citation and referencing make sure you use bible referencing as well as references about  the characteristics involved in comorbidity/dual diagnosis?  

 Two APA db replies both 250 words each

citation and referencing make sure you use bible referencing as well as references about

the characteristics involved in comorbidity/dual diagnosis?

Make Sure TO WRITE THE STUDENT NAME ON EACH  DISCUSSION BOARD REPLY SO I KNOW WHICH ONE BELONGS TO WHO

***Student 1 Heather ***

Dual diagnosis can be very complicated. It can be exceptionally hard to differentiate between withdraw symptoms from substance abuse and mental disorders. From what I have read, I feel that there is not really a true set of characteristics that go along with a dual diagnosis. The abuse of alcohol and other drugs can cause depression as well as other symptoms. Mental disorders may have existed before the individual began self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

There are many obstacles involved for an individual who has a dual diagnosis when it comes to treatment. The first obstacle is that many treatment facilities will not accept a person who has a dual diagnosis. One facility may want the person to be clean and sober before they enter treatment, and another facility may want the individual to be treated for mental disorders before treatment begins (Wormer, 2018). Another obstacle is determining what mental disorders the individual is suffering from. It may be difficult to diagnose the illness because of the individual’s addictions. Lastly an individual with a dual diagnosis may not receive treatment because he or she does not want the treatment. The person may be in denial because they believe that the depression/ mental disorders are just a part of the addiction.

The best treatment for patients with a dual diagnosis is the practice of integrated treatment. Integrated treatment is when both the addiction and mental disorder is treated at the same time by the same counselor, psychiatrist or doctor (Wormer, 2018). I feel that when integrated treatment is used, all the patients’ needs are met. It may take some time after the patient has been in recovery from addiction to officially determine what specific mental disorder needs to be treated. I feel that the type of treatment that needs to be used will depend on the individual’s personal needs.

(Word count:308)

Van Wormer, K., and Davis, D.R. (2018). Addiction Treatment. New York. Cengage.

***Student 2 billy***

Living with a mental disorder is tough, however, it gets worse for the patient if they mix it with addiction such as gambling, alcohol, or drugs. This goes for people “who also has a developmental, physical, or cognitive disability or any other major challenge to living life and uses alcohol, drugs, or gambling in a harmful way” (Van Wormer and Davis, 2018). When these disorders are mixed it allows for the term dual diagnoses to be used due to a person who suffers from a mental disorder while using, Testing and Assessments for Comorbidity.

If untreated, comorbidity can cause a series of complications such as thoughts of suicide, liver and kidney disease, as well as not being able to function socially. From here, we must understand which came first between mental illness or substance abuse. Does addiction cause mental illness? According to Testing and Assessments for Comorbidity, “high instances of this includes examples like alcohol-induced depression, stimulant-induced manic disorder, or a cocaine-induced psychotic disorder”.

It is very difficult to asses and diagnose a co-occurring condition as one could often overshadow the other. Being able to find out which illness is the primary is often a problem Testing and Assessments for Comorbidity. The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors or (NASMHPD) and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors or (NASADAD) developed the Quadrants of Care in order to match the treatment with the patient and their co-occurring disorders (Van Wormer and Davis, 2018).

There are four levels of severity;

Quadrant 1 is for patients who have a low severity level of bother mental disorders and substance abuse. Due to the low severity of issues, the illnesses can be treated in a nonspecialist setting such as their primary doctor who will focus on prevention.

Quadrant 2 is reserved for patients with a high severity of mental health issues but low severity in substance abuse problems. The patients are usually treated within a mental health facility while collaborating with substance abuse professionals in order to create one single team of professionals.

Quadrant 3 is held for patients who have a low severity of mental health issues while they suffer from a high severity of substance abuse. This would allow for the patient to be treated within a substance abuse program with the collaboration of mental health physicians.

Quadrant 4 is for both severity of mental health problems and the severity of substance abuse problems. A team from both professions, substance abuse and mental health, would join forces to ensure the patient is given proper treatment (Van Wormer and Davis, 2018).

References

Testing and Assessments for Comorbidity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2019,

from Dual Diagnosis website: https://www.dualdiagnosis.org/

testing-assessments-comorbidity/

Van Wormer, K., and Davis, D.R. (2018). Addiction Treatment. New York: Cengage