[Integrated treatment for severe mental illness and substance abuse: Effective components of programs for persons with co-occurring disorders]

Abstract

Traditional approaches to treating clients with co-occurring disorders based sequential or parallel mental health and substance abuse treatments have failed, leading to the development of integrated treatment programs. 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. The concept of stages of treatment is described to illustrate the different motivational states through which clients progress as they recover from substance abuse: engagement, persuasion, active treatment, and relapse prevention. The stages of treatment have clinical utility for guiding clinicians in identifying appropriate treatment goals matched to clients' motivational states, and selecting interventions based on these goals. By recognizing each client's current stage of treatment, clinicians can optimize outcomes by selecting interventions that are appropriate to the client's current motivational state or stage of treatment, and minimize clients dropping out from treatment. Effective integrated treatment programs for clients with co-occurring disorders differ in the specific services they provide, but share common elements in their philosophy and values. Research documents the beneficial effects of these programs, which bodes well for the long-term prognosis of clients with co-occurring disorders.