About this course

Learning Objectives

• Describe the historical, policy, and clinical factors that led to the development of partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs within the behavioral health continuum.
• Identify the core therapeutic mechanisms of PHP and IOP, including group-based interventions, multidisciplinary coordination, and structured skill acquisition.
• Explain complex or ambiguous clinical presentations that signal potential readiness for PHP or IOP, especially when patients fall between traditional outpatient and inpatient criteria.
• Apply a practical, decision-making framework to improve referral timing, reduce common pitfalls, and more confidently match patients to the appropriate level of care.

Learning Levels

• Beginner

Target Audience

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Andy Cruz, MD

  Andy Cruz, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Guidelight Health

  Andy Cruz, MD, is a mission-driven physician-executive working to expand access to transformative, compassion-first mental healthcare. Trained at the Harvard Medical School Adult Psychiatry Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, he received multiple teaching awards from both Harvard medical students and MGH/McLean residents—a reflection of his enduring commitment to mentorship and clinical excellence.

  Dr. Cruz has helped lead care in some of the world's most respected institutions, from inpatient psychiatry at McLean to low-barrier substance use treatment at MGH. He served as a medical director at Headway, the largest virtual mental health platform in the country, and currently advises Steadfast Health as they scale their network of substance use clinics rooted in dignity and access.

  In 2023, he co-founded Guidelight, a national provider of intermediate behavioral health care (PHP/IOP) that serves patients across all insurance lines. Guidelight exists to close the gap between outpatient and inpatient care—offering a level of treatment that is often the most appropriate and powerful, yet the most challenging to access.

  He serves on the board of the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare—the national voice for PHP and IOP providers. Through this peer-led coalition, he works to improve access, elevate quality, and advocate for fair reimbursement across the field. He is also a founding member of the Noble Forum, a physician-executive collective dedicated to solving healthcare’s most complex and urgent challenges.

  Outside of work, Andy is a classically trained pianist with a particular affection for Rachmaninoff and Chopin, an avid traveler, a devoted film lover, and a proud husband and dog dad to Zeus.

References

• Clarke, A., & Glick, I. D. (2020). The crisis in psychiatric hospital care: changing the model to continuous, integrative behavioral health care. Psychiatric Services, 71(2), 165-169. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900259
• Carmona-Gutiérrez, A., Ruiz-Fernández, M. D., Ortega-Galán, Á. M., Henríquez, D., & Castillo-Mansilla, D. (2025). Effects on psychological well-being of a self-compassion training program in student nurses. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2025.04.026
• Lee, S., Rothbard, A. B., & Noll, E. L. (2012). Length of inpatient stay of persons with serious mental illness: effects of hospital and regional characteristics. Psychiatric Services, 63(9), 889-895. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100412
• Neffinger, G. G. (1981). Partial hospitalization: An overview. Journal of Community Psychology, 9(3), 262-269. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(198107)9:3<262::AID-JCOP2290090311>3.0.CO;2-B
• Ross, E. L., Bossarte, R. M., Dobscha, S. K., Gildea, S. M., Hwang, I., Kennedy, C. J., ... & Kessler, R. C. (2024). Estimated average treatment effect of psychiatric hospitalization in patients with suicidal behaviors: A precision treatment analysis. JAMA psychiatry, 81(2), 135-143. 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.3994
• The News and Courier Center Gives Day Mental Care page 1. Charleston, SC, May 13, 1952.
• Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare is the premier national group, publishing the Standards and Guidelines for Partial Hospitalization Programs and Intensive Outpatient Programs (2024) from which much of the information on the next two slides is taken.