Anyone working with children and families in Broward County

Children's Services Council -Training Room 2

Individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders present in large numbers in our behavioral healthcare system. In addition to having poorer outcomes, they also are more likely to have a higher likelihood of relapse, incarceration, and homelessness. Clinicians are traditionally trained to be either mental health clinicians or substance use clinicians, but not both. Recent national epidemiological studies and local data analysis indicate that the percentage of individuals with serious mental illness who have co-occurring substance use disorders and those with serious addiction who also have a psychiatric diagnosis is significant. The result is that dual diagnosis is an expectation, not an exception.