Substance Abuse Treatment and Dual Diagnosis
Substance abuse often co-occurs with severe mental illness. Research shows that there is a 60% lifetime incidence of severe mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse (Dual Diagnosis). Another way of saying this is that 6 out of 10 individuals with a severe mental illness will have substance abuse problems some time during their life. Unfortunately, severe mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse is associated with a variety of negative outcomes including:
• Hospitalization
• Suicide
• Work/school problem
• Problems with relationships
• Non-compliance with dual diagnosis treatment
Pychosocial approaches to dual diagnosis have been limited in their success. The majority of approaches are adopted from programs that address substance abuse problems without co-occurring mental illness. These approaches are yet to be proven for dually diagnosed individuals. However, the research literature does support the following:
• A Substance abuse problem is the rule not the exception
• Substance abuse treatment should be fully integrated into the dual diagnosis treatment for severe mental illness
• Motivational enhancement strategies should be utilized for dual diagnosis treatment
• Behavioral skills training is effective for individuals with a dual diagnosis problem
• 12-Step recovery is problematic for some individuals with severe mental illness
• Dual diagnosis treatment should be long term
