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.

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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.  

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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.
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"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."
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"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.

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles is committed to providing integrated behavioral healthcare in alcohol and drug treatment.  This means that when patients enter treatment in one of our facilities, they will have access to the many other healthcare services we offer.  And more access to services from one provider means better outcomes in alcohol and drug treatment.

A recent report by California State University, Long Beach, Department of Criminal Justice to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation highlighted that we are truly committed to success in treatment.  The study paid close attention to several details in substance abuse treatment, and noted specifically how we help patients with special needs.

In particular, Tarzana Treatment Centers understands the importance in making all levels of mental health treatment available to our patients with co-occurring disorders.  We were noted in the report as being “…the most capable program to address co-occurring disorders statewide.  The program is efficient, organized, and well-run despite the fact that they serve some of the most high-needs clients in the state.”

Our alcohol and drug treatment program is also recognized as providing the highest level of care in HIV Services, as mentioned in the report.  These services include education, specialized primary care, housing, and mental health services, among many others.  Patients can be referred to services as early as their first day in our medical detoxification unit.

We are continually enhancing and expanding programs so that patients can count on us for the services they need.  As drug use trends change, drug treatment modules must be altered and added.  It was stated twice in the report that we have an answer to the rise in methamphetamine addiction rates.
 
Cognitive deficits that result from methamphetamine addiction can last up to two years after use is stopped.  While the disease of addiction has many constants where treatment is concerned, meth users need to re-learn memory skills and may require visual cues.  We assess patients entering methamphetamine treatment for needs in these areas and treat accordingly.

Another example in this area that was not on the report is the recent changes in teen drug use trends.  Teen prescription drug abuse is rapidly growing.  At the same time, perceptions among adolescents that these drugs risk little harm are on the rise.  

Tarzana Treatment Centers takes steps to slow these trends through treatment, family groups, and education.  Our expertise in prescription drug detox has proven to be valuable as demand has increased for adolescent drug detox.  The ability to provide both medical detoxification and youth alcohol and drug treatment improves outcomes for long-term recovery.

If you or a loved one needs help with drug addiction or alcohol dependence, you can count on Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles to provide all of the services you need.  Our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare goes far beyond what has been written in this article.  For more information, 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.

By Ken Bachrach, Ph.D.
Clinical Director

It is very common for a person to have both a psychological disorder and an addictive disorder.  When this occurs, the term most often used is that the individual has a co-occurring disorder or COD.  Previously, the term frequently used was that the person was “dually diagnosed.”

People with both an addictive disorder for substance use or dependence and a psychological disorder such as depression need treatment for both disorders.  The best approach is to treat both disorders in an integrated fashion with a team of providers who understand both disorders.  

In the past, treatment was often sequential, meaning it was requested that the person got treatment for one disorder before being accepted for treatment for the other one.  This often resulted in disastrous outcomes, since a person could not stop their drinking or their drug use until their psychiatric condition was stabilized and vice versa.  

The next approach was to treat these disorders in a parallel fashion, but unfortunately the two treatment providers or teams frequently did not communicate with one another.  Many people in substance abuse treatment programs require psychological counseling and psychotropic medication for their COD.  Some of these individuals were self-medicating with alcohol, prescription medications, and illicit substances like methamphetamine as a way to cope with their psychological disorder.  

At Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles, we strive to provide integrated behavioral healthcare and have both mental health and addiction specialists on our alcohol and drug treatment teams.  The advantage of this integrated approach is that the entire person is being treated rather than only one specific disorder, and the team is communicating with one another.  With proper treatment for the COD, these individuals can focus on their recovery from alcohol dependence and drug addiction.

The likelihood of having a substance abuse problem is not evenly distributed among individuals with psychological disorders.  Our nation’s largest community-based mental health survey, titled the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) Study, revealed that individuals with Bipolar Disorder have the greatest likelihood of having a substance use disorder some time in their life.  

The rates of substance abuse or dependence among those with Bipolar Disorder were over 60%.  People with Schizophrenia had a 50% chance of developing a substance abuse disorder, while those with depressive and anxiety disorders had rates ranging from 25% - 33%.

The effects of substance use and misuse can cause many psychological symptoms ranging from depression to anxiety to psychosis.  That is why it is often difficult to determine if a person is experiencing substance-induced psychological symptoms that will subside once the substance use has stopped or whether the person has an independent COD.   

The psychological symptoms from substance use can last for many weeks and months, so some period of abstinence is needed to make a definitive diagnosis.  Still, if symptoms are severe, persist for a reasonable period of time, or if there is a documented history of these symptoms during prior periods of abstinence, then psychological and psychiatric treatment should be initiated to address these symptoms.


If you or a loved one needs help for co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, please call Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles 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 quite normal for someone entering alcohol treatment to show signs of depression.  The sad and hopeless feelings that are associated with alcohol dependence tend to be a driving force behind the disease.  Major depression can also be a co-occurring disorder with alcoholism, which adds a need for mental health treatment.

In these cases, the problem with providing effective treatment is discovering which disorder is primary in each new patient.  It’s much like the chicken-and-egg syndrome of which came first.  It is important to know if the mental health disorder brought on alcohol dependence, or if drinking behaviors led to a downward spiral of hopelessness and despair.

Psychological assessments are taken on patients in alcohol treatment at Tarzana Treatment Centers as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare.  In many cases, this is completed before the patient discharges from alcohol detox.  This gives our counselors and mental health professionals the ability to prepare treatment plans that target both disorders, with emphasis on the primary one.

The excerpt below is from an article posted on the Addiction Technology Transfer Network website.  The full article reviews the latest studies on major depression and alcohol dependence along with information from previous studies.  It includes some information that may be of interest to those with alcoholism in the family.

If you or a loved one is in need of alcohol treatment, please call us at 800-996-1051 or contact us here.

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Major depression (MD) and alcohol dependence (AD) co-occur in individuals and within families at higher rates than expected by chance. This study looked at how mood-related drinking motives may explain the overlapping familial risk for MD and AD. Findings suggest that individuals with strong mood-related drinking motives, especially those based on negative feelings, may be vulnerable to developing both MD and AD.

Results will be published in the August issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

“Although the frequent co-occurrence of AD and MD is widely recognized, the association between the disorders works differently for different people,” explained Kelly Young-Wolff, whose master’s thesis provided the stimulus for the study. “There are likely multiple mechanisms that result in the disorders co-occurring, for example, having MD increases the risk to develop AD, having AD increases the risk to develop MD; and causal factors – such as genetic risk or social circumstances – also contribute to developing both disorders.”

-- Source: http://www.attcnetwork.org/explore/priorityareas/science/tools/asmeDetails.asp?ID=615 --

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community.  The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.

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

Some federal government agencies have requested public comments on the Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act.  More information about the act is provided below thanks to the publication Addiction Professional.  Full text of the act can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1424.

The pros and cons of regulations need to be weighed now that this bill has become law.  Citizens suffering with mental health disorders, alcoholism, or drug addiction will benefit through fairer coverage for treatment.  Mental health treatment professionals and those who work in alcohol and drug treatment have seen how the disparity between physical and mental health coverage often postpones or discourages people from getting the treatment they need.

It is important that the positive effect the law will have on treatment coverage does not get lost in the regulations that implement the law.  Therefore, Tarzana Treatment Centers is requesting you send comments that support fair coverage.  

How to send comments:

1. Go to this web address: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=090000648096e388
2. Enter required information (optional if desired)
3. “Submitter's Representative” = If unknown, do the following:
4.       Find yours at https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
5.       Enter your 5 or 9 digit zip code
6.       Press “Contact my representative”
7.       Enter the name of your representative
8. “Government Agency Type” = Federal
9. “Government Agency” = DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
10. Enter comments in favor of parity and fairness in coverage for mental health treatment and alcohol or drug treatment
11. Click “Next Step”
12. Click “Submit”

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Federal government seeks public comment on implementation of parity law (4/28/2009)

Press Release

The Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act signed into law in October 2008 consolidated longstanding efforts at the national and state level to establish parity between the financial health coverage for mental health/substance abuse conditions, and physical health disorders. The three federal government agencies principally responsible for implementing this law – the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service -- are issuing a request in the Federal Register seeking information and advice from the public addressing critical issues surrounding the best ways to implement the law and fulfill its objectives.
 
Among the issues that the departments are seeking information on are issues related to the most efficient and cost-effective ways of implementing this law. In addition, this request for information seeks information that would be helpful in the development of regulations needed to implement this law.  
 
The Federal Register announcement can be accessed at:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-9629.pdf

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before 30 days after the publication of this announcement in the Federal Register.

-- Source: http://www.addictionpro.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=B5D85FFFBCAF408689A8A5F584A90444 –

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community.  The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.

May 7th, 2009 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

It is difficult for a parent to know whether or not youth behavior problems stem from a mental health disorder.  When this question arises it is a good idea to start with a psychological assessment, especially if the problems are new and sudden.  After all, if it makes sense to take a child to the doctor for a cough, the same should be true for possible mental health issues.

Most of the time, when a child displays negative behavior, the last thing a parent wants to think about is that a possible mental health issue is responsible.  Fear and stigma usually delay seeking help for behavioral problems.  So, in general, mental health treatment comes after the child’s behavior has caused family problems or even alcohol or drug abuse.

Tarzana Treatment Centers provides specialized youth mental health treatment, as well as adolescent alcohol and drug treatment, at our youth treatment facility.  Our integrated behavioral healthcare provides mental health treatment for youth with and without alcohol or drug abuse issues.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides detailed information on the subject of children’s mental health.  The following explains the focus of the 2009 Awareness Day.

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National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) is a day for everyone to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families. Awareness Day raises awareness of effective programs for children's mental health needs; demonstrates how children's mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience; and shows how children with mental health needs thrive in their communities.

The theme for this year's national event is Thriving in the Community, with a special emphasis on how high school youth who receive the services they need are more likely to have positive outcomes, such as better grades, and less likely to have negative outcomes, such as involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

-- Source: http://www.samhsa.gov/children/index.aspx --

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community.  The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.