Marcos Reyes
COD-HUSR 243
Internet Search Paper

Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/co-occurring-disorders I searched for this website via Google.com, searching “Co-Occurring Disorders.” This website offers information on a lot of different psychological problems. The website is for the magazine, “Psychology Today,” and offers the same articles in the magazine and additional resources related to Psychology. Psychology Today covers all aspects of human behavior and mental health. The specific link I used (as shown above) is specific to co-occurring disorders. It allows users to explore the definition, symptoms, causes and treatments. It defines Co-Occurring Disorders at the top of the page stating, “Formerly known as dual diagnosis or dual disorder, co-occurring disorders describe the presence of two or more disorders at the same time. For example, a person may suffer substance abuse as well as bipolar disorder.” I think that statement is a little misleading and would better be represented by stating “…co-occurring disorders describe the presence of one or more disorders and substance abuse.” That definition implies co-occurring disorders could be something like depression and anxiety, in which case it should actually be described as co-morbid. However, within the first few paragraphs of the definition page it then states, “Clients with co-occurring disorders (COD) have one or more disorders relating to the use of alcohol and/or other drugs of abuse as well as one or more mental disorders.” One interesting thing I noticed on this website is they use the term MICA, which represents Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers; I’ve never heard that term before. The website states that cause of Co-Occuring Disorders are “influenced by several factors, including genetic susceptibility, environment, and pharmacologic influences. Certain people have a high risk for these disorders (genetic risk); some situations can evoke or help to sustain these disorders (environmental risk); and some drugs are more likely than others to cause psychiatric or substance use disorder problems (pharmacologic risk).” I think they did a good job of covering all theories of why or how someone can become addicted. A treatment method is listed are “interventions based on addiction work in contingency management, cognitive-behavioral therapy, relapse prevention, and motivational interviewing.” I do agree that all of those methods have been proven to be beneficial. In general I think the website offers some insight into Co-Occurring disorders, but I do think it needs to be more specific in defining the term for someone who just glances at the site without reading through the tabs. I probably wouldn’t recommend this website to a client to help them develop insight if they have a Co-Occurring disorder.

Co-Occurring Disorders Information Center http://www.co-occurringdisordersnys.org/ I found this website by searching “Co-Occurring Disorders” using AVG search. The website looks very professional and states very clearly at the top the name of the site “Co-Occurring Disorders Information Center“ and explains that it is part of the Mental Health Association of the State of New York (government funded). It is very clear that the website’s purpose and primary focus is to inform people about Co-Occurring Disorders. I like the way the website defined Co-Occurring Disorders, “The term co-occurring disorders refers to an individual having one or more substance abuse disorders and one or more psychiatric disorders at the same time. ('Dual diagnosis' is an older term for 'co-occurring disorders'.)” I especially like that it states “one or more” for both substance abuse and psychiatric disorders since it could be possible for example, for someone to be addicted to drugs and alcohol and suffer from depression and anxiety. I also like this particulars view on what is needed for recovery. The website states, “Integrated services are important because people with co-occurring disorders (COD) have a much better chance of recovery from both disorders when they receive combined or integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment from the same clinician or treatment team. Collaboration among providers is essential to coordinate care as clients with COD take steps towards recovery.” I think collaboration is especially important because it allows for everyone treating the individual to be on the same page in treating the individual for both substance abuse and mental disorders. Overall, I think this is a good website for explaining Co-Occurring disorders as it goes straight to the point, however, the website doesn’t get too in-depth so it wouldn’t be very helpful for professionals to use but I think because of its simplicity it would be good to use the information to share with a client. One really good thing about this website is that it offers a lot of resources for people to go to for help, including resources for family members.

Mental Health America http://www.nmha.org/go/co-occurring-disorders I found this website by searching “Co-Occurring Disorders” using AVG search. Mental Health American is a non-profit organization and the website’s primary focus is on mental health. The purpose of the website is to educate, advocate, and offer support for people who suffer from mental illness. In the co-occurring disorder section it states, “Alcohol and other drug abuse and addiction constitute major health and safety concerns in the United States, with costs running into the billions of dollars annually for health care, related injuries and loss of life, property destruction, loss of productivity and more. Treatment is proven to be effective, but very few who need it have access to and receive care. Private and public funding for treatment remains meager. Families are devastated and children are at increased risk for their own addiction and mental health problems.
For people struggling with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, physical safety and overall health risks are greater; the impairment of life skills is greater; and the chances for successful treatment are much less - all of which contribute to stigma.
This area of the Mental Health America website is designed to assist mental health advocates in increasing their understanding of key issues in the area of substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. We are committed to providing accurate and timely materials and information about alcohol and other drug abuse and addiction to the advocates, consumer supporters and consumers in the mental health field.” I think this whole statement is very negative and to me is implying how bad people with co-occurring disorders are affecting our economy by their statement “with costs running into the billions of dollars annually for health care, related injuries and loss of life, property destruction, loss of productivity and more.” I think if someone with a Co-Occuring disorder were to read that statement they may feel hopeless, inadequate and possibly even contribute to a negative self-image. I know if I were suffering from a COD and read that statement I might feel guilty for what I am doing, feel like it will be hard for me to get help and might even give up then and there for trying to look for help. I think the word choices used on the page are poorly chosen. The website offers some resource links to government websites but most links are not directed for substance abuse, but rather mental illnesses. I personally do not like this website nor do I agree with their representation of COD’s and the stigma they are contributing to.

Behavioral Health Evolution http://cooccurring.org/public/cooccurring_overview.page?menuheader=2 I found this website by searching “Co-Occurring Disorders” using AVG search. The website is clearly described as a tool for resources for treating substance abuse, mental health and COD. The website is funded by the Hazelden Foundation. I think this website successfully addresses both substance abuse and mental illness with an emphasis on COD’s specifically. The website explains what COD means, common problems, potential causes of COD, the common mental illnesses associated with COD and effective treatment methods. Within the treatment methods category, it states “In the past, treatment professionals failed to understand that treating one disorder would not cause the other disorder to automatically improve. Both disorders need to be treated at the same time, which is called integrated treatment. Integrated treatment can stabilize the symptoms of co-occurring disorders and provide the foundation for lasting recovery from substance use and psychiatric disorders. A variety of options are available for treating co-occurring disorders. These include finding support, engaging in therapy, and taking appropriate prescription medication.“ I think this is an excellent view on treated COD and I personally feel that society isn’t treating substance abuse and mental illness in an integrated way as it should. One interesting fact that I learned from this site is that “More than ten million people in the United States suffer from a substance use disorder along with one or more mental health disorders.” I really like the way this website addressed COD and think it could be a resourceful tool to use as reference.
Help Guide http://www.helpguide.org/mental/dual_diagnosis.htm The last website I found was from a non-profit organization called, “Help Guide.” I found the website through a google search of “Co-Occurring.” Although the website’s address list’s “dual diagnosis” the content of the site refers to COD instead of the previously used term Dual Diagnosis. The website in general has options for specific mental illness as well as addiction, but equally distributes focus when looking at the different categories. I especially like how the website has a positive outlook on recovering from a COD and to someone suffering from COD may find encouragement by the statements made in the website, for example the website bluntly says, “There is hope” Another statement made I liked was, “Just remember: substance abuse problems and mental health issues don’t get better when they’re ignored. In fact, they are likely to get much worse. You don’t have to feel this way! Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards conquering your demons and enjoying life again.” The website defines COD as “a term used when you have both a mental health disorder—such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder—and a drug or alcohol problem.” The website offers many resources for help for someone with COD. One of the many statements made in the website that I liked was the way they explained how COD’s can complicate treatment and the results of inadequate treatment. The website states, “Complicating the situation, the two problems affect each other and interact. When a mental health problem goes untreated, the substance abuse problem usually gets worse as well. And when alcohol or drug abuse increases, mental health problems usually increase too.” I completely agree with that statement. It is very important for individuals to be treated for both issues because by only treating one, the other may escalate into a bigger problem. I also liked how the website gives the user tools to help them decide if they may be suffering from addiction or mental illness by using examples of symptoms of each and symptoms for common mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. It also gives suggestions of how to find help, what kind of help would be best based on an individuals situation and resources to receive help. It also goes into detail about benefits of group therapy and support groups. Of all the websites, I would recommend this website to someone who may be suffering from COD to increase their insight and also plan on book marking this site for myself, so I can use the resources to help future clients.

I think the biggest thing I learned from looking at the websites was that all of them emphasize the importance of treating addiction and mental-illness at the same time and how important it is to have a treatment team that is connected with each other in order to treat the individual better. I liked searching for websites and finding information on COD. It made me think about how people who are diagnosed with COD might be trying to find information out too and what they might me coming across. In terms of this class, it allowed me to develop some resources for any possible clients I may come across in Human Services that are suffering from COD that I will be able to reference in order to help refer them and point them in the right direction for help. I personally like the way the class is taught because I don’t have a background of Addiction or Alcoholism so a lot of the information is new to me. I find the class interesting and easy to comprehend. I would like to learn ways or methods to treat people with co-occurring disorders, like specific treatment plans. Overall, I think the class is really interesting and entertaining.