How our virtual IOP works in Tennessee

What you need

• A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone
• A reliable internet connection
• A private space where others can’t overhear, a closed room, a parked car (never while driving), or headphones

How a video group runs

Great Care’s published program information describes clinician-led group treatment. Listed sessions last 3 hours. Ask who leads your track and how the current session agenda is organized. Follow the joining instructions sent by intake and test your camera and microphone before the first session.

Privacy

Ask for the group’s confidentiality, recording, camera and display-name rules. Discuss how to find a space where other people cannot overhear.

If your connection drops

Follow the joining instructions supplied by the program. Use the program’s contact instructions to report the interruption. Ask the team how a disruption affects participation; attendance credit is not automatic.

Your psychiatric provider, also by video

What happens between my first call and my first video group?

1. Make the first call. Reach intake by phone at 615-682-8150 on a weekday, or use the online appointment request.
2. Benefits check or self-pay estimate. Share your insurance card, or ask for a written estimate at $200 per day.
3. Psychiatric evaluation by video. Psychiatry: within 5 days. IOP intake: within 24–48 hours of referral or first contact. The evaluation decides whether IOP fits.
4. Choose a track. Pick the morning, afternoon or evening group that you can attend every week.
5. Get joining instructions. Use only the link and steps the program sends you.
6. Log on early for session one, about five minutes before the start time, from the room you tested.

What does a typical program week look like?

Plan for roughly 9–20 hours, typically 3–5 days per week, over 8–12 weeks. Confirm your treatment days and the track timetable with intake; the published track options are shown below.

You attend one track, not all three. The program describes 9–20 hours of treatment weekly.

How do I pick between the morning, afternoon and evening tracks?

Pick the track you can protect every week for 8–12 weeks, not the one that looks easiest this week. Consistency matters more than the hour.

• Morning (9:00 AM–12:00 PM): suits people on leave or with afternoon responsibilities.
• Afternoon (1:00 PM–4:00 PM): can fit around early shifts or school drop-offs.
• Evening (5:30 PM–8:30 PM): lets many people keep a daytime job.

Tennessee spans two time zones; Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City use Eastern time. Confirm which zone your track's times refer to.

What actually happens during a three-hour video group?

Groups are clinician-led treatment sessions that draw on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) approaches. You see and hear the clinician and other participants on screen, and you take part by talking, listening and practicing skills.

Group therapy is a long-established format; the National Institute of Mental Health notes that psychotherapy takes place one-on-one or with other patients in a group. Ask your group leader whether a session that long includes breaks, so you can plan water, food and a stretch.

What is CBT, and why is it part of the program?

CBT helps you notice automatic thoughts that are inaccurate or harmful, question them, and change the behavior patterns that follow. The National Institute of Mental Health describes it as a way to understand how thoughts affect emotions and behavior.

In a group, that work becomes practical: you may track a difficult moment from the week, look at the thought behind it, and try a different response. Great Care's IOP pairs CBT with DBT approaches. Ask your clinicians how each is used in your track.

What equipment should I test before day one?

Test everything in the room you will actually use, at the time of day your track runs. Home internet can behave differently in the evening.

• Device with a working camera and microphone, fully charged or plugged in
• The browser or app the joining instructions name, updated
• Headphones, so others in your home hear less of the group
• A stable connection; sit near the router if Wi-Fi is weak
• A backup: phone data or a second device
• The program's contact number saved, in case the link fails

What if I do not have a computer or home Wi-Fi?

A smartphone with a camera and a strong data signal can be enough for a virtual IOP, as long as it holds up for a full three-hour session. Test it for that long before day one, because video uses far more data than a phone call and can run past a monthly allowance.

Keep the phone plugged in, prop it at eye level so your hands are free, and use headphones. If the only device in the house is shared, agree in advance who has it during your track, and sign out of the program afterward. Tell intake about any technology gap early; it is far easier to solve before the first group than halfway through week one.

Do I have to keep my camera on during virtual IOP groups?

Plan on being on camera for most of each group, and confirm Great Care's current camera rules with intake before your first session. Groups are interactive, and a clinician can only respond to what they can see and hear.

If something makes the camera hard for you, such as a disability, a shared room or an interruption, say so at intake rather than switching it off without a word. Ask whether a brief camera-off moment is acceptable, how to signal one, and what display name to use. Language-line interpretation is available. Tell intake your preferred language.

What should I do if my connection drops in the middle of a group?

Try to rejoin right away using the same joining instructions, and if that does not work, contact the program by the method it gave you. Dropped connections happen with any video care, and one is nothing to apologize for.

1. Reopen the link from the original instructions, not a forwarded copy.
2. Switch to phone data or a second device if your Wi-Fi is down.
3. Still locked out? Call or message the program contact you saved before day one.
4. Note the time you dropped and the time you got back in.
5. Ask afterward how the missed minutes count toward attendance.

If the same failure keeps repeating, ask intake whether a different room, device or track would be more reliable.

How can I keep video sessions private at home?

Privacy is mostly about the room, not the software. Choose a space with a door you can close, and tell people at home when your session runs.

• Face the camera toward a wall rather than an open doorway.
• Turn off pop-up notifications that could show messages on screen.
• Use a personal device; work laptops may be monitored by an employer.
• Sign out of shared devices after each session.
• Never share the joining link or screenshots of the group.
• Do not record any session.

What confidentiality rules apply to other people in my group?

Group treatment depends on members protecting each other's privacy, and you decide how much of your own story to share. The program provides its specific rules; read them before your first session.

In practice, that means not repeating names or details from the group, not letting anyone else watch your screen, and not contacting participants in ways the rules do not allow. If something about another participant's privacy worries you, raise it with the clinician privately rather than in the group.

How is a virtual IOP different from a single telehealth appointment?

A single telehealth appointment is one conversation with one clinician, while a virtual IOP is a program of recurring, multi-hour groups on the same schedule each week. MedlinePlus describes telehealth broadly as health care delivered from a distance with technology; an IOP is one of its more demanding forms.

How does psychiatric care fit into a video IOP?

Psychiatric care is built in: the program begins with a psychiatric evaluation, and medication can be reviewed through the same practice by video. Tamieka Sholar-Conard, MSN, PMHNP-BC provides psychiatric evaluations and medication management, and Lucas Trautman, a board-certified psychiatrist, is medical director.

For how medication fits alongside groups, see psychiatric care in IOP.

Can I join from anywhere?

You can join from anywhere in Tennessee where you have privacy and a reliable connection. The program serves people in Tennessee, including Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville and smaller communities.

If you plan to travel during the 8–12 weeks, raise it with the program before you go; out-of-state attendance is not something to assume. A parked car can work for privacy, but never join while driving.

What should I do if something urgent happens during or between groups?

Treat an emergency as an emergency: call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. If you are thinking about suicide or in crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org, any time of day.

Know the street address you are joining from, in case emergency services need it. The office line, open Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Central, is for scheduling and questions; in a crisis, use 988 or 911 instead of waiting for office hours.

How do I stay focused on a screen for three hours?

Treat the session like a scheduled appointment in a room of its own: close other apps, silence your phone and keep a notebook beside you. Small habits make a long video session easier.

• Sit in a supportive chair with the camera at eye level.
• Keep water and a light snack within reach.
• Write down a skill or idea you want to try before the next group.
• If attention fades, say so; clinicians would rather know than guess.

What happens as the 8–12 weeks come to an end?

The final weeks focus on what comes next, usually ongoing psychiatric care and a plan for outside support. Start that conversation early rather than in the last session.

Planning details live on the IOP aftercare guide, and ongoing prescriptions are covered on medication management.

Test the space as well as the device

Check whether other people can overhear or see your screen and whether you can stay in the space for the full session. Try the camera, microphone, charger and connection before the first group. If you need accessibility support or share a device, discuss that with intake ahead of time. Ask who to contact for a failed link or interruption and how to rejoin through the approved process. Headphones can help with sound, but they do not make a shared or public setting private by themselves.