Scott R. Elkin, DO, Psychiatry

Dr. Elkin is such an incredible physician. He has treated both my sons and continues to treat my youngest boy. As others have said, he is not a pill-pusher, which for a mom with ADHD kids, is very important. My son is on the Autism spectrum as well, and Dr. Elkin has always helped our son, and us understand that this is not necessarily an impediment, just a difference. He is concerned not only with the patient, but how the whole family and community or the patient is affected by the diagnosis. He is a God-send. Compassionate, sacrificing, and just a top-notch human being. You couldn't ask for more! more

Couldn't get an appointment for my sick daughter but never found out why. Filled out an application which felt more like I was trying to get a job. Found the process impersonal and based on something other than how badly the person needed help. more

I have been seeing Dr Elkin for about four years. I started after I found my wife in a hotel with her best friends husband. I was truly a mess.. not sure I was going to make it. Dr Elkin has helped me tremendously. He has made arrangement's to see me on weekends, and when I was still living in Austin he would work late. Not sure if this man has a life outside of the office. I often find him asking me ""ok now, what is it your not talking about"". more

Dr. Elkin has been my doctor for over 5 years now. He was supportive of me when I declined various medications, and helped me examine options. I felt respected, and that has not always been my experience with doctors. When I proposed some alternative medicine solutions, he recommended a rational approach--a way to carefully test the efficacy of the natural supplements I proposed, without entirely abandoning my medication plan. He takes a holistic approach, not pushing, but discussing stress busters, like mild forms of exercise. If you are a conservative Christian, like me, you may not be entirely prepared for the Asian decor of his inner office, which includes a Buddha. I have no idea whether this is just decor, or an expression of his faith. Nevertheless, he seems to have a good working knowledge of Christianity, Judaism, and world cultures. ( He even speaks Spanish.) While I am not into Eastern philosophy, nor meditation, and while I rationally reject the worldview Buddhism offers, I appreciate the knowledge and intelligence Dr. Elkin brings to the table. He has been summarily respectful to me, my faith, and my viewpoints--even when it comes to prescription medicines. If you are looking for someone who cares and respects you as a person, despite your medical condition, he is the doctor for you! more

I saw Dr. Elkin for the first time when I was 29. I had been misdiagnosed for 9 years before then. He diagnosed me almost immediately. Dr. Elkin saved my life. I am 31 now and I've been seeing him ever since. I live in Houston now and will commute to see him because I know I'll never find a doctor who is as intuitive, insightful and caring as he is. Dr. Elkin has let me be the driver in the management of my condtion while he has navigated me. He has helped me become more health conscious and has taught me how internconnected body and mind are to one another. He's supported my ideas about trying to manage my condition without medication, and when that hasn't worked for me, he's helped me manage my medication. I hope that anyone considering a new psychiatrist or a switch will go see this amazing doctor. He's a teacher of spirituality and health, both mental and physical. more

Dr. Elkin is a really wonderful individual. He is extremely good at getting to the heart of the issues you as a patient are dealing with. I suffer from depression but have been stable now for a number of years on medication. But after the birth of my son and discovering his Autism, my husband and I and our son all go see him. My son's condition has made life difficult for my husband and me. I could write pages on how many times Dr. E has seen me at the drop of a hat, returned phone calls and e-mails. He and his staff have graciously addressed my requests for doctor instructions to be faxed for school nurses and for camp for the disbursement of my son's medications. He has really accommodated me and my family by giving us weekend appointments whenever possible. Because my son has Autism, it is much easier to bring him on a Saturday or a Sunday than a normal business day. He is just a gem of a Psychiatrist. I honestly don't know that many, but I lucked out with him. more

Dr. Elkin is the best psychiatrist I've ever had. I've been with him for years. He now has my meds pinpointed perfectly and my quality of life is completely normal, and has been for years. I don't even feel I have a serious mental illness anymore, but that is because of his careful balancing of my meds. He is very attentive and caring, and I trust him completely. A few years back, there were some staffing issues that resulted in him not getting his messages, but now all that is completely resolved and you will be in excellent hands. Even when my insurance changed for a couple of years and he was out of network, or I had no insurance at all, I found a way to pay so I could stay in his care. He is worth that much to me. more

Dr. Elkin has changed my life. I came to him and within 6 months I feel the most stable I've ever felt. He listens and always helps me feel better. His descriptions of things are great, visual, love it! more

Very thorough. Treats not only with medicine but food for thought. Dr. Elkin is a warm individual and has helped me through the toughest times of my life. He continues to care for me and my family balancing medicinal needs with counseling and strategic advice. more

My son has been a patient of Dr. Elkin for 8 years. He has Autism with behavioral issues. Dr. Elkin has always tried to help my son in every way possible from suggesting medications, yoga, environment to social skills therapy. He is all about the whole child. We saw 6 other Dr's including highly recommeded neurologists that could not help my son. Dr. Elkin was highly recommended by his peers. He has always throughly informed us of any medication decisions and left the decision up to us. He worked closely with other Psycologists, Psychiatrists, and our family Physician over the years to give my son the best outcome possible. Dr. Elkin never gave up on my son and now is doing well academically and is happy. He is still on medication but we found the right one and the right dosage. It takes time and effort to get it right. Dr. Elkin has given us hope when no one else cared. He is a great Dr.and he is open Saturdays! more

He changed my life! I have been seeing Dr. Elkin since 2006. He correctly diagnosed my psychiatric disorder immediately, prescribed meds that greatly improved the quality of my life, and continues to provide a supportive and nurturing comfort during my visits. I have recommended Dr. Elkin to friends who have been very pleased with his guidance and care. more

I'm glad I did not read the most recent 2 reviews prior to our first appt. with Dr. Elkin today! Our experience was completely different. Our initial appt. was very thorough & thoughtful; even thinking outside the 'psychiatric' box. We discussed various options for my child's treatment and I walked out of his office with a detailed treatment plan, a decrease in existing medication dosage and three suggestions of books to look into prior to our next appt. He treated us with respect, concern and courtesy. I will be happy to update my review after further appts. with him, but my initial impression was very positive and we are looking forward to working with him. more

I will start off by saying that Dr. Elkin is a very nice man and knows a lot about medication and does attend seminars and updates his education. However he is NOT a psychiatrist for children. Im sure he is great with adults but not with children. Ill admit we took our son to see him for 2 YEARS before we realized what was happening. Our first clue should have been that we never in 2 years of monthly visits saw another child in his office. We came to him with behavioral concerns. In the first visit Dr. Elkin diagnosed him with a mood disorder and then started him on many medications. I thank God that I was conservative on letting him up his medications because now I have found out that he was on dosages that were to strong for my sons weight and height. Before we took him to another psychiatrist he was on 4 different medications taking 5 pills a day at age 7! We started seeing worse behavior each time he was put on a new medication or if the medication was increased. We finally realized that the medications were actually making his behavior worse. I approached Dr. Elkin and asked him to reconsider his diagnosis and to possibly start lowering his medications but he said no that he stood by his diagnosis. That was the last time we saw him. Now my son is off all but one of the medications and is doing great! He was profoundly misdiagnosed. The questions our new psychiatrist asked us in our initial 90 minute session were never even mentioned to me in Dr. Elkins office. Please please please do not take your children to him. He may be a very nice man and good with adults but his specialty is NOT children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot imagine where my son would be now or 5 years from now if we had not pulled him out of Dr. Elkins care. Its hard to know who to trust and since he seemed so knowledgeable we trusted him, go with your instincts. There are other child psychiatrists in town! more

We saw Dr Elkin a few years ago when our son was having lots of behavioral problems. He was the only ""child psychiatrist"" that our insurance would pay for who was accepting patients. I don't know how he is with adults, but please don't take your child to see this doctor. His office was not child friendly - lots of things that kids would be interested in but are not allowed to touch. We waited forever in the waiting room, until our son was bored and irritated, and then went into his office where there was nothing for a kid to do, which made him more frustrated. Then we had to discuss all of our son's problems right there in front of our son - we had naturally assumed that our son would be out of the room, in a playroom or something, while we discussed all of this. Nope. We talked to him for about 10 minutes, he barely looked at our son, and he whipped out a prescription pad and started writing out RXs for major psychotropic medications, none of which had been approved for use with children. AND he gave us a referral to check our son into Shoal Creek. Um what?? Our son was a handful, but he did not need to be checked into a hospital - how he could make that determination after ignoring him in his office for a total of ten minutes still confounds me. I tried repeatedly to get the doctor to advise us on kinds of therapy that might help - but all he would do is push drugs at us. And we fell for it. We put our son on those drugs, and it was hell. They changed our boy, he couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, broke out in hives, and eventually fell into a depression. After 6 months we took him everything, threw the drugs away, and never spoke to Dr. Elkin again. And our son, who Dr. Elkin felt needed psychotropic medication and a trip to a mental hospital? He outgrew all of his behavior problems within a year. He has been a lovely, happy, well-adjusted kid ever since. I feel horrible guilt for ever listening to a word this doctor said. I should have trusted my gut. more

New Patients must fill out an application, no not new patient forms, but an application to be seen. You wait 3 weeks and then you get a phone call by his office staff to tell you whether you have been ""accepted"" or not. In our case, his staff was very apologectic and said that Dr. Elkins did not elaborate ""why"". We called our Insurance Company and they said it could be that this dr picks out patients that he has special expertise in. In addition, our insurance company said that this is happening more now then ever and there is nothing they can do but take our complaint. more

Today will be my second visit to Dr. Elkin and I must say I'm quite excited. He is very interested in what you have to say and takes the time to explain things to you that other docotors might not even comprehend. He immediately began a treatment plan for me that works well with my mental health and body. I would suggest anyone seeking help to seek Dr. Elkin! Pros: Takes his time Cons: Took a while to get called in. more

Suzanne Grantham, PMHNP, has been successful in treating my treatment resistant depression for 2 years now. Her knowledge of medications and neurology is through and up to date. She is compassionate and listens carefully. Pros: Excellent Cutting Edge Treatment of Depression and Anxiety more

Dr Elkin: more

Dr. Elkin is the most compassionate, holistic (in how he treats you as a person) healer I have every been to. He has helped my son, and helped me to learn how to help my son - he is THE BEST!! HIs staff are friendly, attentive, accomodating, and he will work with you to see you when you need to be seen. I can't praise him enough! Pros: A quiet, low-key office with a great staff. Cons: A pain to get to his office on Friday afternoons because of traffic, but central location outweighs this. more

When I became Dr. Elkin's patient I was a danger to myself and others, unable to work and had isolated myself. Today, thanks to Dr. Elkin, I am able to care for myself and my child, work, and develop and maintain healthy relationships. Dr. Elkin has a busy practice but has seen me, same day, when I have psychotic episodes. When I am having mild episodes (usually caused by skipping my medication) he does not end our session until he is confident I have stabilized. I have a life long illness and have had many doctors. Dr. Elkin is the best doctor I have had. more