Psychiatric and substance disorders, regardless of severity, tend to be persistent and recurrent. Co-occurrence of these disorders occurs with sufficient frequency in both systems that a continuous and integrated approach to assessment and treatment is required, regardless of the location of initial clinical presentation. Persons with co-occurring disorders should be regarded as having two (or more) co-occurring primary disorders, each of which requires specific assessment and diagnosis, and appropriately intensive treatment.
For persons with more serious co-occurring disorders, continuity of integrated treatment is significantly associated with better outcome and reduction of more expensive service utilization. Consequently, the service system for persons with co-occurring disorders must develop mechanisms for identifying all such persons with serious symptomatology, and establish a collaborative system of continuous care management for those persons.
A goal is to provide persons with co-occurring disorders early access to appropriate treatment by identifying and treating simultaneously mental health disorders as well as substance abuse disorders.