Module 3: Treatment Strategies

5. Special Issues for Treating Youth with Co-occurring Disorders

Treatment of youth with co-occurring disorders is almost always complex and challenging. When designing treatment programs it is important to be aware of the potential barriers to treatment, characteristics that complicate treatment, and complications in using psychotropic medication for youth with co-occurring disorders. Characteristics of the youth, family, community, and systems/agencies can make treatment more challenging. Addressing multiple domains creatively will increase the likelihood of positive outcomes.

Another special issue related to the treatment of youth with co-occurring disorders is the differing views of relapse that exist in each system. Critical treatment issues that are of concern to professionals in each system include treatment continuity, sequence of interventions, length of treatment, voluntary versus mandatory treatment, and pretreatment services.