What Are Co-Occurring Disorders?

What Are Co-Occurring Disorders

Very helpful blog regarding the disease of addiction and accompanying mental illnesses, and how they are managed in treatment centers! – Taylor Brown B.A.Com., MAADC II

In the addiction treatment realm, you’ll often hear the term “co-occurring” or “co-occurring disorder” tossed around. But what does it mean? When you look closer at the term, it’s not terribly difficult to understand. Your medical professional is simply referring to a condition in which an individual suffers from both substance abuse disorder and a mental health issue simultaneously or co-occurring. You may also hear this combination referred to as “dual diagnosis” or “dual disorder.”

While the concept is easy to understand, diagnosing a co-occurring disorder isn’t always an easy task for healthcare professionals. That’s because mental health conditions, such as mood or depressive disorders, are often associated with an individual’s drug or alcohol abuse. For example, many substance dependency problems are the result of self-medicating an underlying mental health condition.

On the other side of this, depressive and mood disorders can develop as a result of substance abuse. The use of drugs or alcohol can alter the brain and impair one’s ability to develop healthy coping skills, maintain relationships, or even feel a sense of normalcy if not under the influence or intoxicated.

Because the root cause — substance or mental health — may not be immediately clear, a facility that is not equipped or prepared to treat co-occurring disorders may not be able to provide an effective recovery solution. If a treatment center only addresses an individual’s substance abuse disorder but doesn’t tackle the underlying mental health issue, it’s much more likely that this person may relapse or fall back in to old habits following treatment.

So how do treatment centers approach recovery for co-occurring disorders?

Because individuals with co-occurring disorders may struggle when one disorder is addressed but not the other, the most effective way to treat these issues is by treating them together. This form of treatment, sometimes known as integrated treatment, is a method of addressing both mental health and substance abuse disorders simultaneously, by the same treatment center and care team. This allows doctors and staff to monitor both conditions to identify the most effective methods of treatment for each disorder and minimize any risks associated with the patient’s safety, mental health, and possible relapse.

If you’re considering treatment for yourself or a loved one, do your research and consider a treatment facility like Midwest Recovery Centers, who are ready and able to address co-occurring disorders effectively.

 

Reviewed and Assessed by
Taylor Brown, B.A.Com., MAADC II
Tim Coleman, M. of Ed.

Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Click or Call Today! 844-990-1578

Medical

big journeys begin with small steps signMidwest Recovery Centers believes strongly in a client-centered approach. Substance Use Disorder is not what it was 5 or even 2 years ago. The substances on the street are constantly changing and so are the number of contraindications and fatal threats that substance use imposes on the person suffering. Our Medical team continues to stay up to speed with new advances of evidence-based approaches in treating those with both substance use disorder as well as their co-occurring mental health diagnosis. There are many varying pieces to each client’s situation when it comes to tackling the puzzle of a medical detox, and each step in the treatment planning is carefully selected, reviewed, and communicated for the best possible outcome of each client. We understand that consideration of the medical history, family history, past trauma, past and current substance use are all key indicators to most effectively give each client the best chance at developing a recovery process. Each client may present with a different scope of medical needs whether it’s their blood work or the most effective medications for them. Midwest Recovery Centers is proud to have the finest medical team to meet these individual and specific needs of each client that walks through our doors.

Clinical

addict in therapy for substance use disorderWhen it comes to the therapeutic treatment of patients with substance use disorder, Midwest Recovery Centers believes in a client-centered approach guided by evidence-based practices. Substance use disorder has been identified by the American Medical Association as a disease, but because addiction is a disease that impacts behavior, treatment of this disease is often heavily focused on modifying behaviors and thoughts as well as establishing a new way of life. We place a strong emphasis on educating patients about this chronic illness and empowering them to practice treating it as such. Our clinical team is composed of leading experts in the field. We believe in having a staff as diverse as the clients we serve; from Licensed Professional Counselors to Licensed Clinical Social Workers, our staff is highly trained and educated in not only addiction but the mental health issues and life circumstances that often accompany it. Many of our clinicians have their own personal experience in long term recovery which lends them to an even better understanding of what our patients are experiencing. Our staff is highly skilled in choosing the most effective therapeutic modality for each client’s needs, to give them the best chance of securing the recovery process that will change their lives. Our clinical team understands that this is a family disease. This is why clinicians will offer weekly updates to families as well as concrete tools for families to utilize as they journey through this illness with their loved one. Those tools will be offered by the patient’s individual clinician as well as at our free Family Night on the first Wednesday of each month, offered to anyone in the community.

Our Origin Story

I began Midwest Recovery in honor of my mother, Betty Lou Wallace, who taught me responsibility in life and sobriety.

Mom was born, raised, and lived most of her life in Missouri, a state I'm still proud to call home. She had five children. The youngest were my older brother Don and me.

We knew that the disease of addiction ran in the family, but it wasn't until Don and I grew older that we realized we were falling into addictive patterns. Through it all, Mom was supportive of her children but firm about one principle: whether the disease was inherited or developed through your environment, you were responsible for your recovery from addiction.

"I will be supportive of your recovery but I will not enable your addiction," she was fond of saying.

Ultimately, I stayed sober from 1990 to 1997, when I relapsed. With Mom's support, I was able to get sober again in 2002. Tragically, Don was not so lucky. He passed away in 2005 from complications of an injury and continued addiction.

Mom wanted no parent to suffer from the sorrow and anguish of losing a child, so in 2002, she helped me establish my first treatment center business.

As Mom grew older, she shared with me some lessons she had learned through her affiliation with Al-Anon, a support group for family members of loved ones struggling with addiction. She asked me to stay clean and sober one day at a time and to use the lessons I learned in my own recovery to help others who were suffering.

In 2008, Mom passed away from throat cancer, one day after my six year sober anniversary. I still remember that one of the last times we spoke, she told me she was proud of my recovery.

Mom would be so happy to know that myself, our partners, and our team are carrying on her legacy in her home state. I don't know if my own recovery process would be intact without her and the lessons she shared. So much of what we share with our clients at Midwest began with Betty Lou.

Above all, Mom imparted several teachings that I carry with me every day: that people are inherently good, and if they fall into addiction, this makes them sick, not bad. She taught me to be patient, tolerant, loving, and kind to myself and to others.

Most of all, she taught me that recovery works if we are able to be honest with ourselves about our own behavior. That’s what she helped me accomplish and that’s what we strive to accomplish with every Midwest client.

On behalf of Betty Lou, I thank you for your interest in Midwest Recovery.

Jeff Howard

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