Effective Results ( National Alliance On Mental Illness, 2012 )

Our progress in learning the causes and treatments for mental illness has been steady as we build on the medical model of mental illness, which Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman (2010) describe as a model that, “views emotional and behavioral problems as a mental illness, comparable to a physical illness (pp. 341). Only in modern times have we been able to effectively treat mental illness with behavioral therapy, social support, medicine, and other research-based programs. However, there is still much work to be done in regard to access, proper facilities, policy and a host of other challenges that affect this issue.

The Michael R. Zent (MRZ) Integrated Healthcare Center was established in January 2006 to provide comprehensive and integrated healthcare services to individuals with mental health illness in Phoenix Arizona. The integration behavioral and physical health services across the continuum of care provide a seamless care delivery system that offers patients a holistic care based on their psychosocial needs and diagnoses. Achieving a sustainable efficient and effective integrated care program requires multiple evaluation and modification of operational and administrative processes using a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) methodology.

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

Since the early 1990s, the progress of mental illness treatment has increased quickly. Many patients with mental illness have been able to leave hospitals and live normal lives because of advancement in treatment. The treatment of mental illness has changed in many ways. Some of these ways are medical technology, medication, and the housing treatment. These changes in mental illness healing have led to a great success.

Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to treat due to the complexity of symptoms. Both the mental health and substance abuse disorders have biological, psychological, and social components assessed throughout the treatment process. Co-occurring disorder individuals battle to maintain their sobriety as they need to find services for both mental health and support groups catering to their unique needs.

In the United States the Mental Health Care field is one of the most underserved areas of healthcare. The mental healthcare field faces many challenges to the proper treatment of patients from both a societal and professional standpoint. From a societal perspective a negative stereotype is associated with patients seeking psychiatric care. Patients seeking care are often labeled as defective or damaged. Add in the complication that most patients with mental illness appear to be normal, accepting that someone is ill without outward symptoms can also be difficult for a society to understand. From a professional perspective the challenges within the mental health care industry include personal prejudice, staffing issues, and problems with coordinating care. The combination of these factors has a direct negative impact on the willingness of individuals suffering from mental illness in seeking the care needed to treat the symptoms of mental illness.

Although the task force does effectively address the problem of substance abuse and addictive disorders, it does not effectively address co-occurring disorders. Early on in the text, a co-occurring disorder is defined as an individual who has a substance abuse disorder and a mental disorder at the same time. The task force mainly focuses on substance abuse. There are elements that are present in the treatment such as release prevention, engagement, and persuasion. The task force provides a number of interventions strategies address problems with substance use.

When a counselor has a new client they are working with, the client has to be assessed. When being assessed the counselor has to determine what issues the client may have. Through being assessed, the counselor may come to realize the client has more than one issue which is called co-occurring disorders. At this point the client will have to be treated for more than one disorder to effectively overcome the problems they are facing. Within this paper one will locate the prevalence of co-occurring disorders, mental health and substance abuse

There is also research, which reveals that around 75% of those in programs for substance use disorder, also require treatment for co-occurring mental health disorder. Furthermore, individuals reporting mental health problems report a higher alcohol consumption rate at higher risk levels. Not only does this show a high rate of mental health and substance use co-inhabiting in massive numbers of patients, but also indicates that there is a need for not just treating substance use disorder but also treating mental health disorders as well. The co-occurrence of mental health and substance use is known commonly as Dual Diagnosis. It is estimated that dual diagnosis effects between 30% and 90% of those in substance use treatment (Crome, etc.

The majority of research that exists on 12-step programs often focus on determining the success rate of 12-step programs such as AA. There is little to no research on problems associated with 12-step programs or problematic areas of 12-step programs. The little research that does exist argue that 12-step programs are not structured for comorbid individual, they may not be the best option for mild substance use disorder, and the central theme of powerlessness can conflict with a therapist’s theoretical orientation and be harmful to the therapeutic alliance. (Kelly & Myers, 2007, Laudet et al., 2004, L, Ingvarson, Richard, 1995). The National Institute of Mental Health (2013) has found that 43.6 million adults aged 18 and older have at least one mental illness and 45 percent of individuals with one mental disorder met criteria for two or more disorders. The presence of comorbid disorders can severely affect the treatment and outcome of individuals (Terra et al., 2006). Many studies have found that clients with a dual diagnosis experience increased rates of hospitalization and increased use of emergency services (Helzer & Pryzbeck, 1998). It is easy to imagine how hospitalization can interrupt treatment by making it difficulty for individuals to attend.

Compton, W.M., Conway, K.P., Stinson, F.S., Colliver, J.D., & Grant, B.F... (2012) Prevalence correlates, and comorbidity :Comorbidity addiction and other mental illness. National Institute on Drug Abuse.Choice Reviews Online. 20-24.

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

Brief Description: Due to the chicken and egg dilemma surrounding co-occurring disorders, for years researchers have faced the challenge of what to treat first, in other words identifying the main issue. Now after twenty years and being given the title of an evidence-based practice, researchers have come up with a holistic approach in treating co-occurring disorders. Researches coined this evidence-based practice as integrated treatment, which is basically a marriage between health and mental health services/treatment/interventions.

Challenges in Adulthood and Aging for the dual diagnosis population are societal and individual. The label dual diagnosis is preferred for individuals with co-occurring mental health illness and substance abuse. Some challenges for the Dual Diagnosis population in Adulthood and Aging are both societal and individual. There are four major challenges one rapid numerical growth, two stigma, three diagnosing, mistreatment, and four lack of adequate support systems for this population. These challenges are manageable with help from competent human service professional like social workers, counselors, and psychologist.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.