Co-Occurring Disorders
About
Comorbidity describes two or more conditions appearing in a person. The conditions can occur at the same time or one right after the other. Comorbid substance use disorder and mental illnesses are common, with about half of people who have one condition also having the other. Substance use disorders and mental illnesses have many of the same risk factors. Additionally, having a mental illness may predispose someone to develop a substance use disorder and vice versa. Treatment for comorbid illnesses should focus on both mental illness and substance use disorders together, rather than one or the other. Effective behavioral treatments and medication exist to treat mental illnesses and addiction.
Excerpted from “Drug Facts. Comorbidity: Substance Use Disorders and Other Mental Illnesses,” by National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found here. (last updated August 2018).
Hotlines
YouthLine is a free, confidential teen-to-teen crisis and help line. Contact us with anything that may be bothering you. No problem is too big or too small for the YouthLine!
Teen Line is a confidential hotline for teenagers which operates every evening from 6:00pm to 10:00pm PST.
Get One-on-One Help to Address Your Child’s Substance Use. Support available in Spanish and English.
Free, 24/7 support for those in crisis. Text 741741 from anywhere in the US to text with a trained Crisis Counselor.
Free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7.
Service Providers
Providing 24 hour access to immediate inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment, accepts many private insurance plans.
Outpatient chemical dependency treatment and education services for adults, adolescents, and their families.
12 step fellowship for the family and friends of individuals with drug, alcohol or related behavioral issues.
Treatment of adult addictive disorders and also generalized mental health disorders in adolescents and adults.
Outpatient mental health services for children, adolescents, adults and their families who are experiencing mental health challenges.
Articles
By Melissa Ronan, LMSW, Pelham Together Executive Board Member, and Chair of the Pelham Together Mental Health Committee
It’s not just that your teen is drinking. The bigger issue with teenage drinking is that many kids drink to cope instead of learning to cope. And teens with mental health problems often drink to self-medicate, camouflaging the symptoms of underlying issues that are developing. Studies show that the later kids start drinking, the less likely they are to ever develop a substance abuse problem. So delaying or minimizing teen drinking has significant long-term benefits to their physical and emotional well-being.
Substance use seldom occurs in isolation. It typically is accompanied by other mental health conditions. In this blog post, we invite the family of Taylor Rhodes to talk about their son and their journey to find care for his co-occurring disorders.
At this extremely difficult time managing anxiety and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be looking for mental health support for yourself or a loved one. Once you decide, you may be concerned about the cost. Pelham Together has researched a number of provider options in lower Westchester County, including the insurance they accept.
Getting help for a young person with a mental health disorder or a substance use problem is hard. It’s even harder when these disorders occur in the same person.
Organizations
The Child Mind Institute is an independent, national nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders through research, education, and clinical care.
Our mission is to provide empowering, evidence-based information that you can use to help yourself and your loved ones.
The go-to organization for families addressing every aspect of substance use and addiction, from prevention to recovery.
Books
Other Resources
The Child Mind Institute has created this exceptional video addressing how and when to talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol. Parents are generally pretty clear that the conversation must be had, but we can easily push it off out of fear, or because we really don’t have a clear script in mind and don’t know what to expect. Oftentimes, our parents did not have this conversation with us, and we have no role models in how to proceed. This video not only gives terrific talking points, but acknowledges how difficult it can be, and provides strategies for keeping the lines of communication open.
Some highlights from the (7 minute) video are:
Written by women of color, this guide lists mental health resources created specifically for BIPOC individuals.
Online screenings for a variety of mental health conditions.
The Parent Support Network provides parents who are concerned about their children’s mental health with an opportunity to find and support each other in a confidential and safe space.
Provides information on common mental health disorders in adolescence, tips on identifying substance misuse, and steps to making informed decisions about evaluation and treatment for co-occurring disorders.
A primer on how to tackle substance abuse when you’re also dealing with depression, anxiety, or another mental health problem.