What Is a TIP?

CSAT Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are prepared by the Quality Assurance and Evaluation Branch to facilitate the transfer of state-of-the-art protocols and guidelines for the treatment of alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse from acknowledged clinical, research, and administrative experts to the Nation’s AOD abuse treatment resources.

The dissemination of a TIP is the last step in a process that begins with the recommendation of an AOD abuse problem area for consideration by a panel of experts. These include clinicians, researchers, and program managers, as well as professionals in such related fields as social services or criminal justice.

Once a topic has been selected, CSAT creates a Federal Resource Panel, with members from pertinent Federal agencies and national organizations, to review the state of the art in treatment and program management in the area selected. Recommendations from this Federal panel are then transmitted to the members of a second group, which consists of non-Federal experts who are intimately familiar with the topic. This group, known as a non-Federal Consensus Panel, meets in Washington for 3 days, makes recommendations, defines protocols, and arrives at agreement on protocols. Its members represent AOD abuse treatment programs, hospitals, community health centers, counseling programs, criminal justice and child welfare agencies, and private practitioners. A Chair for the panel is charged with responsibility for ensuring that the resulting protocol reflects true group consensus.

The next step is a review of the proposed guidelines and protocol by a third group whose members serve as expert field reviewers. Once their recommendations and responses have been reviewed, the Chair approves the document for publication. The result is a TIP reflecting the actual state of the art of AOD abuse treatment in public and private programs recognized for their provision of high-quality and innovative AOD abuse treatment.

This TIP, titled Assessment and Treatment of Patients With Coexisting Mental Illness and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Abuse, provides practical information about the treatment of patients with dual disorders, including the treatment of AOD patients with mood and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders. This TIP also provides pragmatic information about systems and linkage issues relative to the AOD and mental health treatment systems. There is also a discussion about pharmacologic management of patients with dual disorders.

This TIP represents another step by CSAT toward its goal of bringing national leadership to bear in the effort to improve AOD abuse treatment.

Consensus Panel

Richard K. Ries, M.D., Chair

Director

Inpatient Psychiatry and Dual Disorder Programs

Harborview Medical Center

Seattle, Washington

Facilitators:

Marcelino Cruces, L.C.S.W.

Administrative Coordinator

Andromeda Transcultural Mental Health Center

Substance Abuse Treatment Division

Washington, D.C.

Mary Katherine Evans, C.A.D.C., N.C.A.C. II

Program Director

Evans and Sullivan

Beaverton, Oregon

James Fine, M.D.

Director

Addictive Disease Hospital at Kings County Hospital Center

Clinical Associate Professor

Department of Psychiatry

State University of New York

Health Service Center at Brooklyn

Brooklyn, New York

Bonnie Schorske, M.A.

Coordinator

Special Populations

New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Hospitals

Trenton, New Jersey

Workgroup Members:

Stephen J. Bartels, M.D.

Medical Director

West Central Services, Inc.

Research Associate

New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center

Lebanon, New Hampshire

Dolores Burant, M.D.

Program and Medical Director

University Outpatient Recovery Service

Madison, Wisconsin

Agnes Furey, L.P.N., C.A.P.

Primary Care Coordinator

Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program

Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services

Tallahassee, Florida

Malcolm Heard, M.S.

Director

Division on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

Nebraska Department of Public Institutions

Lincoln, Nebraska

Norman Miller, M.D.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Chief, Addiction Programs

Department of Psychiatry

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Ernest Quimby, Ph.D.

Assistant Graduate Professor

Howard University

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Washington, D.C.

Henry Jay Richards, Ph.D.

Associate Director for Behavioral Sciences

Patuxent Institution

Jessup, Maryland

Candace Shelton, M.S., C. A.C.

Clinical Director

Pascua Yaqui Adult Treatment Home

Tucson, Arizona

Virginia Stiepock, A.C.S.W, R.N., C.S.

Assistant Center Director

Clinical Director

Northern Rhode Island Community Mental Health Center

Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Mathias Stricherz, Ed.D., C.D.C. III

Director

Student Counseling Center

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota

Patricia M. Weisser

National Association of Psychiatric Survivors

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Joan Ellen Zweben, Ph.D.

Executive Director

The East Bay Community Recovery Project

The 14th Street Clinic and Medical Group

Berkeley, California

Foreword

The Treatment Improvement Protocol Series (TIPs) fulfills CSAT’s mission to improve alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse and dependency treatment by providing best practices guidance to clinicians, program administrators, and payers. This guidance, in the form of a protocol, results from a careful consideration of all relevant clinical and health services research findings, demonstration experience, and implementation requirements. A panel of non-Federal clinical researchers, clinicians, program administrators, and patient advocates employs a consensus process to produce the product. This panel’s work is reviewed and critiqued by field reviewers as it evolves. The talent, dedication, and hard work that TIPs panelists and reviewers bring to this highly participatory process have bridged the gap between the promise of research and the needs of practicing clinicians and administrators. I am grateful to all who have joined with us to contribute to advance our substance abuse treatment field.

Susan L. Becker Associate Director for State Programs Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

Chapter 1 –Introduction

Overview

The treatment needs of patients who have a psychiatric disorder in combination with an alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorder differ significantly from the treatment needs of patients with either an AOD use disorder or a psychiatric disorder by itself. This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) consists of recommendations for the treatment of patients with dual disorders.

This TIP was developed by a multidisciplinary consensus panel that included addiction counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, other physicians, nurses, and program administrators with active clinical involvement in the treatment of patients with dual disorders. Consumers also participated on the panel.

This TIP was written principally for addiction treatment staff. However, it contains information and treatment recommendations that can be used by healthcare providers in a variety of treatment settings. For example, it will be useful to people who work in primary care clinics, hospitals, and various mental health settings. In addition, there are recommendations that are targeted to administrators and planners of healthcare services.

A thoughtful attempt has been made to include information that the consensus panel felt was clinically relevant. While many clinical topics are explored in depth, some are only briefly mentioned, and a few are avoided altogether.

It is not the goal of this TIP to provide an exhaustive description of all of the possible issues that relate to the treatment of patients with dual disorders. Rather, the primary goal is to provide treatment recommendations that are practical and useful.

Indeed, the usefulness of this TIP can be enhanced by blending these recommendations with those of another TIP such as Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Abuse. By doing so, treatment protocols can be developed which will meet very specific treatment needs.

Contents

Definitions and Models

Chapter 2 — Dual Disorders: Concepts and Definitions — provides descriptions and diagnostic criteria for AOD abuse and dependence. There is also a description of the possible interactions between AOD use and psychiatric symptoms and disorders.

Chapter 3 — Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Systems: Philosophical and Treatment Approach Issue — describes the similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of the treatment systems used by patients with dual disorders: the mental health system, the addiction treatment system, and the medical system. Similarly, there is a description of treatment models most frequently used: sequential treatment of each disorder, parallel treatment of each disorder, and integrated treatment of both disorders. The chapter includes a discussion of critical treatment issues and general assessment issues in providing care to patients with dual disorders.

Linkages

Chapter 4 — Linkages for Mental Health and AOD Treatment — describes several areas of critical concern for programs that provide services to patients with dual disorders. There are discussions regarding policy and planning; funding and reimbursement; data collection and needs assessment; program development; screening, assessment, and referral; case management; staffing and training; and linkages with social service, health care, and the criminal justice systems.

This chapter should be particularly useful for administrators and political planners who address the potential administrative overlaps and gaps that exist between the mental health and addiction treatment systems. The semi-outline format of the chapter will allow planners of services a rapid checkup of specific areas such as funding and reimbursement, program development, and case management.

Specific Psychiatric Disorders

While entire books can be written regarding specific psychiatric disorders, this TIP describes the disorders that account for the majority of psychiatric problems seen in patients with dual disorders. TIP chapters that address specific psychiatric problems include Chapter 5, Mood Disorders; Chapter 6, Anxiety Disorders; Personality Disorders; and Chapter 8, Psychotic Disorders.

By combining chapters, strategies for treating patients with complex disorders may be developed. For example, by combining techniques recommended for the treatment of personality and mood disorders, borderline syndrome treatment strategies can be developed.

Both content and stylistic approaches vary markedly among these chapters, reflecting the differences of consensus panel members who composed them. Since these differences in stylistic approaches may be useful to the reader, they have been retained.

Psychopharmacology

Chapter 9 — Pharmacologic Management — is a brief overview of the types of medications used in psychiatry and addiction medicine and for patients with dual disorders. A stepwise treatment model that can minimize medication abuse risks is discussed, and cautions about drug interactions are reviewed.

Addiction treatment program staff are increasingly encountering patients who require prescribed medications in order to participate in recovery. For this reason, it is important for clinical staff to have an understanding of the principle medications used in psychiatry and how they are used. In addition, agencies that hire a consulting psychiatrist may want to review with the psychiatrist the prescribing issues raised in this chapter.

A bibliography is provided for further study in Appendix A. A brief overview of sample cost data for the treatment of dual disorders is in Appendix B. It compares three treatment programs on features such as salary ranges and administrative costs.