Essay Sample on Substance Abuse, Mental Health & Complex Double Diagnosis

Introduction

Substance abuse and mental health are sometimes concurrent troubles, but it does not mean that all the people that use drugs have mental problems. The association between substance abuse and mental health diagnosis is rather complex, and different authors have voiced different opinions towards this. In many cases, there has been a double diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness, which is a complex condition. Havivi (2013) note that the substance use increases the burden of mental health in the United States which is has been to blame for the growing need of more financial, medical and human resources towards combating this healthcare problem especially amongst the teenagers who are highly associated with experimentation which increases the overall substance abuse problems in the population. Another research by Juyal & Bhatnagar (2015) notes that both mental health problems and drug abuse, have similar or co-occurring symptoms, which increases the complication of the diagnosis process. Besides, mental health and substance abuse can influence each other, and there is a need to ensure that the diagnosis is correct to deal with both problems concurrently. This research will seek to establish the relationship between mental health and substance abuse and how the concurrence of the two conditions affects the overall care delivery and healthcare outcomes.

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Substance Abuse

Substance abuse, according to Havivi (2013), is the use of any controlled drugs for recreation or random influence of peer pressure to use substances that affects the functions of the brain and the body. Substance abuse culture in the United States becomes a major predicament for individuals in their teenage years due to peer pressure and changing community culture where the use of drugs is increasingly becoming normalized by the society especially due to legislation that allows the recreation use of marijuana in some states. Great effort is required at the community level to deal with the growing cases of substance abuse especially amongst the high school students which have the potential of affecting their health outcomes due to the close co morbidity between drug use and mental health harms. Amongst the youths, substance abuse has remained a major problem with research showing that 90% of high schoolers are substance abusers, especially alcohol and marijuana. Juyal & Bhatnagar (2015) rules out that substance abuse and mental health influence each other to occur but mental health problems make it more likely for one to use drugs in most cases as a remedy to calm down the mental health illness. However, Juyal & Bhatnagar (2015) notes that the use of drugs in most cases makes the mental health problems worse and also for the young people who use drugs during mental health treatment they reduce the overall efficiency of the treatment.

Knopf (2015) and Juyal & Bhatnagar (2015) agree that co-occurrence of mental problems and substance is a common health diagnosis especially due to the influence of the mental health symptoms on the patients to use drugs. Besides, substance abuse can exacerbate mental illness, but no research confirms that either directly causes the other. This shows that mental problems motivate the victims to use drugs, whereas substance abuse makes mental health disorders to worsen. Juyal& Bhatnagar (2015) holds that the co-occurrence of mental disorders is very common and can have significant reaching impacts on the treatment and the prognosis. Diagnosing the co-existence of drug abuse and mental health is a significant challenge and in the cases when a wrong diagnosis is made the patient treatment of one of the problem independently becomes difficult, and the patient health can get worse. As such, it is important for the healthcare providers to be keen during diagnosis to prevent mistakes during the identification, intervention, and the treatment. The right diagnosis significantly impacts the overall treatment process and the recovery of the patient.

Treatment of Co-occurring Mental Disorder and Substance Abuse

Knopf (2015) research has been instrumental in enriching the treatment and recovery from drug abuse and mental health problem co-occurrence. The author provides evidence-based strategies and practices that can be used to improve the overall healthcare outcomes because in most cases, misdiagnosis results in a return to drug abuse or the worsening of the mental disorder symptoms. Havivi (2013) notes that psychiatrists have the largest role to play in the provision of care to both substance abusers with mental health co-occurrences with rehabilitation being less effective in dealing with cases where both problems occur because usually, their techniques help to eliminate or reduce addiction while leaving the mental health problem in place according to Juyal& Bhatnagar (2015). This shows that psychiatrists should be actively involved in the design and assessment of substance abuse and mental health conditions solutions to increase the overall treatment success.

Knopf (2015) advice for the need of assessing both drug problem and mental disorder for every adolescent entering the treatment of substance use to facilitate an integrated treatment of both conditions, which increases the overall outcomes. Knopf (2015) holds that one of the major challenges in the treatment of substance use disorder and mental health is that the care providers from both sides do not have the training to treat both diseases. However, the integrated treatment model has increased the calls for both social workers and psychiatrists to have the expertise to treat the co-existence of both the disorders. Besides, Knopf (2015) notes the importance of the partnership between mental health and substance use disorder experts to ensure a more comprehensive review of the patient and customized treatment. Therefore, the most preferred treatment for the co-occurrence of substance abuse and mental health disorder is integrating the treatment of both at once, which is key in preventing relapse and reoccurrence of the disorders.

Challenges of Substance Use and Mental Health Disorder Treatment

Knopf (2015) and Havivi (2013) agree that the treatment of substance abuse and mental health disorder is a significant challenge due to the high likelihood of relapse especially in the cases where there are co-occurrence and misdiagnosis. The treatment of substance use and mental health requires integration of treatment and partnership between different specialists to implement an evidence-based intervention, which increases the overall success. The co morbidities involved in mental health disorder and substance abuse also requires to be addressed which causes a significant overall challenge in the treatment of the individual co morbidities.

Conclusion

Substance abuse and mental health disorder are significant challenges facing healthcare providers, especially among adolescents in the population. The co-occurrence of both disorders makes it difficult to diagnose and treat the disorders with misdiagnosis, causing a relapse of the symptoms and the co morbidities. It is important for the psychiatrists and the social workers to work together to complement each other in terms of addressing the causes of co-occurrence where an integrated treatment approach is necessary for the overall success of the treatment.

References

Knopf, A. (2015). Experts: Treat cooccurring SUDs and mental illness in teens concurrently. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 31(10), 4-5.

Havivi, A. (2013). Substance Abuse In Teens 2 A Clinical Approach To Assessment And Treatment. Adolescent Psychiatry, V. 29: The Annals of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 33.

Juyal, S., & Bhatnagar, R. (2015). Substance Dependence and Mental Health: A Case Study. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD, 6, 226.