If you’re in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or go to your nearest emergency room. We can’t provide diagnosis or counseling online.
Las Encinas Hospital has been treating patients in east Pasadena since 1904. What we offer today falls into three levels of care: Acute Inpatient treatment is for people who need round-the-clock support. Detox & Residential treatment is for substance use disorder and dual diagnosis, and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is for people who need continued support, and real structure while still living at home.
Choosing between these programs isn’t something we expect families to determine from a webpage. Our Assessment and Referral Department is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The assessment is free, confidential, and it doesn’t obligate you to admit anywhere. If a different level of care would serve you better, or if the right program is somewhere other than here, we’ll tell you that.
Call (877) 579-9103 for a free, confidential assessment, or learn more here.
Adult Inpatient Treatment
Inpatient care exists for patients whose symptoms have escalated to the point where their safety is of primary concern. This might include thoughts of suicide or self-harm, a psychotic or manic episode, a medication regimen that’s stopped working, an inability to manage basic daily needs, or a substance use pattern that’s become medically dangerous to stop alone. Inpatient care is purposefully short and intensive. The goal is stabilization: getting symptoms under control, getting a clear diagnostic picture, ensuring medications are right, and building a discharge plan that is thoughtful and effective.
Every patient receives a psychiatric evaluation and a medical evaluation within 24 hours of admission. Programming runs seven days a week, with four therapy groups per day spanning psychoeducation, chemical dependency, process work, and recreational therapy.
We operate multiple inpatient units, with voluntary and involuntary patients housed separately but receiving the same clinical standard of care. Supervised sub-acute detox is available for patients who need it, supported by an on-site pharmacy that allows medication adjustments to occur within a matter of minutes.
Read more about adult inpatient treatment.
Adult Detox & Residential Treatment
The Briar Program is our residential program for adults living with substance use disorder, including those who may be struggling with additional mental health issues. Briar patients live in residential bungalows set apart from the hospital itself. We have 18 residential beds, keeping the program small enough for staff to connect with you.
Treatment starts with supervised sub-acute detox when withdrawal is a concern, and it happens on the same campus, so nobody gets transferred between facilities partway through. From there the program runs a full daily schedule of clinical therapy, psychoeducation, living skills work, therapeutic exercise, intensive family therapy, and peer-led recovery meetings. Transition and aftercare assistance is included at no additional cost.
One thing worth knowing before you call: residential addiction and dual-diagnosis treatment isn’t covered by Medicare or Medi-Cal.
Read more about adult residential treatment.
Intensive Outpatient Program
Intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment sits between weekly therapy and around-the-clock hospital care. You live at home, keep working or studying, and come to campus several days a week for structured group therapy, psychiatric oversight, and skills work that carries into your daily life. IOP is often the right fit when weekly therapy hasn’t been enough, or when someone is stepping down from inpatient or residential care and wants more structure to taper down, rather than end care completely.
Rather than placing everyone in the same groups, we place participants together based on what they’re actually working through, across nine specialized tracks: mental health, acute mental health recovery, chemical dependency, dual diagnosis, an evening program, grief and loss, Restore to Wellness for college students, Seniors Live Well for adults 55 and older, and a young adults track for ages 18 to 26. The material, the pace, and the peers in the room all match the situation you’re in.
Day groups run Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm with lunch provided, and evening groups run from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm with dinner beforehand. Van transportation is available for participants living within roughly 15 miles of the hospital.
Read more about our intensive outpatient program.
Comparing Levels of Care
| Adult Inpatient | Adult Residential | Intensive Outpatient | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you stay | Hospital unit on campus | Residential bungalow on campus | At home |
| Primary focus | Acute psychiatric stabilization | Substance use disorder and dual diagnosis | Ongoing symptom management and skills |
| Typical length | Short and intensive, days to a few weeks | Longer term, typically 30-45 days | Several weeks or longer |
| Detox available | Yes, supervised sub-acute | Yes, supervised sub-acute | No |
| Work or School | Paused during the stay | Paused during the stay | Designed to continue |
| When is it needed | There’s a safety concern or symptoms are acute | The environment at home is part of the problem | Weekly therapy hasn’t been enough |
People move between these levels, and that’s how the programs are meant to work. Someone stabilized on an inpatient unit may step into residential treatment, and someone finishing residential care may step down into an intensive outpatient track. We handle those transitions rather than leaving you to arrange them.
See the campus or read our story from 1904 to today.
Insurance and Payment
Las Encinas is a Medicare and Medi-Cal provider and is in network with most major commercial payers, including Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, HealthNet, Molina, MHN, Optum and UHC/UBH, Tricare and UHC Military, Beacon Health Strategies, Halcyon Behavioral, Healthcare Partners, Heritage Provider Network, the Holman Group, and CLARITEV. We accept most PPO and HMO plans.
Coverage differs by level of care, and the differences matter enough to state plainly:
| Service | Medicare | Medi-Cal |
|---|---|---|
| Inpatient psychiatric stabilization | Covered | Covered |
| Inpatient detox | Covered | Not covered |
| Residential addiction and dual diagnosis | Not covered | Not covered |
Self-pay is accepted by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and personal check. Our Assessment and Referral staff can give you current rates and will verify your benefits before you start, so you know what you’re looking at before you commit. See our full list of accepted insurance plans.
How to Get Started
Assessments are free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through our Assessment and Referral Department. You don’t need a referral to call, and calling doesn’t commit you to anything.
- Call for a free assessment. We’ll talk through current symptoms, any substance use history, medications, immediate risks, and what’s already been tried.
- Get a level of care recommendation. Inpatient, residential, or intensive outpatient, with a clear explanation of what each would involve for you.
- Benefit verification and paperwork. Our admissions team verifies coverage and handles the questions that come with it.
- Clinical intake. A fuller assessment covering withdrawal risk, psychiatric symptoms, and co-occurring conditions.
- Your treatment plan. Built from your assessment results and any information your outside providers can share.
What to bring: a photo ID, your insurance information if you have it, and a list of your current medications. We’ll walk you through allowed items and medication verification before you arrive.
You can also read more about our admissions process and free assessment, or start a provider referral or family referral.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Level of Care Do I Need?
That depends on how much your symptoms are interfering with daily functioning and whether there’s an immediate safety concern. Inpatient care makes sense when someone needs round-the-clock support or medically supervised stabilization. Residential treatment fits when substance use has reached the point where the environment at home is part of the problem. Intensive outpatient works when someone is safe at home and can keep up with work or school while attending treatment. The free assessment exists to answer exactly this question.
Do You Treat Children or Adolescents?
No. Las Encinas serves adults 18 and older across every program. If you’re calling about someone under 18, our Assessment and Referral staff can point you toward a facility that does.
Do I Need a Referral?
No. You can call us directly, a family member can call on your behalf, or a provider can refer you. All three routes start with the same free assessment.
What Does an Assessment Cost?
Nothing. Assessments are free and confidential, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they don’t commit you to admitting. If a different level of care would serve you better, we’ll say so.
Can I Move between Programs?
Yes, and it’s common. Someone stabilized in inpatient care may step into residential treatment, and people finishing residential or inpatient care frequently step down into an intensive outpatient track. Our team coordinates those transitions.
Do You Treat Mental Health Conditions and Substance Use Together?
Yes. Co-occurring presentations are common here, and treating a psychiatric diagnosis and a substance use disorder in sequence tends to work less well than treating them as one problem. Every level of care is built around that.
Is What I Share Kept Confidential?
Yes. Your treatment records are protected by federal privacy law, and we don’t disclose information to family, employers, or anyone else without your written permission. The narrow exceptions involve situations where someone is in immediate danger, and your clinician will explain those upfront.
Where Are You Located?
2900 East Del Mar Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91107, on the east side of Pasadena, about a 30 to 45 minute drive inland from downtown Los Angeles. We’re roughly 0.6 miles south of the I-210 and about six blocks from the Sierra Madre Villa station on the Metro A Line. Covered surface parking is available near the entrance, with a larger underground garage for longer visits.
Talk to Someone Today
Whether you’re calling for yourself or for someone you love, our Assessment and Referral team will help you figure out what level of care makes sense, even if that turns out to be somewhere other than here.
Call (877) 579-9103 or request a confidential callback.
If you’re experiencing a mental health emergency, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.
