PHP and Weekly Therapy
Mental health care runs on a ladder, and IOP sits in the middle of it. A partial hospitalization program fills most of the day for people who want close daily support; a mental health IOP steps that down to about three hours across several days; and standard outpatient therapy is the lighter touch once you are steady. Most people move down the ladder as they improve, and you keep the same clinical team as your level changes, so nothing has to start over when the intensity shifts.
Is a Mental Health IOP Right for You?
This level tends to fit adults whose symptoms need more than a weekly session but who are safe living at home, as well as people stepping down from a hospital stay or a partial hospitalization program who are not ready to drop all structure. It also helps when a recent crisis has passed and you want steady support to build on that progress. We welcome veterans and active-duty service members through our veterans and active-duty program. A quick assessment finds the right starting point for you, whether that is this program or a higher level of care, so you begin exactly where you will do best.
When Substance Use Is Part of the Picture
Mental health conditions and substance use often travel together, and treating only one tends to let the other pull recovery back. When both are present, our dual diagnosis care handles them in one coordinated plan, with the therapist and psychiatric team working from a single record. When alcohol or drug use is the primary concern rather than a secondary one, the right starting point is our drug rehab near Westlake Village, and the admissions team will guide you to whichever fits.
What Your Insurance Covers
Mental health intensive outpatient care is covered by most commercial plans, usually once prior authorization is in place, and our team runs that check for you before day one. Our team works with most major plans, among them UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Optum, Anthem, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield, GEHA, and UMR. Two people can hold the same carrier and still have very different coverage, so we verify your specific benefits first and explain, in plain terms, what your plan does and does not cover before anyone in the Westlake Village area settles on a schedule.
Who Guides Your Treatment
Written by Shelley Woodman, LCSW
Clinical Program Supervisor · Medically reviewed by Codie Vassar, MD, Board-Certified Adult Psychiatrist and Medical Director
Shelley Woodman, LCSW, our Clinical Program Supervisor, leads the therapists who carry the group and individual sessions and wrote this page. It was medically reviewed by our Medical Director, Codie Vassar, MD. Dr. Vassar is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with a background in outpatient psychiatry, psychiatric crisis services, and addiction treatment; he completed his medical degree and psychiatry residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, holds a master's in Clinical Informatics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, belongs to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, spent 15 years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard Medical Corps, and speaks Spanish as a first language. Connect with Dr. Vassar on LinkedIn. Clinical Director Jessica Mahn works alongside psychiatric nurse practitioners Lauren Debski and Gwendolyn Beck on the care team. The program holds California DHCS license 560078AP and Joint Commission accreditation, and it is one part of the wider outpatient rehab in Thousand Oaks we run.
The Drive In From Westlake Village
Our welcoming center sits at 290 Conejo Ridge Avenue in Thousand Oaks, CA 91361, a short and easy 7 to 8 minute drive from Westlake Village. A quick, familiar trip makes it simple to attend several days a week and keep your focus on getting better. We also warmly welcome people from Newbury Park, Oak Park, and across the Conejo Valley. Our team is here on weekdays from 9am to 9pm, with the admissions line answered around the clock, every day. The map below maps the easy route to our Thousand Oaks center from your side of Westlake Village.
Mental Health IOP Questions From Westlake Village
What Conditions Does a Mental Health IOP Treat?
A mental health intensive outpatient program treats adults whose main concern is a psychiatric condition rather than substance use, including depression, anxiety and panic, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress and other trauma, and obsessive-compulsive patterns. The plan is built around your diagnosis and the symptoms getting in the way of daily life.
How Is a Mental Health IOP Different From Seeing a Therapist Weekly?
A weekly session gives you one point of contact a week. A mental health IOP gives you several structured days of group and individual therapy with psychiatric oversight, which is the right intensity when symptoms are heavy, when a weekly hour is no longer holding, or when you are stepping down from a higher level of care.
Can I Work or Study While in the Program?
Usually, yes. Evening groups are built for people who hold a job, attend school, or care for family during the day, and your schedule is set at intake and adjusted as you steady. Keeping your routine going is often part of getting better, not something you set aside for it.
Will I See a Psychiatrist, and Is Medication Required?
You have psychiatric oversight throughout, and our prescribers manage medication for conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder when it helps. Medication is never automatic; it is weighed with you against your diagnosis and history, and many people do well with therapy as the main treatment.
What if I Am Dealing With Substance Use Too?
When a mental health condition and substance use occur together, we treat both at once through coordinated dual diagnosis care rather than one at a time. If substance use is the main thing you are facing, our drug and alcohol rehab program near Westlake Village is the better starting point, and the team will point you there.
Is This Inpatient, or Do I Stay at Home?
You stay at home. A mental health IOP is outpatient: you attend scheduled sessions and return home the same day, with no overnight stay. Lotus provides outpatient care only and does not run detox or residential programs, so if an assessment shows you need a higher level first, we help you arrange it and welcome you in once you are ready.
How Long Does a Mental Health IOP Last?
There is no fixed number of weeks. Most people attend until symptoms ease and they can step down to lighter outpatient care, and the plan is reviewed with you as you progress rather than set to a hard end date. The length follows your recovery, not a calendar.
Do You Have a Mental Health IOP Inside Westlake Village?
The program runs from our Thousand Oaks center at 290 Conejo Ridge Avenue, a short drive from Westlake Village rather than a separate office in the city. People from across the Conejo Valley attend here, which keeps one consistent team and location through the whole program.
Start Mental Health IOP Near Westlake Village
One call gets things moving. Tell us what has been going on, we will confirm your insurance benefits, and we will set a schedule of day or evening groups that fits around work, school, and family. A same-day start is often possible, and someone answers admissions at any hour, day or night.