What Is Integrated Treatment & Its Importance?

 Integrated treatment is for the "dual disorder client," which refers to individuals who are battling with a disorder that consists of multiple subtypes, such as substance abuse and a mental disorder. There are many situations that fit this description, such as a person who struggles with both alcoholism and depression, an addiction to prescription drugs combined with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or a cocaine addict who also has a mood disorder. These examples are just a few of the many that exist. 

There is an almost infinite number of permutations. And because it is very common for people to struggle with more than one disorder at the same time, the term "dual diagnosis" has recently been adopted by the medical community to describe this phenomenon. Sometimes it can be three or more problems connected to each other, like a person who is depressed, dealing with past trauma, and is addicted to multiple drugs. Other times, it can be just one problem. To answer the question at hand, Integrated Treatment is significant for the following reason: it gives people who are coping with more than one disorder the opportunity to treat all of their conditions at the same time, which can be extremely beneficial. That is the integration part: incorporating a variety of treatment modalities into a single comprehensive program (whether it is inpatient or outpatient rehab), with the goal of healing the client in all aspects and levels, and not just one.

An illustration of this would be the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (to treat an addiction to cocaine) in conjunction with going to private counseling for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in order to complement the client's full mission to kick the habit of abusing cocaine and also relieve their constant anxiety of past experiences. Another illustration of this would be the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (to treat an addiction to heroin).

At a time when the science of addiction and treatment was more rudimentary and fundamental, dual diagnosis for substance abuse was unheard of; in fact, many people probably did not really understand it at first. Before integrated treatment was fully recognized and applied when the science of addiction and treatment was more primitive and basic. When a person struggles with a mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression, eating disorder, etc., the risk of succumbing to substance abuse or addiction is significantly increased. 

This is a fact that has been well documented and is common knowledge in today's society. And this makes perfect sense due to the fact that drugs frequently serve to divert the individual's attention away from the issues they are experiencing with their mental health or temporarily bring numbness or joy to their difficult situation. Drinking alcohol to the point where you can hardly walk is much preferable and easier to deal with for anyone who deals with unending anxiety. However, the long-term effects are so much worse, and the underlying mental health problem will only get worse and never get treated if the person continues to drink to the point where they can barely walk.

A multi-faceted treatment approach should be established to provide a comprehensive treatment plan; integrated treatment should be approached in stages (building trust, motivation, and preventing relapse), close counseling and monitoring over the client, support from friends or family (or perhaps the staff or therapist can provide that social support), ensuring that a multi-faceted treatment approach is established to provide a comprehensive treatment plan, and ensuring that a comprehensive treatment plan is established. These are some of the factors that should be met in order for integrated treatment.