Oklahoma Develops Model Treatment Programs for Co-Occurring Disorders October 28, 2005
Communities in Action Fifteen Oklahoma treatment facilities are being developed into model programs through the five-year, $3.2 million Co-Occurring State Infrastructure Grant (CO-SIG) awarded to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) in 2004, the Norman Transcript reported on October 20.Funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the grant allows the fifteen model programs to improve treatment for those with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, with the consultation and training of nationally recognized experts in co-occurring disorders. The model programs will ultimately be used to train staff from other agencies across the state.
"Treating a person for substance abuse but not fully recognizing their psychiatric diagnosis, or treating their mental health problems but not fully recognizing their addiction to drugs or alcohol, often results in setting the person up for relapse on either or both disorders," said Todd Crawford, ODMHSAS co-occurring programs coordinator.
"Unfortunately, during fiscal year 2005, nearly one-third of those treated for co-occurring disorders -- 755 of 2,258 -- returned to either the same level of care or a more intense and expensive level of care. This area could definitely use improvement, and we hope the CO-SIG grant will help us do that," Crawford said.
ODMHSAS also trains facilitators for Double Trouble in Recovery groups, which are 12-step self-help programs tailored for those dealing with both mental illness and addiction.
