How Targeted Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) Tracks Support Timely Intervention 

By River’s Bend Clinical Team
With insights from Bruce Goldberg, President, and Jessica Hillen, Clinical Director at River’s Bend

Recognizing the Seasonal Surge

Every year, January is inaccurately portrayed as the “peak month” for suicide. While suicide rates don’t statistically spike this month, seasoned behavioral health professionals recognize a different, and equally pressing, reality: January may be when the pressure begins to mount.¹

“We see a real uptick in distress, not always crisis, but a buildup: emotional, psychological, and behavioral. And if that goes unaddressed, we see the fallout in the spring,” explains Bruce Goldberg, President of River’s Bend. “It’s what our Clinical Director, Jessica Hillen and I refer to as the ‘crisis curve,’ and January is where that curve starts to steepen.”²

Several compounding factors drive this surge:

• Post-hospitalization vulnerability: Patients discharged from inpatient or emergency care during the holidays often return to environments that haven’t changed, and without step-down support, they destabilize.
  
• Holiday alcohol use turning habitual: What begins as celebratory drinking over the holidays can escalate into dependency.
  
• Teens and young adults: Returning to school after a break can reignite academic, social, or emotional stressors.
  
• Financial strain and grief: From holiday overspending to seasonal grief triggers, many individuals quietly spiral after the new year.

As these pressures build, referral partners become critical allies in identifying the earliest signs of relapse or emotional dysregulation. This is where targeted outpatient support, like River’s Bend’s IOP (Intensive Outpatient Programs), plays a key role.

The Problem with Generalized Treatment

For many referral partners, school counselors, discharge planners, EAPs, and physicians, connecting a client to the “right” level of care is complicated by the lack of specialized outpatient options. Too often, clients are referred to programs that:

• Are too broad to meet specific needs
• Lack clinical depth for dual-diagnosis clients
• Don’t match clients’ life stages or identities

“We hear it all the time,” says Jessica Hillen, River’s Bend Clinical Director. “Clients dropped out or disengaged elsewhere because the group felt too random, or the content wasn’t relevant. It’s not just about clinical quality, it’s about feeling seen.”

River’s Bend Intensive Outpatient Programs Matches Clients with Meaningful Tracks

River’s Bend’s IOPs aren’t one-size-fits-all. Our programming is uniquely structured into track-specific groups that foster therapeutic cohesion and clinical precision.

Our tailored IOP tracks include:

• Trauma-specific IOPs (including women’s or men’s trauma groups)
• Dual diagnosis tracks for clients managing both SUD and MH symptoms
• Adolescent and young adult groups, built around peer support
  Flexible scheduling, including daytime, evening, and virtual tracks

“Group cohesion increases dramatically when clients are surrounded by peers, not strangers,” notes Goldberg. “That’s when people start to show up, open up, and stay the course.”

Bridging the January Gap: When to Refer

IOP provides a critical middle step in care, between weekly therapy and hospitalization. In January, this is especially vital for:

• Patients recently discharged from inpatient or residential care after the holidays
• Clients whose symptoms have intensified over the holidays
• Individuals struggling with motivation, mood, or substance use
• Those who need more structure but not inpatient care

Referral partners should be alert to signs like:

• Escalating alcohol or cannabis use
• Regressive behavior or avoidance in teens
• Mood instability, irritability, or fatigue
• “Resolution regret”—clients feeling shame or discouragement for failing New Year’s resolutions (link to Jan client facing blog)

Fast-Tracked Referrals & Support

We recognize how time-sensitive referrals can be in January. River’s Bend offers:

• Same-day phone screenings
• 48-hour assessments
• Urgent slots for school and EAP referrals

Our dedicated intake and clinical team is ready to collaborate, consult, and coordinate with professionals across Troy, West Bloomfield, and surrounding areas. 

Download Our Adolescent IOP Referral Quick Guide

This concise, printable PDF outlines referral criteria and contact points to help school counselors act quickly when students show signs of destabilization.

Let’s Partner to Prevent Relapse This Winter

At River’s Bend, we believe behavioral healthcare works best when it’s collaborative. Our goal is not just to treat symptoms but to build stability and connection before crisis hits.

Whether you’re a therapist, physician, school counselor, or HR/EAP lead, your early referrals can help prevent the spike in crisis calls that often arrives in spring.

“January isn’t the peak,” says Goldberg. “It’s the pressure cooker. Let’s open the valve early, and together.”

Resources

1. Maroni, E. (2023, December 4). What’s behind the Holiday-Suicide myth | The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/whats-behind-the-holiday-suicide-myth/  ↩︎
2. Rizavas, I., Gournellis, R., Douzenis, P., Efstathiou, V., Bali, P., Lagouvardos, K., & Douzenis, A. (2023). A Systematic Review on the Impact of seasonality on Severe Mental Illness admissions: Does seasonal variation affect coercion? Healthcare, 11(15), 2155. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11152155  ↩︎