Co-Occurring Disorders Analysis

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Co-Occurring Disorders Co-occurring disorders formerly known as dual-diagnosis or dual disorder describes the existence of two or more disorders at the same time (Psychology Today, 2012). Clients that are suffering from this disorder have conditions that consist of one or more forms of substance abuse along with mental illness or illnesses (Doweiko (2012). There is no single combination of this disorder; there is a great variability among them and more than half of all adults with severe mental illness are further impaired by substance use disorders (PT, 2012). A person’s personality is the blueprint to what is expressed in that person’s life. Personality is said to consist of patterns of thoughts, feeling and behaviors that make the person…show more content…
But this can be difficult when there are other issues in the equation and that is the presence of mental disorders. In assessing clients for the proper therapies to administer, it is important to get to the underlying causes for the addiction. If that aspect is not addressed it is certain that they will relapse or yet form another addiction (Recovery Connection, 2012). The relationship of addictions and co-occurring disorders exists on several levels for several different reasons. SUD sometimes form as a way of coping with co-occurring disorders; “statistics show that nearly half of all people with a severe mental disorder are affected by substance abuse, and 29% of all people diagnosed as mental ill abuse either alcohol or drugs. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, mental health issues can be painful and difficult to cope with, which is why many people with mental health problems use substances to feel better” (Casa Plamera, 2009). Some co-occurring disorders are sometimes overlooked because some of the symptoms of mental disorders resemble the symptoms of substance abuse, such as: depression, anxiety, insomnia, paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, mania and violent behavior (Casa Plamera,
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