Living with Co-occurring Addiction and Mental Health Disorders

In the real world, caseloads include clients with substance abuse, psychiatric, and co-occurring disorders. Here you'll find reliable information and informative case examples to help you manage your caseload more effectively! Caseloads that include mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders are becoming more and more common, yet most texts in this area focus on one specific type of disorder. This unique handbook reflects the reality facing mental health and substance abuse professionals in their daily practices, focusing on how to effectively manage caseloads that include individuals with vastly differing levels of functioning. Providing diagnostic criteria, treatment regimens, and a great deal more, Treating Co-Occurring Disorders: A Handbook for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Professionals is an exceptional single source for useful information on handling all of these types of cases and clients. Treating Co-Occurring Disorders: A Handbook for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Professionals describes the psychiatric and substance use disorders that commonly co-occur and examines the evolution of co-occurring concepts and treatment. It provides an overview of relapse prevention and symptom management models for use with clients with co-occurring disorders and another covering mental health and substance abuse recovery movements. Treating Co-Occurring Disorders: A Handbook for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Professionals will bring you closer to topics that impact day-to-day practice, including: conducting comprehensive assessments for individuals with psychiatric and substance use symptoms providing individual, group, family, and case management interventions for clients of differing levels of function who exhibit psychiatric and substance abuse symptoms identifying standard interventions for all clients with co-occurring disorders measuring change and establishing reasonable treatment outcome performance standards for these clients supervising staff who work with multifarious caseloads From the authors: Currently, most mental health and substance abuse professionals are aware of how to effectively assess and treat individuals with diagnoses for which they were trained. However, few therapists exclusively have clients who manifest only psychiatric or substance abuse symptoms. This book provides information and case examples concerning how to effectively manage a caseload composed of individuals with substance abuse, psychiatric, and co-occurring disorders. It presents strategies for providing comprehensive assessments for these individuals. Additionally, it describes how to provide effective case management as well as individual, group, and family treatment for individuals with multiple disorders and levels of function, and provides information on interacting effectively with the mental health and substance abuse recovery communities. Tables, figures, and a generous portion of intriguing case descriptions will help you apply the information in this useful volume to your own work.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

The definitive guide to identify, assess, and create individualized treatment plans for high-risk clients who suffer from challenging co-occurring disorders "Treat the person and not the diagnosis. Respect that all behaviors are purposeful. Remain mindful that nobody changes behaviors without motivation. These essential guiding principles are the framework of this book. They will be repeated quite often as we examine the challenging population of men and women with co-occurring disorders." —From Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders Annual studies reveal that 70 percent of men and women who died by suicide were diagnosed with a mental illness or personality disorder and used drugs to gain temporary relief from the symptoms. Until now, very little has been written about how to identify, assess, and treat this population. Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders: Treating People, Not Behaviors addresses that need. Respectful of the client and filled with practical advice, this book: Examines the guiding principles for treating clients with co-occurring disorders Details the methods of formulating an evidence-based individualized treatment plan for the self-medicating mentally ill Explores how to assess this population for suicide risk and vulnerability Focuses on the person and not a behaviorally defined diagnostic category Reflects state-of-the-art knowledge for the treatment of co-occurring disorders Illustrates how Motivational Enhancement Therapy can be an effective treatment strategy With numerous clinical case studies to illustrate key points and reinforce learning, Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders encourages a flexible, person-centered treatment approach that focuses on the individual rather than the diagnosis.

Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders addresses a complex client population, which presents service providers with significant professional challenges. Underlying personality disorders compromise treatment effectiveness for medical, other psychiatric, or trauma services, as well as the ability these individuals have in adhering to probation, parole, or court-ordered treatment requirements. A co-occuring substance use disorder amplifies the difficulties experienced by personality-disordered individuals, exacerbates the precarious nature of their relationships, and raises the skill level needed by service providers attempting to help them. There can be significant professional satisfaction in working effectively with the interplay of addiction and disorders of personality. The book brings focus to the specifics of assessment and treatment for this type of co-occurring disorder and suggests that greater adaptability, fewer self-sabotaging behaviors, and an abstinent lifestyle are all possible. Recovery from both disorders is the journey these individuals take toward greater maturation, reliable impulse control, and coping skills that are not dependent upon the evasion of the demands of living or use of substances to manage stress or uncomfortable affect. Recovery is possible, and service providers can assist these clients on their path to wellness.

Despite an increased awareness of co-occurring disorders, most current treatment paradigms still focus on one problem or the other, leaving much unassessed, unaddressed, or ignored. Until now - a revolutionary new book from Dr. Charles Atkins that can break the cycles of relapse for those intertwined with substance use and mental illness. Co-Occurring Disorders is a guide to practical assessment and effective treatment approaches for working work with any number of co-occurring disorders. This step-by-step approach, demonstrated through diverse case studies, gives you the tools you need to improve and track your clinical outcomes. This is a must-have resource for both the rubber-meets-the-road clinician, who wants effective strategies and a clear direction for treatment and recovery, and the administrator who creates interventions at the system level with attention to regulatory and reimbursement demands. Also included is a comprehensive state-by-state Guide to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Agencies and Prescription Monitoring Programs Evidence-Based Integrated Treatment, finding the right tool for the job: • Motivational Interviewing • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Strategies • Skills Training • Mindfulness Training • Mutual Self-Help & Peer-Based interventions • Wellness interventions • Recovery based • Family interventions • Assertive Community Treatment and Targeted Case Management • Psychopharmacology including opioid and nicotine replacement strategies Diagnosis-Specific Issues in Co-Occurring Disorders: • ADHD • Depression and Bipolar Disorders • Anxiety and PTSD • Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders • Personality Disorders Substance-Specific Issues in Co-Occurring Disorders: • Alcohol • Opioids • Tobacco • Cocaine and other Stimulants, including "Bath Salts" • Cannabis & Synthetic Cannabis • The Internet and other sources of Drugs Reviews: "A comprehensive, user-friendly compilation of assessment and intervention strategies to be used for clients. It includes a number of worksheets for both clinicians and clients, and is a valuable tool for treatment decision-making." -- Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, noted author and speaker, a CBT founder, and voted one of the 10 most influential psychotherapists of the 20th century "This book is wonderful. I plan to adopt it as a textbook for my MSW Co-Occurring Disorder Program." -- Jaak Rakfeldt, Ph.D., Co-Occurring Disorder Cohort Program, MSW Coordinator, Southern Connecticut State Unviersity Professor "So much valuable information in a user friendly manner, clinicians as well as others will find this book useful in their practice. This resource is a powerful tool and I am especially proud of the way he connects issues related to gender and trauma." -- Colette Anderson, LCSW, CEO The Connecticut Women's Consortium "A clear, concise and straightforward and up to date text on co-occurring disorders has been glaringly lacking in the Behavioral Health Field. Co-Occurring Disorders: The Integrated Assessment and Treatment of Substance Use and Mental Disorders offers students and clinicians at all levels a comprehensive view of the challenges of treating those with a co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder. Written in plain language, Atkins provides a clinical road map beginning with an outline of key issues and ending with treatment planning. Atkins also does what most don’t and that is to stress the importance of peer support, natural supports and self-help. Co-Occurring Disorders: The Integrated Assessment and Treatment of Substance Use and Mental Disorders is an important addition to any educator’s and clinician’s bookshelf." --Eileen M. Russo, MA, LADC, Assistant Professor, Drug and Alcohol Recovery Counselor Program, Gateway Community College, New Haven, CT "As a person that has lived with bipolar disorder for many years and has proudly disclosed my personal journey of recovery, I know there are many people who would greatly benefit from the treatments suggested in this powerful book-co-occurring services are rarely done in such a comprehensive way." -- Dr. Karen A. Kangas, Director of Operations, Advocacy Unlimited, Inc.

Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment provides a clinically detailed, evidence-based, and exhaustive examination of a topic rarely plumbed in psychiatry texts, despite the fact that co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders are common. The authors argue for a more holistic and integrated approach, calling for clinicians to tactfully but persistently evaluate patients for a broad range of co-occurring disorders before determining appropriate treatment. Focusing on a substance use disorder in isolation, without determining whether another psychiatric disorder is co-occurring, can doom treatment efforts, and the reverse also is true. To help clinicians keep the big picture in mind, the book is organized around 18 cases, each of which addresses a particular diagnostic skill (e.g., assessment), group of disorders commonly comorbid with substance use disorders (e.g., PTSD, eating disorders), specific treatment (e.g., pharmacological interventions), or special population (e.g., adolescents). This case-based approach makes it easy for readers to understand strategies and master transferable techniques when dealing with their own patients. Because the initial face-to-face sessions are especially important with this patient population, the book includes chapters on the diagnostic assessment and the initial interview, as well as offering interviewing tips throughout to help the clinician develop the necessary care and skill in this arena. Also included is a chapter on integrating motivational interviewing into the treatment. Each of the 18 cases stands alone, allowing the reader flexibility in using the text. For example, the 18 cases and discussions can be read sequentially, or as needed, depending on the reader's special interest or current need. The book also features chapters on how to effectively work with patients whose disorders might be affecting other members of a patient's family, since the likelihood of a successful outcome is enhanced if an integrated treatment plan is developed for their co-occurring disorders. The questions that accompany each chapter can be used as an organizational tool prior to reading or to test knowledge and comprehension afterward. The text is completely up-to date and provides DSM-5 diagnostic information essential to each case. Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment offers a straightforward approach to people with complicated presentations, offering mental health clinicians the skills they require to effectively assess, diagnose, and treat these patients and their families.

Marya Hornbacher, author of the international best-sellers Madness and Wasted, offers an enlightening examination of the Twelve Steps for those with co-occurring addiction and mental health disorders. In this beautifully written recovery handbook, New York Times best-selling author Marya Hornbacher applies the wisdom earned from her struggle with a severe mental illness and addiction to offer an honest and illuminating examination of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous for those with co-occurring addiction and mental health disorders. Relaying her recovery experiences, and those of the people with whom she has shared her journey, Hornbacher guides readers through the maze of special issues that make working each Step a unique challenge for those with co-occurring disorders. She addresses the difficulty that many with a mental illness have with finding support in a recovery program that often discourages talk about emotional problems, and the therapy and medication that they require. At the same time, Hornbacher reveals how the Twelve Steps can offer insights, spiritual sustenance, and practical guidance to enhance stability for those who truly have to approach sanity and sobriety one day at a time.

A person with a mental health problem has a higher risk of having a substance use problem, just as a person with a substance use problem has an increased chance of having a mental health problem. This guide: explains the symptoms and causes of concurrent disorder outlines the different kinds of treatments available, including psychosocial and biological treatments describes integrated treatment and how it helps discusses recovery and relapse prevention discusses family involvement gives guidance on how to explain concurrent disorders to children This guide gives a thorough introduction to concurrent disorder treatment options, and sensitive and sound coping skills to help people with concurrent disorders - and their families - toward recovery."