An intensive outpatient program for suicidal college students.

College counseling centers (CCCs) have limited capacity to accommodate high-risk students who need more intensive care than traditional outpatient treatment. We describe an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) to meet the specialized needs of suicidal undergraduates. Suicidal undergraduates aged 18-24. Fact-gathering meetings with local universities confirmed high need for prompt access to IOP care for students presenting in crisis at CCCs and emergency rooms, and post-inpatient discharge. We thus iteratively designed and implemented the College Option Services for Teens at Risk (COSTAR) IOP. The 6-week program includes initial diagnostic evaluation and risk assessment followed by weekly skills groups, individual therapy, and medication management. Between September 2017 and January 2020, 148 students ( age = 19.7) attended an average of 5.7 COSTAR group sessions ( = 4.7). A specialty IOP for suicidal college students holds promise in a stepped care approach for at-risk college students.