🏥 Inpatient SW
“We have patients who are ready to discharge, but sometimes the only follow-up we can secure is a therapy or psychiatry appointment weeks out. I worry about how they’ll do once they’re back home.”
“I have a few clients I’ve increased to twice a week because once-a-week therapy just isn’t enough anymore.”
“I’m seeing students whose anxiety and depression are getting to the point where they're missing school, their grades are dropping, and they're struggling to get through the day.”
“We screen for postpartum depression and anxiety, but when someone scores high, we're not always sure where to send them beyond giving them a therapy referral.”
“Patients keep returning to us despite prescribing antidepressant and sending outpatient therapy referrals"
We have patients ready for discharge, but the programs we typically refer to have waitlists, and I don’t want them sitting inpatient just because we can’t secure follow-up.”
“Sometimes I hesitate to refer to a higher level of care because I’ve built a strong relationship with my client and don’t want to lose them.”
“Some students are coming to my office multiple times a week. I want to support them, but I can't be their therapist.”
“Most of our patients who are struggling already have a therapist, so we usually encourage them to follow up with them.”
“We’re seeing more teens disclose depression, bullying, and self-harm during routine visits.”
“Sometimes I find a PHP or IOP for a patient, but transportation, work, school, or family responsibilities make it unrealistic for them to attend in person.”
“Honestly, when I bring up IOP, a lot of my clients immediately say they don't want to sit in a group with strangers.”
“I’ll tell a parent their child needs more support, but then they ask me, ‘Okay…where do I go?’ and I don't always know what to give them"
“I have new moms who clearly need support, but between a newborn, childcare, recovery, and appointments, getting them to another in-person program feels impossible.”
“More adults are requesting medical leave because their mental health is making it difficult to function at work.”
“We have some patients who stabilize inpatient, discharge to outpatient therapy, and then end up back in the ED or admitted again a few weeks later.”
“My client is showing up every week, but their depression is getting worse, they’re isolating more, missing work, and I’m spending more time safety planning between sessions.”
“We have a student who barely comes to school anymore. They’re isolated, spending most of their time online, and their parents say getting them out of the house for appointments is almost impossible.”
“I have patients experiencing pregnancy loss or repeated miscarriages who are really struggling emotionally, and it's really difficult to find them resources for grieving and trauma.”
“We have behavioral health resources, but our providers still spend a lot of time managing patients whose symptoms continue to interfere with school, work, and daily functioning.”
“If they’re stable enough to discharge, why would they need three hours of treatment multiple days a week?”
VALIDATE, DIG DEEPER, EDUCATE ON THE GAP, POSITION CHARLIE HEALTH
“I already have an in person IOP program I trust and refer to pretty regularly.”
“Our district is very careful about outside providers. We're not really allowed to recommend a specific treatment program to families.”
“Honestly, my new moms are already overwhelmed. Between feeding, lack of sleep, appointments, childcare, and going back to work, I don't see them having the bandwidth for 10–12 hours of therapy every week.”
VALIDATE / ACKNOWLEDGE, DIG DEEPER, TAILOR THE RESPONSE
“We manage a lot of our behavioral health patients in-house. We’ll start them on medication, refer them to a therapist or psychiatry, and follow up with them ourselves. I’m not sure when I would need to refer to an IOP.”
Validate that primary care is often the first line of support. Ask "What do you typically do when patient continues to decline?" Educate on signs that may warrant assessing for HLOC. Position CH