York Addiction & Mental Health Therapy Services
Concurrent Disorders Treatment in Ontario
York Addiction & Mental Health believes in the importance of a holistic approach to concurrent disorders. More often than not, people struggling with addiction are also dealing with a mental health condition, such as depression or bipolar disorder, and it's vital that both are treated at the same time to make sure treatment actually works and future issues don't resurface.
Explore how we approach each of the conditions below alongside addiction: ADHD, Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma.
What Are Concurrent Disorders?
Concurrent disorders, also called comorbidity, dual disorders, or co-occurring disorders, describe what happens when a mental health condition overlaps with a substance use disorder. They generally fall into five main groups:
- Substance use disorder combined with a mood or anxiety disorder, such as depression, panic, or bipolar disorder
- Substance use disorder combined with a personality disorder, such as borderline, paranoid, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Substance use combined with a severe and persistent mental health disorder, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
- Substance use disorder combined with an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa
- A behavioural addiction, such as compulsive gambling or compulsive sexual behaviour, combined with a mental health condition
A person can be diagnosed with a concurrent disorder whether these conditions show up at the same time, at different times, or in the past, and research points to overlapping genetic vulnerabilities and environmental triggers shared by both addiction and mental illness. Having a mental illness also makes someone more susceptible to addiction. At least 20% of Canadians diagnosed with a mental illness have a concurrent substance use disorder, and without a treatment plan that addresses both, there’s a real risk that one or both conditions resurface.
How Concurrent Disorders Treatment Works
Concurrent disorders treatment is a general term for a collection of integrative therapies that address co-occurring substance use disorders and mental illness together, and it's still a relatively new concept in addiction recovery. In the past, addiction and mental health were treated separately, so a client battling drug addiction with co-occurring depression would have to finish addiction treatment before starting a separate therapy for the depression. As a result, people dealing with depression, schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar disorder, and other related conditions often kept suffering, receiving inadequate care that never addressed a real root cause of their addiction.
Experts now recognize the value of an integrative concurrent disorders treatment plan instead, combining psychiatric and addiction treatment strategies that work together to reduce relapse rates, lower suicide rates, and promote long-term abstinence. That integrated approach shapes how our individual counselling and broader treatment plans are built at York Addiction & Mental Health.
Our Concurrent Disorders Treatment Plan
At York Addiction & Mental Health, a concurrent disorders treatment plan can include:
Medical Detox
Drug detoxification is the first step in addiction recovery. Our medically guided detox programs help the body flush out alcohol or drugs effectively while providing the support needed to manage withdrawal symptoms safely.
Drug Addiction Treatment
We offer different types of drug addiction treatment programs customized to a client's personal needs and the severity of their condition, including residential treatment, in-house or hospitalization care, outpatient programs, and behavioural counselling.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment
York Addiction & Mental Health also provides addiction treatment and intervention focused specifically on alcohol dependence, using a comprehensive, personalized strategy that includes alcohol detoxification, psychosocial support for abstinence, and family support therapy.
Mental Health Treatment
As part of concurrent disorders treatment, we also offer mental health treatment designed to explore a person's underlying mental health issues and teach them how to work through negative thinking and emotion without resorting to unhealthy coping mechanisms like drugs or alcohol.
Continuing Care
Our continued care programming helps clients who have completed treatment gradually transition back into everyday life, maintaining sobriety through the positive coping mechanisms they've learned, backed by ongoing emotional and social support.
Emotional Recovery
Emotions are powerful triggers that have led many people toward addiction. Whether it's unresolved trauma from a history of abuse or anxiety about transitioning back into everyday life, our team supports clients through individual or group counselling to heal and strengthen emotional health.
Relapse Prevention
Our relapse prevention work is a proactive step against the pitfalls of drug or alcohol temptation, helping treatment graduates steer clear of the old patterns that could trigger a relapse. It draws on Terry Gorski's relapse prevention framework, covering stabilization, assessment, warning sign identification and management, recovery planning, and family involvement.
Who Can Benefit From Concurrent Disorders Treatment
Our concurrent disorders program can help anyone formally diagnosed with co-occurring disorders, though some groups face a higher risk than others:
People with an existing mental illness, who are roughly twice as likely to develop an addiction Young people, who face the highest risk of mental illness and substance use disorders of any age group LGBTQ+ individuals, who are more prone to substance use and severe mental health conditions due to the prejudice and discrimination they face day to day
Concurrent disorders treatment plays a genuinely crucial role in a client's path toward lifelong recovery, which is why York Addiction & Mental Health runs an extensive range of programs aimed at identifying the root causes of addiction alongside the mental health issues underneath it.
Talk to Our Team and Find Recovery Today
Every client’s experience of Concurrent Disorders Treatment looks a little different depending on their history. Call York Addiction & Mental Health at 1-888-241-3391 or reach out through our contact page, and our team can walk you through what this looks like for you specifically.