Live Webinar

Are We Diagnosing Disconnection? Uncovering the Blind Spots That Keep Clients Stuck

Dr. Jon Stevens
Dr. Ross Ellenhorn
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Information

Date & Time

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify at least three systemic barriers within traditional mental health care that may contribute to disconnection and hinder recovery.

  • Analyze the role of “third spaces” in fostering healing and social connection, and describe at least one way clinicians can integrate this concept into their practice.

  • Apply insights from the discussion to assess their own professional practice, identifying at least one way to reduce unintentional reinforcement of disconnection within current treatment models.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is for participants to critically examine traditional approaches to mental health by questioning whether clinical interventions adequately address the root causes of serious mental illness and underscore the necessity for more human-centered, socially connected approaches that extend beyond diagnosis and treatment.

Description

In the landscape of mental health care, we often focus on clinical interventions—therapy, medication, hospitalization—but are these interventions addressing the real problem? Or are they reinforcing the very barriers that keep people disconnected?

Join Ross Ellenhorn, PhD, and Jon Stevens, MD, for a conversation on the visible and invisible barriers that shape the experiences of individuals experiencing serious mental illness. This discussion challenges conventional wisdom and asks whether we’re treating a sociological crisis as a psychiatric one.

Together, Dr. Stevens and Dr. Ellenhorn will explore how systems of care can do better, how connection to "third spaces" can redefine recovery, and whether mental health professionals might be unintentionally contributing to the problem. More than a lecture, this session is designed to spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and provide a blueprint for more effective, human-centered care.

Target Audience

  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker
  • Substance Use Disorder Professionals

Presenters

Dr. Jon Stevens
Dr. Jonathan Stevens is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with 18 years of experience in both inpatient hospitals and outpatient settings. Dr. Stevens is triple board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, adult psychiatry, and obesity medicine. He is a recognized personalized mental health care leader and is highly skilled in medication management.

Patients appreciate Dr. Stevens for his accessibility and blending of the art and science of psychiatric care. He treats children and adults with mood disorders (depression, bipolar), behavioral problems related to autism spectrum and other developmental disorders, ADHD, anxiety, psychotic disorders, OCD, complex addiction cases, complex dual diagnosis cases, and obesity. His clinical interests include improving the outcomes of psychiatric care through genetic testing, understanding the pharmacokinetics of ADHD medications, and managing the metabolic burdens of psychiatric medications.

Dr. Stevens is the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on psychopharmacology and regularly provides community education via his media appearances and interviews. Dr. Stevens is the founder of Psych Insight and InnerSpace, private mental health practices based in Houston, Texas. Recent former leadership positions include Chief of Outpatient Services, Chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the Menninger Clinic, and Associate Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Ross Ellenhorn
Dr. Ellenhorn is the Founder and CEO of Ellenhorn. is a pioneer and leader in the development and promotion of community integration services, types of care that serve and empower individuals diagnosed with psychiatric and/or addiction issues while they remain in their own communities and outside institutional settings.

Trained as a sociologist, psychotherapist and social worker, he created the first fully operating intensive hospital diversion and wrap-around program in Massachusetts. Ellenhorn later created and led one of the first public Programs for Assertive Community Treatment teams in the state. In 2022, Ellenhorn co-founded CARDEA, a psychedelics based practice that assists those who seek recovery from deep and entrenched psychological anguish, from behaviors that are out of control, as well as those who want a more awakened life and expanded sense of existence.

Dr. Ellenhorn has authored three books on human behavior. Parasuicidality and Paradox: Breaking Through the Medical Model addresses psychiatric hospital recidivism and techniques for diverting hospital use. It was published by Springer Publishing in 2007. His most recent book, How We Change (and the Ten Reasons Why We Don’t), takes a deep dive into the dynamics that influence all human change. Published by Harper Collins, and in seven different languages, How We Change was released in May of 2020. Purple Crayons: The Art of Drawing a Life celebrates our inherent “sacred originality” and establishes a new framework for self-reliance. It was published in 2022. He has authored numerous articles, gives talks and seminars throughout the country, and provides consultation to mental health agencies, psychiatric hospitals and addiction programs.

Dr. Ellenhorn is the founder of the Shifting The Paradigm conferences, a bi‑annual series that addresses humanistic and empowering changes in behavioral healthcare. He is the executive producer of the film, Recovering Addiction: A Public Health Rescue Mission, a documentary on new, less‑oppressive means for understanding problematic substance use and other distressing habits.

Dr. Ellenhorn is the first person to receive a joint Ph.D. from Brandeis University’s prestigious Florence Heller School for Social Welfare Policy and Management and the Department of Sociology.

Financially Sponsored By

  • Ellenhorn