Founding Story
Ellenhorn was founded 20 years ago by a psychiatrist and a clinically trained sociologist eager to fill a major gap in private psychiatric care. At the time, there were few, if any, options other than hospital or residential programs and clinic visits. What was missing? Intensive services provided to individuals in the community—resources proven to help individuals manage their lives while receiving care. These services were common in community mental-health centers, but they didn’t exist in the private sector. Two decades later, Ellenhorn continues to offer intensive community-based psychiatric care that allows clients to thrive.
How We’re Different
We believe that staying connected to the world is central to an individual getting better.
At Ellenhorn, we redefine psychiatric care by focusing on what most programs overlook: social recovery. Our multidisciplinary teams work in the real world—where clients live, work and connect—and offer personalized, community-based care. By blending psychiatric expertise with support of purpose, hope and self-belief, we help individuals reclaim not just wellness, but the fullness of life.
Our Mission
Our Mission
At Ellenhorn, we believe healing goes beyond symptoms—it’s about addressing the social impacts of psychiatric diagnoses. We take clients’ social struggles seriously, calling these experiences “psychosocial trauma.” Our mission is to help individuals reclaim purpose, independence, and belonging by blending psychiatric care with an understanding of mental health treatment’s social challenges.
Our Values
Our Values
Our philosophy
Our philosophy
Our goals
At Ellenhorn, our goals for each client are recovery from disruptive psychiatric experiences and social recovery, the two given equal importance. While many programs split these objectives—viewing treatment of psychiatric symptoms as separate from a person’s attainment of their rightful role in the world (and often making symptom reduction come first, as a necessary precondition for a client’s involvement in real life)—we see the full achievement of each goal as dependent on the realization of the other.
We believe that the mutually dependent goals of recovery from disruptive psychiatric experiences and social recovery are impossible to achieve without a strong collaborative relationship with our clients. That’s why our clients are leaders in their own care. We place their goals for the future front and center in our treatment.
01
Social recovery
Social recovery is most likely to occur when a client receives thoughtful and coordinated pharmacological care (i.e., medication) that takes into account how psychiatric symptoms as well as medication side effects can impede achievement of leading a satisfying, productive life in the community.
02
Psychiatric experience recovery
The best pharmacological care occurs when a doctor is part of a team of treaters (clinicians, therapists and others) dedicated to supporting a client’s engagement with the world.
03
Collaborative Care
When psychiatrists are members of a close-knit team, they are able to make more finely tuned treatment decisions that lead to precisely targeted care, the avoidance of overmedication or improper medication, and treatment that can safely help some clients lead medication-free lives.
Our Team
our mission is to support healing beyond symptoms
At Ellenhorn, we see healing as more than treatment—it’s about reclaiming purpose, independence, and belonging. Our team is dedicated to addressing the social challenges of psychiatric diagnoses with compassion, understanding, and expertise.