Managing a Co-occurring Psychiatric Disorder

The term “co-occurring disorders” refers to the presence of a psychiatric disorder and a substance use disorder. A psychiatric disorder increases the risk of a substance use disorder and vice versa. Treating one disorder improves the outcomes in treating the other. Psychiatric medications can be both effective and appropriate in treating the psychiatric disorder in people with co-occurring disorders. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) can treat effectively the substance use disorder in people with co-occurring disorders. The goals of this chapter are to learn about the different types of psychiatric disorders, to learn about the causes of psychiatric disorders, and to assess the client’s psychiatric symptoms, if applicable.