The Importance of Comprehensive
Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

Learn more about the importance of a comprehensive co-occurring disorders treatment for improved well-being.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

What Are Co-Occurring Disorders?

A co-occurring disorder is when someone has two health conditions at the same time, such as a mental illness and a substance use disorder. These conditions can worsen each other, making treatment more complex.
Co-occurring disorders can impair day-to-day functioning and contribute to instability, mental and physical impairments, and social withdrawal.

That’s why our team at Skyline Recovery Center (SRC) focuses on addressing the underlying causes of these co-occurring disorders to facilitate sustainable recovery.

We understand that each individual is unique, which is why we have an integrative approach to healing where we implement holistic and tailored treatment practices. Our technique of treatment promotes engagement and increases the possibility of a successful outcome.
Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

Understanding Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

By understanding co-occurring disorders, you can confidently know that you’re not alone and there’s a viable treatment for the condition.

A person with a co-occurring disorder experiences symptoms of both mental health and substance use disorders (SUD) concurrently. Other terms used to describe this condition are comorbidity and dual diagnosis.

When one gets diagnosed with co-occurring disorders, it requires integrated treatment approaches to address the interconnectedness of the conditions. This way, an individual can heal fully and decrease risk of relapse.

Common Mental Health Conditions That Co-Occur With SUD

Some of the most common mental health conditions that co-occur with substance use disorders are:

  • Depression
  • PTSD 
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Anxiety disorders 
  • Personality disorders
  • Psychotic disorders

Risk Factors for Co-Occurring Disorders

Co-occurring disorders have a significant level of complexity, but here are some of the most common risk factors of the condition:1
  • Gender: Males have greater tendencies to develop substance use disorders compared to females. 
  • Lack of social support: Lack of social support can increase the chances of co-occurring disorders due to a sense of isolation. 
  • Family history: Having a relative with a substance use disorder increases the chances of developing a substance use disorder.
  • Peer association: In adolescents and young adults, peer pressure is one of the major factors that influences co-occurring disorders.
  • History of trauma or abuse: Individuals diagnosed with a mental health disorder are at a greater risk of developing co-occurring disorders.

Symptoms of Co-Occurring Disorders

Some of the symptoms of co-occurring disorders include:
  • Losing interest in activities that were previously interesting
  • Intense bursts of energy
  • Unwarranted anger or aggression
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Hostility toward others
  • Self-hatred
  • Dramatic mood swings
  • Malnutrition
  • Significant weight loss or weight gain

Approaches for Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

When utilizing co-occurring disorders treatment, our team at Skyline Recovery Center offers many approaches, such as:

Dual Diagnosis Assessment

Individuals in co-occurring disorders treatment go through multi-level assessments that seek to understand a person from various perspectives relevant to symptoms.
At Skyline Recovery Center, the evaluation takes your physical and mental health history into account, including limitations, skill deficits, and cultural barriers.

Tools Utilized During Dual Diagnosis Assessment and Diagnosis

During assessment for co-occurring disorders treatment, there are various tools that mental health providers use.
Generally, some of the most common tools are:2
  • Addiction Severity Index (ASI)
  • Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test
  • Mental Health Screening Form III
  • Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test
  • The Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale
  • Drug Use Disorder Identification Test
  • Inventory of Depressive Symptoms

Integrative Treatment Planning

We understand the complex interplay between co-occurring disorders. When creating an integrative plan, we take the severity of your symptoms into account and also set actionable co-occurring disorders treatment goals.

Our comprehensive treatment plans also include strategies for relapse prevention and harm reduction. It recognizes that recovery from co-occurring disorders is a dynamic and ongoing process that involves identifying triggers and developing coping skills to maintain sobriety.

Since our integrative treatment plan is a collaborative approach, we always make adjustments to our co-occurring disorders treatment approach as needed. This ensures patients get the care they need.

Simultaneous Management of Mental Health and SUD Symptoms

Our co-occurring disorders treatment team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, and addiction specialists who work together to address every aspect of the individual’s health and well-being.
One of the major strategies for maintaining coordinated care in our team is by active information sharing among the experts. For instance, our team shares relevant information like assessment findings, treatment goals, progress notes, and medication management needs.

Evidence-Based Practices Used in Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

We employ rigorously researched and effective co-occurring disorders treatment approaches to improve health outcomes.
Some of these evidence-based practices include:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most effective co-occurring disorders treatment options. Initially established by Dr. Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s for treating depression, CBT has evolved into an effective treatment option for dual diagnosis.
The effectiveness of CBT in treating co-occurring disorders is based on several core principles.
When implementing CBT for co-occurring disorders, mental health providers work with the individual to recognize patterns of thinking causing the problem. Once they identify that negative pattern, they also learn to reconsider their thought process from a positive and realistic perspective.3

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is effective in treating individuals with co-occurring disorders who haven’t responded to CBT or other evidence-based co-occurring disorders treatment.
DBT relies on learning skills to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It uses a series of strategies and techniques, including the following:
  1. Mindfulness: Individuals learn about bringing awareness into the moment by mastering the observation of feelings, thoughts, sensations, and impulses and tuning into their senses and the environment around them.
  2. Interpersonal effectiveness: Since most participants in DBT struggle with challenges in their relationships, interpersonal effectiveness helps them repair, maintain, and establish meaningful relationships and end destructive ones.
  3. Emotional regulation: This focuses on identifying, naming, and changing the negative effects of emotional responses. It helps individuals recognize and cope with intense negative emotions and create an opposite action to have a more positive emotional experience.
  4. Distress tolerance: This part of DBT teaches people to accept negative emotions and react effectively through distraction or improving the moment

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

MI is in the form of a collaborative conversation that focuses on the individual’s reasons or motivations for change, rather than imposing external pressure or judgment.
At its core, MI is based on four core principles:4
  • Expressing empathy: The therapist or mental health professional works to see the world through their client’s eyes and thinks of things based on how they think of them. It encourages clients to share their experiences in depth without fear of judgment.
  • Developing discrepancy: The mental health professional helps individuals explore and articulate discrepancies between current behaviors, values, or situations and desired goals, values, and aspirations.
  • Rolling with resistance: This involves responding to resistance or opposition with empathy, understanding, and flexibility rather than through coercion.
  • Supporting self-efficacy: In supporting self-efficacy, the therapist recognizes and reinforces their client’s strengths, past successes, and internal resources. This helps them to promote confidence, autonomy, and empowerment for overall healing.

The Importance of Integrated Care in Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

Integrative care is a core aspect of our co-occurring disorders treatment. Here’s why integrative care is a priority for us at Skyline Recovery Center:

Addressing Underlying Factors

Integrated care helps individuals address mental health and substance use disorders by recognizing how their interconnectedness increases the risk of relapse.
At Skyline Recovery Center, we provide specialized care that includes medication management, counseling, behavioral therapy, and support groups, leading to long-term healing.
A well-structured integrative plan allows our mental health professionals to have a comprehensive understanding of each individual’s needs. It also makes it easier for us to develop tailored treatment plans that target those needs.

What Underlying Factors Do We Look At?

Some underlying factors our team of mental health professionals may address include:
  • Trauma: Many people with co-occurring disorders have experienced trauma or adverse life experiences that contribute to the condition. Integrative care incorporates trauma-informed approaches to address underlying trauma and build coping skills.
  • Genetics: Some genetic factors can make a person more vulnerable to developing both mental health and substance use disorders. Since genes can be a contributing factor, we offer a comprehensive co-occurring disorders treatment approach that recognizes these struggles and acknowledges them in the treatment process.
  • Environmental factors: Environmental factors, such as peer influence or access to support, typically play a crucial role in shaping beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. We understand that possibility, and that’s why our integrative care approach is tailored to these needs.

Breaking the Cycle

Our integrated care begins with a comprehensive assessment that evaluates the individual’s mental health symptoms and identifies the complex interactions between mental health and substance use.
Through coordination between healthcare providers, we ensure a continuity of care that breaks this cycle.
Our integrative care also incorporates efficient relapse prevention strategies to help maintain recovery and prevent the recurrence of co-occurring disorders.
This relapse prevention plan may include identifying triggers, developing coping skills, creating a support network, and setting achievable goals for the future.

Promoting Long Term Recovery

Since integrated care promotes individualized treatment, each individual’s experience can be unique and require specific needs and preferences to be taken into account.
Long-term recovery promotes many avenues for each individual to heal the way they need to. For example, peer support and community resources can be integrated to help reduce feelings of isolation. Peer support groups also offer valuable insights and encouragement for recovery.
In addition to peer support, developing an integrative community with resources is vital. These resources may include access to vocational training, housing assistance, educational programs, or other community-based services that promote overall well-being.

SRC: Your Partner in Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

At Skyline Recovery Center, we pride ourselves on being a leading provider of co-occurring disorders treatment. We do this by offering specialized services that address the complex interplay between substance use and mental health conditions.

Specialized and Integrative Services for Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

Our specialized services include:

Dual Diagnosis Therapy

Our dual diagnosis therapy encompasses evidence-based modalities such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and trauma-informed care.
All of the therapies we offer are adapted to address both mental health and substance use issues simultaneously to help build coping skills and enhance self-awareness.

Medication Management

For individuals experiencing co-occurring disorders, medication management may be a crucial part of treatment. During medication management, mental health professionals will constantly monitor doses for either disorder and its medication to make adjustments when needed.
Please note that at Skyline Recovery Center, we follow a structured process that ensures you get the best support for your symptoms and needs during this time.
Before we prescribe any medication, we provide:
  1. An initial assessment to find out the best approach to care.
  2. A collaborative treatment plan based on unique treatment needs for holistic healing. 
  3. Referral options that are suitable for meeting your needs if you need more intensive care than outpatient treatment.
  4. Structured follow-up to ensure care continuity and aftercare needs.

Holistic and Integrated Treatment Approach

In addition to the evidence-based co-occurring disorders treatment approach we follow, we also recognize the importance of holistic wellness activities in promoting overall well-being.

Our holistic wellness program includes options such as yoga, nutritional counseling, sound baths, and meditation to help individuals reduce stress and cultivate a sense of balance.

Experienced Mental Health Professionals

At Skyline Recovery Center, our team of experienced professionals specializes in co-occurring disorders treatment and provides compassionate and evidence-based care tailored to unique needs. Our multi-disciplinary team includes skilled therapists, addiction specialists, and other support staff.
Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment

The Sky’s the Limit — Begin Healing Today!

Our compassionate team of experienced professionals is dedicated to guiding you on your journey to mental health and substance use recovery. At Skyline Recovery Center, we understand that seeking help can be daunting, but it’s the first step towards a brighter future filled with quality living.

From our comprehensive assessment process to personalized co-occurring disorders treatment plans tailored to your unique needs, we’re committed to providing you with the best care.

Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment and Support Starts Here

If you are worried about starting treatment for co-occurring disorders, know that you don’t have to go through this time alone. We will be with you every step of the way to ensure that you get the support, care, and help you need.

Take the first step towards wellness and healing today by reaching out to Skyline Recovery Center. Together, we’ll navigate the path to recovery and help you reclaim your life.