Overview
A co-occurring disorder refers to someone having a mental health condition at the same time as substance use disorder. Sometimes, this is also referred to as a “dual diagnosis” or “comorbidity.” Increasingly, mental health professionals and facilities have begun to recognize that treating substance use disorders only leaves other disorders intact that may have been a source of self-medication. Studies show that addressing trauma at the same time as substance use is more effective than prior assumptions that stability through sobriety was needed before deeper work on trauma could be done.