Elements Behavioral Health aims to become the premier company that fills the gaps in mental health treatment between inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services; in co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders; and between traditional and alternative settings to help clients that are underweight or overweight due to eating related and other issues. Our goal is for full recovery and well being with permanent life change and life style improvement and not just symptom reduction.

Elements acquired its first program, Promises Treatment Centers, a leading residential rehabilitation program with campuses in Malibu and West Los Angeles, California, in February 2008. Elements will continue to develop and/or acquire a range of highly specialized programs that are designed to achieve lasting recovery and sustained clinical improvement.

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Substance Abuse Problems Can Masquerade As Other Psychiatric Disorders

Getting an accurate diagnosis can be complicated, and even elusive, when substance use is involved. The effects of substance use can masquerade as other mental health issues and psychiatric disorders. For this reason, many substance users who seek treatment will be misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed at some point. This is often a frustrating process. It’s not uncommon, for example, for one’s diagnosis to be unclear for some time especially if there are significant symptoms that could be attributed to a condition other than substance use. Further, it is also not uncommon for diagnoses to change throughout the course of treatment.

One of the major difficulties in obtaining an accurate diagnosis is that substance users often have a very complicated history of symptoms and stressors. Individuals who have used substances over a long period of time may have symptoms directly related to substance use and another disorder simultaneously. Also, especially for people who have had only brief periods of sobriety, it is not always possible to understand where past symptoms have come from. In these cases, history — although perhaps given honestly — is not always enough. A substantial period of abstinence may be required before a thorough evaluation can be completed and other disorders are diagnosed or ruled out. Read the full story »

Alcoholics: Are You Too Good for AA?
February 7, 2010 – 9:17 am

Maybe you know you have a problem with alcohol. Or, maybe you haven’t had the guts to admit it yet. But you are slowly becoming aware that things are deteriorating around you at a fairly …

Cambodian Refugees and Gambling Disorders
February 5, 2010 – 1:38 pm

The Cambodian refugees that have settled in the United States may suffer high rates of trauma (Marshall, Schell, Elliott, Berthold & Chun, 2005). In order to treat this trauma, it is also important to understand …

New Compound Could Become Important Antidepressant
February 5, 2010 – 12:46 pm

Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over, one of the most important antidepressant …

Brain Stimulation May be More Effective Than Antidepressants
February 4, 2010 – 7:26 am

For those who are dealing with debilitating depression, antidepressants are meant to provide relief. Recent research, however, has identified that more than one third of patients with depression may not be achieving a satisfactory response …

Excessive Internet Use Linked to Depression
February 3, 2010 – 1:23 pm

People who spend a great deal of time browsing the Internet are more likely to show depressive symptoms, according to the first large-scale study of its kind in the West by University of Leeds …

Study Finds Genetic Mutations Associated with Suicide Risk among Depressed Patients
February 2, 2010 – 4:21 pm

A new report reveals that single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression. The study will appear in …

Aftermath of Suicide: Help for Families
February 2, 2010 – 4:16 pm

In the wake of a loved one’s death by suicide, families often disintegrate, unable to deal with the intense grief and the difficult, painful, and often unanswerable question of “Why?” For every suicide, it is …

Those with Schizophrenia More Likely to Encounter Criminal Justice System
February 1, 2010 – 11:21 am

A new study shows that people being treated for schizophrenia are more likely than the general population to have encounters with the criminal justice system in the US. The study, published in the open access …

Comparing Psychological Distress among Those With Kids and Without Mental Illness
January 31, 2010 – 7:16 am

Mental illness can have a profound effect on parenting. When parents are struggling with psychological distress, their children suffer the secondary behaviors. Parents can be hostile, insensitive and use harsh methods of discipline. Additionally, 23 …

Tiny Nerve Structure Stimulation Tested for Treating Depression
January 30, 2010 – 3:15 pm

As depression can wreak havoc for an individual as well as close family and friends, it is important to understand the affect it can have and the best way to treat associated symptoms. Now, one …