Managing Co Occurring Disorders And Substance Abuse And Mental Health

Conceptualizing Co-Occurring Disorder
Co-occurring disorders is a term that can be very broad and can describe different conditions that happen or occur at the same time. For the purpose of this essay and from the mental health perspective co-occurring disorders refer to someone who has a substance use disorder such as alcohol or drugs, and also has a mental disorder such as depression or any other mental illness. According to a study conducted in 2014 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) adults 18 and over who were surveyed reported having a substance use and/or mental illness. “Of these, 7.9 million people had both a mental disorder and substance use disorder” (SAMHSA, 2016). This essay will provide general history information about co-occurring disorders, how the term came about, treatment integration and the quadrants, as well as a personal view on the use of the co-occurring term.
To begin with, is vital to understand the history of co-occurring disorders. Late in 1970s mental health providers started noticing that their clients commonly had mental illnesses and a substance use disorder. Then, “by the 1990s, substance abuse treatment programs typically reported that 50 to 75 percent of clients had co-occurring mental disorders, while clinicians in mental health settings reported that between 20 to 50 percent of their clients had a co-occurring substance use disorder” (SAMHSA, 2005). That being said, one needs to understand that co-occurring disorders affect people from different walks of life, cultures, socioeconomic status, and racial backgrounds. Furthermore, is important to keep in mind that many of the cases that were reported and diagnosed in the past and present are not an accura...

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...on who has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder.
All in all, the use of formats such as the quadrants can help providers know what level of care their client is needing and also know which area of the co-occurring disorder needs the most attention. Providing services for both mental and substance disorders help the client have a greater success rate and be able to lead normal lives. Many terms have been used in the past, however, co-occurring disorder has been a term that people in field has come to agree better fits and can be separated to identify clients who have a mental illness and a substance use disorder. Many different mental disorders can be under the umbrella of the co-occurring disorder as well as many different forms of substance use, that being said, the term helps unified the condition and provides a person center diagnosis.