
Treatment of comorbidity often involves collaboration between clinical providers and organizations that provide supportive services to address issues such as homelessness, physical health, vocational skills, and legal problems. 87 Communication is critical for supporting this integration of services.
Full Answer
What is integrated treatment for comorbidity?
Integrated treatment for comorbid drug use disorder and mental illness has been found to be consistently superior compared with separate treatment of each diagnosis.3,81–83 Integrated treatment of co-occurring disorders often involves using cognitive behavioral therapy strategies to boost interpersonal and coping skills and using approaches that support motivation and …
What is the most effective treatment for comorbid conditions?
Building Your Program 1 What is Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders? Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders differs from traditional approaches in several ways. First, services are organized in an integrated fashion. For example, assessments screen for both mental illness and substance use.
Are integrated therapies effective in the treatment of comorbid PTSD/Sud?
complex needs of clients with comorbid disorders. The authors de-scribe the critical components of effective programs, which include a comprehensive, long-term, staged approach to recovery; assertive out-reach; motivational interventions; provision of help to clients in ac-quiring skills and supports to manage both illnesses and to pursue
How can integrated treatment specialists effectively assess and treat co-occurring disorders?
The most common challenges associated with treating SUD/PTSD patients included knowing how to best prioritize and integrate treatment components, patient self-destructiveness and severe symptomatology, and helping patients abstain from substance use. The findings increase understanding of SUD/PTSD treatment challenges, and may be useful for enhancing therapist …

How are comorbid disorders treated?
Treatment of comorbidity often involves collaboration between clinical providers and organizations that provide supportive services to address issues such as homelessness, physical health, vocational skills, and legal problems. Communication is critical for supporting this integration of services.Apr 14, 2020
What is an integrated treatment approach?
Integrated Treatment. Integrated treatment simply means that one provider (or one team of providers) delivers both mental health and substance use services at the same time.
What are practice principles for integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders?
Principle 1: Integration of mental health and substance use services. Principle 2: Access to comprehensive assessment of substance use and mental health concerns. Principle 3: Comprehensive variety of services offered to clients. Principle 4: An assertive approach to care/service delivery.
What are the elements of an integrated treatment plan?
In this article we define integrated treatment for clients with co-occurring disorders, and identify the core components of effective integrated programs, including: assertive outreach, comprehensiveness, shared decision-making, harm-reduction, long-term commitment, and stage-wise (motivation-based) treatment.
What are the benefits of integrated treatment?
Benefits of integrated treatment may include the following: Help patients into recovery by providing more holistic support services, such as employment assistance. Assists patients in identifying individualized recovery goals and learning how recovery from each illness will work.May 31, 2018
What are the 10 guiding principles of recovery?
The 10 fundamental components of mental health recovery include the following principles:Self-Direction. ... Individualized and Person-Centered. ... Empowerment. ... Holistic. ... Non-Linear. ... Strengths-Based. ... Peer Support. ... Respect.More items...
What is sequential treatment?
Sequential Treatment is an approach to treating Co-Occurring Disorders (COD) in which a client must successfully address or resolve one disorder before being considered eligible for treatment for the other disorder.
What is integrated dual disorder treatment?
The Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model is an evidence-based practice that improves quality of life for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders by combining substance abuse services with mental health services.
What is parallel treatment?
Definition: An approach to treating dual disorders by which mental health disorder and substance use disorders are both treated at the same time, but by different treatment providers, often in different settings, or in separate service systems.
Why is it important to treat co-occurring disorders?
Treating co-occurring disorders together allows for holistic recovery, addressing the whole person rather than an isolated facet of suffering in order to achieve better outcomes.Apr 19, 2017
What is assertive community treatment model?
What is Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)? ACT is a service-delivery model that provides comprehensive, locally based treatment to people with serious and persistent mental illnesses.
Who developed motivational enhancement therapy?
Motivational enhancement therapy is a strategy of therapy that involves a variation of motivational interviewing to analyze feedback gained from client sessions. Motivational Interviewing was originated by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick based on their experiences treating problem drinkers.
When do comorbid disorders start?
Epidemiological research indicates that comorbid disorders onset in early adolescence, primarily with the non-substance-related disorder preceding the substance-related disorder. Kessler (2004)reports that the average age of onset for mental disorders is 11 years whereas SUDs do not onset on average until age 21.
What is integrated treatment?
Integrated treatment refers to the focus of treatment on two or more conditions and to the use of multiple treatments such as the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.
Is psychiatric disorder comorbid?
Keywords: Comorbidity, psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders. INTRODUCTION. Epidemiological and clinical studies find that psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly comorbid (a condition referred to as “dual” or “co-occurring” disorders).
Is CBT effective for anxiety?
Research shows that, as long as therapists are well trained and supervised and use manual-based therapies, CBT is highly effective for all DSM-defined anxiety disorders (Hofmann & Smits, 2008; Stewart & Chambless, 2009).
How to effectively assess and treat co-occurring disorders?
To effectively assess and treat co-occurring disorders, integrated treatment specialists should be trained in psychopathology, assessment, and treatment strategies for both mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Mental health practitioners, therefore, should increase their knowledge about substance use disorders including the following:
How can a medication service help consumers?
Providing medication services can help consumers by enhancing their motivation and offering strategies for remembering medication regimes.
What is building your program?
Building Your Program is intended to help mental health and substance abuse authorities, agency administrators, and program leaders think through and develop the structure ofIntegrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders. The first part of this booklet gives you background information about the evidence-based model. This section is followed by specific information about your role in implementing and sustaining your Integrated Treatment program. Although you will work closely together to build your program, for ease, we separated tips into two sections:
What is integrated treatment for co-occurring anxiety and depression?
Although integrated treatment for co-occurring AUD and MHCs makes intuitive sense, the evidence base supporting integrated treatment, particularly for co-occurring anxiety and depression, is less mature. To address the heterogeneity among individuals with co-occurring disorders, more research is needed on the types of services, service providers, and treatment settings that are best for which groups of individuals. Also, in the evaluation of a treatment’s efficacy, it is important to include individual strengths, such as recovery capital, that may moderate or mediate response to treatment. Recruiting participants who have AUD and MHCs for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment can be challenging, and increasing measurement-based practice 81 within current treatment structures could help clinicians determine which patients are struggling and prompt re-evaluation of treatment plans.
Why is it important to identify co-occurring disorders?
Given the high co-occurrence between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and mental health conditions (MHCs), 1 and the increased morbidity associated with the presence of co-occurring disorders, 2 it is important to identify the co-occurring disorders and to address both disorders in treatment to improve treatment outcome.
What are the pharmacologic trials for AUD?
Pharmacologic trials for co-occurring AUD and MHCs have focused primarily on treating the MHC with a medication that has demonstrated efficacy for treating the MHC in the absence of co-occurring A UD. 49-51 This type of trial includes, for example, using an antidepressant medication to treat an individual who has AUD and major depressive disorder. On average, these pharmacologic trials have shown modest improvements in the MHC, with limited improvement in the co-occurring AUD. 52,53 Likewise, clinical trials that used medication effective at treating AUD alone have shown some improvement in the AUD, with limited improvement in the co-occurring MHC. 50,54 Importantly, in the studies that evaluated the effectiveness of AUD medication for co-occurring AUD and MHCs, most participants were also simultaneously receiving medication for the MHC, which may have affected study outcome. 54,55
What is behavioral therapy?
Behavioral therapies, such as motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, and 12-step facilitation, are the standard of care for individuals with AUD and are a key part of a treatment plan for individuals with co-occurring AUD and MHCs. 41 As such, behavioral therapy for AUD, which is commonly motivational enhancement therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy, is provided to all participants in most randomized controlled trials that evaluate pharmacotherapy for individuals with AUD and an MHC. Although less commonly discussed, AUD-focused therapies delivered to individuals with MHCs may need to be adapted to account for the MHC. For example, Levin and colleagues modified the delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy for SUD when working with individuals who had co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 42 The researchers allowed in-session time for completing homework assignments, checked in with participants after presenting any new paradigm for understanding drug use behavior, and used visual diagrams to help with skills training.
What are evidence based practices for integrated treatment programs?
Evidence-based practices for integrated treatment programs for individuals with substantial impairment and low functioning because of AUD and a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, include incorporating interventions that match an individual’s stage of readiness for treatment engagement 68 and involve assertive outreach, motivational interventions, and counseling to build cognitive and behavioral skills. Evidence-based practices also include strengthening an individual’s connection with social supports that encourage recovery, a comprehensive approach that addresses AUD and MHCs in all aspects of the program, including social services, and takes a long-term, community-based perspective on recovery. Cultural sensitivity and competence are also crucial aspects of integrated treatment programs.
What is the co-occurrence of alcohol use disorder?
Given the high co-occurrence between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and mental health conditions (MHCs), and the increased morbidity associated with the presence of co-occurring disorders, it is important that co-occurring disorders be identified and both disorders addressed in integrated treatment. Tremendous heterogeneity exists among individuals with co-occurring conditions, and factors related to both AUD and MHCs, including symptom type and acuity, illness severity, the chronicity of symptoms, and recovery capital, should be considered when recommending treatment interventions. This article reviews the prevalence of co-occurring AUD and MHCs, screening tools to identify individuals with symptoms of AUD and MHCs, and subsequent assessment of co-occurring disorders. Types of integrated treatment and current challenges to integrate treatment for co-occurring disorders effectively are reviewed. Innovative uses of technology to improve education on co-occurring disorders and treatment delivery are also discussed. Systemic challenges exist to providing integrated treatment in all treatment settings, and continued research is needed to determine ways to improve access to treatment.
What are some examples of innovative models for improving education?
One example of an innovative model for improving education is the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes program for primary care providers, called Project ECHO ( https://echo.unm.edu ). This program uses a simultaneous video link to connect specialists and primary care providers in different regions of a state for regular case-based discussions. In New Mexico, one focus of Project ECHO has been a weekly meeting about addictions and psychiatry. A review of the program suggests that this type of learning opportunity helped New Mexico increase the number of physicians who have waivers to prescribe buprenorphine in underserved areas at a much faster rate relative to other states in the country. 77
