Frequently asked questions

At MindWork Group, our focus is on people’s capacity to learn, grow, and be in relationship with others by developing a mind capable of working with other people. This requires:

• Neuropsychiatric stability

• Emotional Regulation

• Mentalization

• Mental flexibility

• Grieving Capacity

We achieve this through various psychotherapeutic approaches, therapeutic community, and necessary medical intervention. Rather than an exclusive focus on symptoms, we see developing capacity in the areas of thought, relationships, and the world as the true goals of treatment. While this sometimes follows from symptom reduction, people who have had long periods of illness, trauma, substance abuse, or developmental issues may need much more to be able to lead satisfying lives.

In addition to offering psychiatric treatment and psychotherapy, MindWork offers an Intensive Outpatient Program, or IOP. That means that our patients don’t live at our facility as full-time patients. Rather, we work around our patients’ life commitments so that we can guide them through their recovery processes while they can maintain their obligations at home and at work. Please note that we do offer a supportive housing option.

You’ll spend several hours a day at our facility. We’ll work together closely and intensively to: understand your ​triggers and your relationships, examine how you deal with stressors, regulate your anxiety, manage any pain, set acceptable boundaries within your relationships, make more healthy life choices and develop coping skills.

There are several types of people who are ideal candidates for an intensive outpatient program:

• You’ve already been to a residential treatment facility, but need a bit more support to prevent relapse.

• You know you need substantial help, but you haven’t quite hit rock bottom yet. Treatment in your community has not led to sufficient improvement, resulting in ongoing disability or poor functioning.

• You feel stuck or have plateaued in outpatient treatment.

• You have a strong support system at home and work to help you remain in recovery.

• You’re a busy professional, or you run your own business and it’s not feasible to take the time off to attend a residential program.

• You prefer a comfortable setting with smaller groups and more individual attention.

• You do not require 24 hour nursing care.

• You prefer to live at home or in a hotel rather than a hospital to access more intensive treatment.

• You would prefer to spend weekends at home rather than in a hospital or residential treatment center.

• You want treatment recommendations to be made between our treatment team and the patient/family without the interference of third party payers or insurance companies.

• You would like a comprehensive evaluation and treatment recommendation as a second opinion or consultation to help your current treaters.

• You prefer to have intensive outpatient treatment that includes several hours of 1:1 therapy a week in addition to group therapy with experienced leaders and vetted peers.

Choosing the correct level of care is critical in getting appropriate and successful care. In broad terms levels of care include:

Inpatient: A locked unit at a hospital for people who are not safely treated in the community. This is appropriate if someone is intent on hurting themselves or their thinking is so disorganized that they can't take care of their basic needs in the community. Stays at this level of care are generally 3-5 days and focus entirely on addressing acute safety concerns and discharging people from this level of care as quickly as possible. Close observation and 24 hour nursing care are provided as well as daily contact with a physician or nurse practitioner.

Residential: An unlocked therapeutic setting for people who have severe illnesses that cannot be managed on an outpatient basis but who are not so acutely ill that they need the containment and observation of a locked inpatient unit. Stays at this level of care tend to last weeks-months rather than days and give a treatment team the time to get to know people intimately enough to actually address underlying causes of illness. Being out of the home environment is necessary for many who have difficult family situations or maladaptive behaviors that cannot be managed at home such as eating disorders, severe substance use disorders, OCD or PTSD.

Psychotherapeutic Intensive Outpatient Treatment (PIOP): A treatment setting for people who would benefit from residential care, but who can manage their maladaptive behaviors safely in the community. There are several hours a day of programming including group therapy with skilled practitioners and individual therapy, art therapy, family therapy, and the healing of being in a therapeutic community. Groups are kept smaller and practitioners have ample staff time to discuss cases. Stays at this level of care tend to last weeks to months.

Partial Hospital Program (PHP) /Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP) Several hours a day of treatment provided to people who are living in the community while they attend daily groups. Length of stays tend to be shorter (days to weeks) as the focus is more medical and psychoeducational than psychotherapeutic. Groups tend to be larger and are often not led by psychotherapists. These programs tend to be step-downs from inpatient programs at the same institution.

Outpatient: People seeing practitioners in their offices or virtually from home. While there are folks who have stabilized in their treatment and have a good connection with their providers, for many others the care is fragmented and visits are infrequent. When there are multiple practitioners involved, communication is often challenged or absent altogether. Many times, patients may benefit from more frequent visits or more intensive outpatient psychotherapy, but these options are not available or not accessible.

This is much more difficult than it should be. The credentialing bodies really are looking at the minimums and programs are graded on a pass/fail basis. Programs can experience significant changes with management and/or staff turnover such that a program can be great one month and poor the next. Even places with great reputations overall can have ups and downs.

Generally nonprofits tend to be better than for-profit entities. It's often the case that a for-profit company will buy a nonprofit with a good reputation and fire a huge number of staff members and change the ethos such that profit comes before people. Insurance companies and for-profit companies exist to make money, not take care of people.

Online reviews are not a great way to choose a program. In behavioral health generally only the most dissatisfied people post anything at all, and there are many complicated reasons why patients leave programs without getting their desired results. Programs are unable to respond due to confidentiality rules while unhappy patients can say whatever they want. Happy customers are generally grateful yet quiet, as they complete their treatment and move forward.

When you look at a program’s website, see if there are bios of all or majority of the staff. You may also inquire if the staff listings are up to date on the website. A place that won't promote its staff is likely a place with high turnover.

Beware online clearinghouses that will find a program for you. Some of them literally have someone in the background shopping your case to places while you are on the phone and they sell you to the highest bidder.

If you can talk to a person who was at a program within the last few months that's amazing, but this is of course rare. Sometimes you can ask to talk to a recent patient. Often places will promote testimonials of satisfied patients.

Talking to local practitioners who have some knowledge of a place but don't work for them is also a great way to get a read on a program. Your outpatient treater should be able to reach out to their professional network and do some of this legwork.

Ask about the level of experience of the staff. Younger staff, recently out of training, can do good work, but they need the support of more experienced practitioners working alongside them. If the bulk of people providing care are in their first year or two out of graduate school or residency, this can mean high turnover or lack of importance placed on experience and wisdom in the profession.

Take a tour of the facility if you can. Is it modern and comfortable or dingy and overcrowded?

Yes! Please check out our “meet our staff” page.

Our psychiatrists will be able to review your medication regimen, offer consultation, and prescribe medications as appropriate.

• Psychiatric consultation

• Psychotherapy

• Psychoanalysis

• Medication management

• Professional consultation and supervision

• Substance use disorder treatment

Everyone has an array of emotions coming into treatment. Often people are anxious, excited, sad, relieved, irritable, or even angry. Meeting new people and having to learn the routines of a new situation are difficult under the best of circumstances, but people entering treatment are never at their best making this transition even more challenging. Many people are afraid. Of trying new things, of letting go of old ways of coping, or of facing hard truths they have been trying to avoid or forget. We understand this and will do our best to make your entry into MindWork group a positive, generative experience.

You will meet the key members of your treatment team on day one including your psychiatrist, primary therapist and family therapist. You will be oriented to the program space and routines and meet our administrative staff. On your second day you will attend groups and meet your peers in the program. Patients often report that interactions with peers in group is one of the most transformative elements of the program.