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San Francisco, the City and County of San FranciscoVirtual intensive outpatient program for San Francisco
An intensive outpatient program delivered by video, for people in San Francisco who cannot take a month away and do not want to walk into a building to get help. You attend from home, on a cohort that fits the week you actually have.
No building in San Francisco.
Shift has no clinic in San Francisco. The whole program runs by video. In a city where the walk from your door to a treatment center can be short and very public, the fact that there is no door to walk through matters more than it sounds. You attend from your own room.
Our clinicians are licensed in California, and California telehealth rules follow the patient. You need to be physically in California during every session. Shift is certified by the California Department of Health Care Services, certification 191663AP, for outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and ambulatory withdrawal management.
What you would actually be attending.
Weekday cohorts in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. Group work, individual sessions and family sessions when they are clinically indicated. A treatment plan a licensed clinician signs, and a clinical review of whether this is still the right level of care.
What is in it
- Intensive outpatient treatment at ASAM level 2.1, by video.
- Individual therapy with the same clinician week to week.
- Family sessions when the clinical plan calls for them.
- Ambulatory withdrawal management for low-risk withdrawal.
- Psychiatry on the team for co-occurring mental health.
What is not in it
- Medical detox in a bed. That needs a building, and we will say so.
- Residential treatment. Same answer, and we help you find it.
- Acute psychiatric stabilization. An emergency department, not us.
- A promise about your outcome. We do not make one.
- A referral fee, in either direction. We do not pay for referrals.
Who this tends to fit here.
Work that fills the day
An evening cohort exists for exactly this. The treatment is the same treatment; the hour is the part that moves.
Check your benefits If you live with housematesFinding a private hour
We talk about where you will take the sessions during the first call, because a plan that assumes a quiet room you do not have is not a plan. Headphones, a closed door and a phone are usually enough.
Check your benefits If you have already tried weekly therapyThe level in between
Intensive outpatient care sits above a weekly hour and below a hospital. It is a real level of care with its own criteria, not a longer version of therapy.
Check your benefitsWe read your plan before you commit to anything.
Covered by many PPO plans. We check your benefits first.
Shift bills most major commercial plans on an out-of-network basis. We are not part of any commercial carrier network. We read your plan, tell you what it pays toward intensive outpatient care, and give you that number before your first appointment. Nothing is committed until you decide.
Medi-Cal. We cannot bill Medi-Cal today, because we hold no county contract yet. If Medi-Cal is your coverage, tell us and we will point you to a county provider who can help now.
Pages for specific cards: Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield of California, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, UMR, Carelon, Magellan, Kaiser.
If Shift is not the right answer for you.
In a crisis, call or text 988. That is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, it is answered around the clock, and it covers substance use as well as mental health. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Shift is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service.
For public treatment in the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, through its Behavioral Health Access Center runs the county network and is the place to start if commercial insurance is not what you have.
And if the clinical screen says you need a level of care we do not offer, we tell you that and help you find it. That happens, and it is a better outcome than being admitted to the wrong program.
The ones people ask first.
Do you have a San Francisco office?
No. Shift is virtual and has no site in San Francisco. Sessions are delivered by video and you attend from wherever you are in California.
Can I attend from the Peninsula or the East Bay?
Yes. Daly City, Oakland, San Mateo, Berkeley. The rule is that you are physically in California during each session, not that you live in a particular county.
Will my employer find out?
We do not report anything to an employer. We also cannot control what a health plan's own claims or utilization reporting shows a plan sponsor, and we will not claim otherwise. Substance use treatment records carry the stricter protection of 42 CFR Part 2.
What are the public options in San Francisco?
For a crisis, call or text 988, or 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. the San Francisco Department of Public Health, through its Behavioral Health Access Center is the public entry point for mental health and substance use treatment in the city.
Start with a call or a benefits check.
Five minutes either way. We read your plan, a licensed clinician does a clinical screen, and if Shift is the right level of care you start. Next business day on most cases.
If you or someone you are with is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Shift Support Network is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service. Other cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Riverside, Long Beach, Oakland.