Abstract
Background: Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) plus co-morbid mental health disorders now constitute a major preventable public health catastrophe in human social life and the population. It is also important to recognize that they occur frequently, can affect people of any age and are difficult to treat, which is why integration should be the focus.
Objectives: This proposal aims at establishing the correlation between SUDs and other mental illnesses and the impact of combined treatment therapies.
Methods: RCT, Meta analysis, Longitudinal, Cross-sectional studies were also used to conduct an extensive review. Demographic characteristics, SUD and mental health conditions’ severity, and treatment process results were documented among adults SUD patients and those with co-morbid depression and PTSD. The comparison was made between Integrated Treatment Modalities which include IDDT and CBT with medication management and non-Integrated Treatment Modalities.
Results: Again, results obtained from the analyses of both integrated and non-integrated treatments were more favourable toward integrated treatment methods in terms of lowering substance use and mental health symptoms. Highly positive, beneficial results were seen in aspects of patient quality of life, medication compliance, and relapse in cross-sectional and various level of illness populations and people of different demographics.
Conclusion: The evidence also reveals that Integrated treatment programs are vital since substance dependence and mental illnesses affect the same persons. This review looks at the comparisons between integrated models as well as points out the importance of patient-centered, affordable treatment. It is therefore advisable for future research to target the effects of the treatment on the patients in the long-term, other treatment regimens and how the existing treatments can be made more accessible to individuals from other ethnic backgrounds.
Keywords: Substance Use Disorders, Mental Health Conditions, Integrated Treatment, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dual Diagnosis