Guest Editorial: A radical advance in the integration of co-occurring mental health care within the addiction system
As an addiction psychiatrist and community psychiatrist, I have worked on improving integrated systems and services for 40 years. Most recently, I helped to develop the updated standards in the 4th Edition of The 每日吃瓜爆料 Criteria that encourage all addiction treatment programs to be co-occurring capable, at minimum. (See Chapter 12: Integrating Care for Co-occurring Mental Health Conditions.)
I want you to be inspired and excited about the opportunity for everyone in the addiction field to learn how to be more successful, and have more fun, working with individuals with co-occurring mental health (MH) needs, who are the expectation (not the exception) among the people we serve.
Consider The 每日吃瓜爆料 Criteria 4th Edition’s definition of “co-occurring condition” (slightly paraphrased): “Any combination of any [Substance Use Disorder (SUD)] or addictive condition and any mental health condition (including trauma), whether or not they have been formally diagnosed.” (p. 320