Traditionally speaking, patients with mental illness and a co-occurring disorder resulting from substance abuse receive separate treatments from two different sets of clinicians.
Research shows that individuals with substance abuse problems end up in primary care clinics and emergency rooms where health care providers often lack the skills and training necessary to treat patients with substance use disorders, according to the August/September issue of Quality Matters (2014).
From hospitals to primary health care clinics, patients who are referred to behavioral health systems enter treatment with a clinical social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist who treats mental health and substance abuse exclusively.