What is the role of behavioral health in addiction treatment

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What Is The Role Of Behavioral Health In
Addiction Treatment?
What do most people think of when they hear the
term behavioral health? The most common thought
is that it has something to do with mental
health. So what does it have to do with
addiction? A great deal, especially when people
realize that addiction is a mental health issue.
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• Co-Occurring Disorders

Nearly 50 of people struggling with substance
abuse disorder also struggle with one or more
other disorders. Some common problems faced by
those with addictions include

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Panic disorder
• PTSD
• Trauma
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Eating Disorders

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• Its not uncommon for someone to be suffering
  from, for example, depression, PTSD, and
  addiction, or bipolar disorder and addiction.
  There are other disorders that may be present,
  but the above list contains some common examples.

• Some may wonder if it is the addiction that
  causes the other disorder, and the answer is it
  depends. In some cases, substance abuse can
  bring on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and
  psychosis, but its also common for people who
  already have mental health issues to develop
  addiction problems.

• The connection between drug and alcohol abuse and
  mental health is significant because people who
  suffer from mental health issues often look to
  substances to help them cope.

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Treating Only One Problem Doesnt Work

• All of this is important because when people get
  help for addiction, they often have other issues
  that must be addressed.

• When mental health problems are ignored, there is
  a greater likelihood that addiction treatment
  will be ineffective, or that relapse will occur.

• For example, a person who has chronic depression
  or bipolar disorder may wish to get clean and
  sober, but if they dont get help for their
  mental health, they may relapse when their
  symptoms resurface.

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• People who have unaddressed PTSD are also
  vulnerable to relapse if they dont get help for
  it because PTSD symptoms are often dealt with by
  drinking or using drugs.

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How Behavioral Health Treatment Can Help

• Behavioral health services in addiction treatment
  can make all the difference for the addict with a
  co-occurring disorder.By addressing mental health
  issues in treatment, there is a greater
  likelihood of a good outcome.

• Services may include counseling, education,
  medication or referrals to agencies that can
  provide additional services

• This means not discharging someone from treatment
  without addressing their mental health issues.

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• In the past, addiction treatment and mental
  health services were kept separate. Because of
  this, too many people fell through the cracks,
  never getting the help that was needed

• If they were in active addiction, they couldnt
  get mental health services

• If they were in the midst of a mental health
  crisis, they couldnt get addiction treatment
  services. People would get clean and sober, get
  released from treatment and then go back to using
  because their mental health issues surfaced and
  they didnt have the tools to cope.

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