The Latino population in the United States is aging as it grows.  This will pose problems for many individuals in low-income communities who will suffer illnesses disproportionate to the greater population.  The presentation linked below describes efforts to prevent illness and promote wellness in these communities.

http://www.tarzanatc.org/ppt/latinos-aging-in-place.pdf

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Telemedicine services are also available with online medical care, online mental health treatment, and online alcohol and drug treatment.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Aging brings more than the typical physical problems form seniors.  Most will survive family members and friends, and face other possible losses, causing depression or anxiety.  Some, following a doctor’s orders, may risk harm with prescription drugs without knowing that they are doing so.  Telemedicine, in these cases, seems to be a very compassionate gift from the medical community.

It commonly comes with longer life that family members and friends will pass on. As their generational companion list begins to shrink, depression and loneliness is inevitable.  The regular reminders of their own mortality can also be a source of anxiety.  In these tough financial times they may also lose property through foreclosure, or be swindled by unscrupulous individuals.  

Grief and loss therapy and mental health treatment can help to minimize emotional pain, but the tendency is to decline because they don’t want to leave home or they are immobile.  The pain will not improve without talking about it.  So if they have no one to grieve with, they become more isolated, and sometimes turn to alcohol or drugs for relief.

Prescription drugs are often ordered for seniors to stabilize physical or emotional pain.  Opiate pain killers and benzodiazepines can spell trouble, though, when individuals also use alcohol, take higher doses than prescribed, or use other medications.  Isolation and substance use can feed on each other, leaving a once vibrant person alone and numb.

These are the lesser known forms of alcohol abuse and drug abuse, and can be helped with addiction treatment.  However, it is quite rare for seniors to agree to enter drug treatment for the same reasons as above.  Sadly, younger family members tend to condone substance use to “ease the pain” of aging, and don’t offer proper assistance.  Every day is a risk that tragedy will strike by accident or drug overdose.

Telemedicine has the potential to improve the golden years for many individuals.  They don’t need to leave home to get mental health treatment or drug treatment.  There are specialists in both fields who work with seniors on related issues.  Grief and loss specialists can ease individuals through these processes, minimizing the duration of emotional pain.  Addiction treatment counselors can help them to see that drugs and alcohol add to problems if they are abused, and are never the solution for emotional pain.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides online therapy for mental health and drug addiction.  Our online treatment is delivered using the LiveVisit application, powered by MDLiveCare.  One only needs a computer with a webcam connected to the internet to participate.  This makes treatment convenient, accessible, and affordable.  Security is important in treatment, so LiveVisit runs behind several layers of encryption.  Phone access is available for those without a computer.

Telemedicine at Tarzana Treatment Centers is not limited to online mental health treatment and drug addiction treatment.  We also provide online medical care.  Our goal is to see that those who need treatment can get it.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides telemedicine services to qualified patients in alcohol and drug treatment, mental health treatment, and primary medical care.  After careful research of the technology available, we chose to partner with MDLiveCare in Florida so we could deliver services conveniently and securely at affordable rates.  The technology was a key in making our decision considering what our patients would need in order to use these services.

During our research of available telehealth technologies for video conference sessions, we were happy to discover that most of our services could be delivered through this medium.  Assessments of new patients entering addiction treatment or mental health treatment can be completed before they come to one of our locations.  This allows our staff to better prepare for their arrival, and saves patients critical time in on-site admissions time.  It can also be used for outpatient services for some patients.  We can also see qualified patients in primary medical care from their homes and offices.  

The MDLiveCare technology is browser-based.  This means that patients simply need to open Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or whatever they use on a daily basis, and log in to their account.  Once logged in, a simple interface makes it easy for them to schedule appointments with Providers, send and read secure messages with them, and view records.  Anyone who browses the internet should be able to use the interfaces we provide, known as MDLiveVisit and TherapyLiveVisit.

Much of the technology used for telehealth video conferencing today would be considered complicated by the everyday computer user.  Some require special software that, putting it simply, directly connects one specific computer with another over long distances.  This adds work for the patient in setting up the software, which may not go well and lead to a need for technical support.  Also, if the program crashes there is no backup means to connect to a session, creating a delay in services.  These are issues that patients do not want to deal with when they need health care.

The MDLiveVisit and TherapyLiveVisit interfaces that are used by Tarzana Treatment Centers require no initial setup on patient computers.  They only need a login ID and temporary password to get started.  Literally within minutes, patients can set an appointment to see one of our health care providers.  And, if the browser they are using happens to crash, they can switch to another to start or resume a session.  All of this simplicity is delivered with the same or better security as those described above.

The LiveVisit application was started using the popular Flash Player to deliver video.  This meant that almost anyone already had the software needed to send and receive video before they used LiveVisit.  To improve services, a switch was made to using the VSee video format in LiveVisit.  The new format uses less bandwidth, meaning that even patients with very slow internet access can send and receive smooth video.  Patients still do not need to install bulky software to use this advanced video format.

We chose to partner with MDLiveCare and use the LiveVisit telehealth applications because the simplicity and security satisfied our high standards in delivering services to patients.  The goal was to make getting treatment easier for patients, with almost no chance that problems will occur.  No special equipment is needed, either, other than an inexpensive webcam since high resolution is not necessary in LiveVisit.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Many individuals suffer needlessly, delaying or declining treatment for mental health disorders.  A good portion of them know that they could benefit from treatment, but have fears or time constraints that prevent them from attending sessions at a treatment center.  Telemedicine may be the solution that will bring them freedom.

We all know that mental health disorders range from mild to severe cases, and all of the sufferers benefit from some form of treatment.  A grieving person may just need someone to help process feelings of loss in a few sessions, and another who suffers from social phobias can be treated with therapy or medication.  But the former may have high job demands that limit time to visit a treatment center, and the latter might not be able to leave the house out of fear.  These are only two examples that prevent those in need of treatment from getting it.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Applied Sciences reported on unmet mental health treatment needs within its 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.  About 10.6 million adults reported unmet needs for treatment.  A little over 30% of them expressed concerns labeled “Did not have time”, “Concerned about confidentiality”, and “Might cause neighbors/community to have negative opinion”.  All of these relate directly or indirectly with travel to a treatment center on a regular basis.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides telemedicine to allow this group of individuals to get treatment using video conference with a webcam and computer with internet access.  Those with little time can simply log in to a session from their home or office.  Family, friends, and neighbors will not ask questions about the sudden evening trips, and the chance of being seen at a treatment center is almost eliminated.  The TherapyLiveVisit application we use, powered by MDLiveCare, sits behind several layers of encryption, removing any concerns about security or confidentiality.

We also provide telemedicine services for medical care and addiction treatment.  You may also see these services called telehealth, telemental health, and online treatment.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

It’s difficult enough raising adolescent children, and then you discover the reason for their recent behavior issues is due to alcohol abuse or drug abuse.  You cringe at the thought of admitting them to alcohol and drug treatment because, beyond the shock you feel, it seems like yet another burden to tackle.  But it is important, and you know it, and telemedicine may be the solution for your hesitation.

Adolescent alcohol abuse and drug abuse can tear the closest families apart.  It starts with failing grades, behavior problems, and new friends who give parents that “bad feeling”.  A gradual increase of difficult situations explodes when parents discover substance abuse among their youth, and exhaustion generally follows.  So many parents will just want to give up.  Adolescent alcohol and drug treatment seems beyond the breaking point.

Although it is logical to make an attempt at solving a problem, procrastination takes over for most parents of substance abusers due to stigma.  “What will the extended family/friends/neighbors think?”  When they get past that hindering feeling and call an alcohol and drug treatment center, they learn about the time and emotion involved and put it off again.  All the while, their teens are going further down a road toward alcoholism or drug addiction, crime, injury, and possibly death.  Time is of the essence.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles offers telemedicine as an answer to both the stigma and time issues.  Teens can attend counseling sessions via video conference from home, using a computer with a webcam.  Parents can attend family meetings in the same manner.  We even have the technology to conduct group sessions over a secured internet connection.  This cuts the time and cost of travel to our locations, and saves you the need to explain the daily family trips to others.

Our providers use the TherapyLiveVisit application, powered by MDLiveCare, which works in any web browser.  If you have a computer with internet access and a webcam, you can use Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or any other browser to access the application.  LiveVisit operates behind several layers of encryption, so you can be certain that your consultations will be completely confidential.  

The term “telemedicine” encompasses all forms of health care including mental health treatment and addiction treatment.  In many cases of youth alcohol abuse and drug abuse, there are co-occurring mental health disorders that had gone previously undetected.  Tarzana Treatment Centers is recognized as a leader in providing mental health treatment to adolescents.  Our telemedicine staff includes addiction counselors and mental health professionals, as well as medical professionals.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides a full array of health care services including adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles has taken pride in our efforts to remain current with health technology advancements.  We have now partnered with MDLiveCare to provide telemedicine services.  This will enable us to offer alcohol and drug treatment, mental health treatment, and medical care via video conference technology, which will allow access to more individuals who need these services.

Please click the link below to read the press release:

MDLiveCare® Health Services, Inc. Announces Agreements in California, Florida and Illinois as It Continues Building National Provider Network and Licensing Relationships

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides adult and youth alcohol and drug treatment.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and have two primary medical care clinics in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Getting medical health care can be a problem for several reasons.  Cost, location, and lack of insurance are all reasons that individuals postpone or neglect health care.  Some may not want to get treatment from their regular physician for some ailments, as well.  The primary medical care clinics at Tarzana Treatment Centers can help in any of these situations.

We have two medical care clinics located in the San Fernando Valley (Northridge) and in the Antelope Valley (Lancaster).  At each clinic we provide health care services to the communities that are affordable and local.  Whether you need drug testing for your employees, treatment for HIV and other STDs, or injury and illness treatments, we can help.

The care we provide is confidential, caring, and convenient.  Our health care services also ensure a continuum of care to our patients in alcohol and drug treatment.  We also staff medical professionals with years of experience with HIV at our clinics to treat individuals utilizing our HIV services.

For more information, please click the link below to view our flyer:


Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides primary medical care at our clinics.  We specialize in treatment for mental health and substance use disorders.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence, drug addiction, or co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Individuals who suffer from mental health and substance use disorders need treatment the same as anyone dealing with issues of physical health.  It stands to reason, then, that they should get equal coverage by insurance companies.  HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is now law, and includes language that will now require mental health and substance abuse parity in coverage.

Parity, in simple terms, means to put things on par or to make things equal.  In terms of health care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment is usually not covered on par with medical care.  Examples of inequality include premium, copayment, and deductible rates.  It is hard to argue that the majority of insurance companies have kept up with trends in mental health and substance abuse care to provide proper coverage.

Mental health disorders, alcohol dependence, and drug addiction all affect more individuals than just those who directly suffer.  Family members, friends, employers, and co-workers are all pulled into the world of the sufferer at one time or another.  Treatments for all illnesses in these categories have greatly advanced in the past few decades, and so has the cost.  So when treatment is needed, it is often not sought due to poor coverage that can cause a drain on personal finances.

It is rather unusual for individuals to forego treatment for medical problems when they are insured.  This is especially true for moderate to major physical health problems.  For example, when individuals experience pain in an area where there was none previously, they see a doctor because they want to be sure nothing serious is developing.  But with mental health and substance abuse issues, this is not always the case.

It may be an underlying reason behind the “I can handle it” attitude that is often associated with mental health issues, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse.  While there are inherent symptoms that postpone treatment being sought, the cost factor can be a final deterrent.  Even when sufferers reach the point where the treatment need is acknowledged, the cost reality stops them from getting that treatment immediately.

People are often reluctant to spend money on mental health treatment or alcohol and drug treatment while they can still moderately function in society.  But they are not, by definition, in good health.  In fact, they forego treatment for these problems at the time when it can be most effective; in the early stages.  If mental health and alcohol or drug abuse issues are left untreated, they get worse in most cases.  As the illness gets worse, life problems also mount along with costs to society.

Parity in mental health and substance abuse coverage is helpful to society.  Untreated, those who suffer often are incarcerated for various crimes or are in need of health care.  Incarceration and public health care costs can be greatly reduced with treatment.  With parity, treatment becomes a viable option so fewer sufferers will reach the point where they are incarcerated or need health care.

The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Act was included in the final version of what is now known as Health Care Reform.  This means that insurance companies must now provide equal coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment as they would for medical care.  Separate deductibles are no longer allowed, and premium rates must be on par.  Our hope from this is for more of those who need treatment to get it before illness-related problems become overwhelming.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides mental health treatment as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare.  If you or a loved one needs help with mental health disorders, or alcohol and drug treatment, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

E-Therapy is the term generally given to online mental health treatment.  It is the not-so-new means of treating individuals with mental health disorders.  And as technology and security has improved, so has the potential for more individuals to use this type of treatment.

E-Therapy emerged in the late 1990s as a means of convenient and simple therapy over the internet for minor issues.  Early on, legal and confidentiality issues prevented online psychotherapy and psychology.  Only basic life problems and marital counseling was available.

With more secure online applications and better access to the internet, E-Therapy has grown to include even some major mental health issues like depression and anxiety.  So many more patients in outpatient mental health treatment can now access a lot of the services from home.

Conventional treatment providers are now working towards providing mental health treatment over the internet.  Centers that have kept up with the latest technologies will certainly find it easier to make the move to E-Therapy.  With the security and technology already in place, it will only require a few steps rather than a large leap, technologically speaking.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles has been diligent in our efforts to maintain the highest technological standards available.  By staying up to date with the latest hardware and software, and maintaining exacting standards to comply with HIPAA laws, we are always ready to offer the latest forms of treatment to our patients.  We plan to use our technology to provide online treatment to many of our patients in the near future.

The excerpt below is from a post on eHow.com that gives advice to those seeking E-Therapy.  The points of advice, whether on purpose or not, also point out some advantages to this form of mental health treatment.

-- Begin external content --

eTherapy is one of the fastest growing aspects of the mental health industry, and involves seeking counseling for various mental illnesses online. Rather than meeting a therapist in his office, you can work out your problems from the privacy of your own home, using digital communication. However, you have to be committed to eTherapy in order for it to work for you.

-- Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_2323524_benefit-from-etherapy.html --

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides mental health treatment as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment.  If you or a loved one needs help with alcohol dependence or drug addiction with co-occurring mental health disorders, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.

Tragedy always brings sorrow, no doubt.  In the aftermath, though, we can take lessons from those working to prevent tragedies from repeating.  Efforts to support victims of the Ft. Hood shootings on November 5, 2009, are generating valuable lessons for those in need of mental health treatment and alcohol and drug treatment, and their loved ones.  Seek help.

Those who suffer from mental health disorders, alcohol dependence, or drug addiction generally do not ask for help at the first sign of problems.  They may also suffer co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders.  In any of these cases it is likely that problems will mount before they ask loved ones for help, if ever.  It is fair to say they are simply incapable of seeking help until it is too late.

To individuals who don’t have a problem with alcohol, drugs or their mental health, this may seem odd.  When a problem can’t be solved individually, it is easy to ask someone for help.  So if an individual in need of help is incapable of asking for it, others will generally not offer it because in polite society that may be rude.

Mental health and addiction professionals continually seek ways to get early help to individuals in need.  A simple suggestion to the public is in the excerpt below from an article on the Behavioral Healthcare website.  "Look to your left, look to your right and look within and basically determine who needs help."  This is true for veterans and the general public alike.  

-- Begin external content –

Fort Hood, TX — Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, III Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, announced the formulation by post leaders and health experts of a behavioral health campaign plan addressing the psychological and emotional needs of the community during a special live broadcast Monday night.
***
"Frankly, I believe as tragic as this incident may be, there could be some goodness that comes from this," he said, "and that is, in fact, that we could establish a baseline for our real mental health needs here at Fort Hood."
***
"First and foremost, seek help if you need it," Cone said. "If you're suffering from the effects of this incident you need to come forward and let us help you with it.

"Look to your left, look to your right and look within and basically determine who needs help," he added. "We've got the resources here right now. We've had a huge surge in the number of behavioral health providers that are available and we can accommodate the number of folks we think will come forward."

--Source: http://www.behavioral.net/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=B20DF0482CF84DBA94F725711F709DD7&tier=3&nid=5BEF728A0CC140559D990B97AB53F240 –

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles has the resources to provide mental health treatment for veterans and others as part of our commitment to integrated behavior healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment.  If you or a loved one needs help for alcohol dependence or drug addiction, please call us now at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, and in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley.