HS 268 - Intro to Co-occurring Disorders

Admission to a Human Services program. 

Course Description: Designed to provide entry level scope and depth of information relative to those human services helpers who are working with clients with a dual diagnosis, to specifically mean clients with both a mental health and an addictions diagnosis. Historical assessment and treatment processes as well as current, state of the art models and systems will be studied. Relevant terminology from both the mental health and addictions arenas will be examined. Professional preparation, systems proficiencies and barriers will be evaluated. Primary field data for mental health and addictions will be surveyed for dual diagnosis context. Pharmacotherapy of the dual diagnosed client will be reviewed. Special assessment, diagnosis, and treatment issues will be examined, as well as family and community system variables. Specific dyads of mental health diagnoses with addictions diagnoses will be studied for case dynamics and special, individual considerations. Networking, team application, and multiagency collaboration will be studied. Lastly, participants will examine personal perspectives, beliefs, concerns, anxieties, and attitudes about mental health and addictions concepts and dual diagnosis clients.

Course Learning Outcomes:

• CLO#1: Develop a working terminology from the mental health and addictions arenas to form a basis for dual diagnosis application.
• CLO#2: Describe personal perspective of dual diagnoses clients and related attitudes about dual diagnosis systems issues/problems.
• CLO#3: Research available dual diagnosis care systems locally and at state levels, to include staff interviews (small group project). (ILO: Information Literacy)
• CLO#4: Describe dual diagnosis treatment systems, including professional roles, system components, developmental processes, and barriers to proficient care.
• CLO#5: Recognize primary elements and typical processes of both mental health and addictions treatment systems to understand dual diagnosis perspectives of each.
• CLO#6: Identify standard array of pharmacological interventions used with dual diagnosis clients.
• CLO#7: Properly describe the most common assessment, diagnostic, and treatment barriers, and offer available efficacious solutions to each barrier. (ILO: Communication)
• CLO#8: List the cogent variables of dual diagnosis client care relative to family issues and dynamics.
• CLO#9: Describe and plan for effective utilization of community resources for dual diagnosis clients and be aware of mental health and addictions priorities by community leaders and treatment professionals.