Mental health, substance abuse issues can overlap

Etowah County has both a mental health court and a drug court - and some people need both.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about a third of all people experiencing mental illness and about half of people living with severe mental illnesses also experience substance abuse.

Teresa Dawson, clinical director of C.E.D. Mental Health, said her center treats several patients with dual diagnosis locally, though she doesn't see it as a huge problem here. "Of course, it's a problem if there were just two," she said.

While common thinking is that mental health patients develop an addiction through self-medicating, Dawson said, it's not that simple.

"Sometimes it just happens," she said. "We don't know that it's caused by the mental health issue."

NAMI.org points out that self-medicating can be a cause, though drugs and alcohol make the symptoms of mental illness worse.

Also, substance abuse can actually cause mental health issues because of the drug's effects on moods, thoughts, brain chemistry and behavior. Treatment of both disorders is key.

"I don't really see it as being harder, just different," Dawson said, adding that they've treated the illness and addiction both independently and together. "We've had a lot of good success."

NAMI says the most common treatment is integrated intervention, starting with inpatient detoxification and possibly inpatient rehabilitation.

After that, medication is used to treat a variety of mental illnesses, as is psychotherapy, and self-help and support groups.

Sometimes, Dawson said, a therapist will discover a patient with dual diagnosis has begun using again, and that is a threat to treatment.

"A lot of times, it just cancels out what the medication does," she said. "We do monitor patients with dual diagnosis intensely."

Dawson said sometimes people end up at C.E.D. Mental Health through court referrals, family referrals or they seek help themselves, but nothing is going to work until they're ready.
"They have to be willing to come in if it's a family referral," she said.

By Melanie Jones Times Correspondent