Paper
Dual diagnosis treatment for patients with schizophrenia who are substance dependent.
Published Jul 1, 1997 · J. Tsuang, A. P. Ho, T. A. Eckman
Psychiatric services
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Abstract
Introduction by the column editors: In a previous Rehab Rounds, Bachmann and his colleagues (1) at the Hospital of the University of Berne (Switzerland) presented their model of an integrated freatment approach for individuals with serious mental illness and a concurrent substance abuse disorder. In this month’s Rehab Rounds, the dual diagnosis treatment team of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center report on their treatment program for this populafion. Unlike the European program, which included the “luxury” of a sixmonth inpatient component, the American counterpart takes into consideration that approximately half of the individuals with schizophrenia admitted to the medical center also suffer from cocaine abuse (2) and that the prevalence of serious mental illness plus substance abuse is similaxly high at other locales around the U.S. (3). This fact requires the provision of a wider spectrum of services to combat the revolving-door pattern of hospitalization, discharge, and rehospitalization that is so prevalent among patients with schizophrenic
Dual diagnosis treatment for schizophrenia and substance abuse is crucial for reducing rehospitalization and promoting recovery.
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