Miami therapists partner with Elements Behavioral Health to develop bilingual treatment program

Ana Moreno, LMHC, and Ray Estefania, LMHC, CAP, are partnering with Elements Behavioral Health at its new facility, Lucida (Lantana, Fla.), to create a new Spanish-speaking addiction and behavioral healthcare program. The new 50-bed treatment facility is expected to open before the end of the year.

“We could not ask for better partners,” said David Sack, MD, CEO of Elements Behavioral Health. “Ray and Ana’s clinical experience and cultural knowledge of this population will be vital to the Lucida program’s success.”

Moreno and Estefania are therapists practicing in Miami, Fla. They are co-founders of Family Recovery Specialists which provides outpatient programs and intervention services for families and adolescents suffering from substance abuse and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Both clinicians previously served on the faculty of South Miami Hospital, where they directed the hospital’s substance abuse program.

“We are honored to have clinicians of Ray and Ana’s stature joining us at Lucida to create the bilingual program,” said Catherine Willner, Elements Behavioral Health’s Vice President for the Florida Region. “We don’t know of another program in South Florida, or the country for that matter, that addresses the needs of Spanish-speaking individuals suffering from psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. We expect this program to appeal to national and international clients seeking clinically sophisticated and culturally sensitive treatment.”