Behavioral Health
Dual Diagnosis & Co-Occurring Disorders
When mental health and substance use happen together — because they usually do.
Why This Deserves Its Own Approach
Mental health conditions and substance use disorders frequently occur together — anxiety or depression can drive substance use, and substance use can worsen or trigger mental health symptoms. Treating one without the other rarely produces lasting results, which is exactly why our behavioral health and substance abuse treatment teams work as one coordinated program rather than two separate referrals.
What This Commonly Looks Like
- Depression or anxiety alongside opioid, alcohol, or other substance use
- PTSD or trauma history that contributed to substance use as a coping mechanism
- Bipolar disorder complicated by substance use
- Substance use that developed into or worsened an underlying mental health condition
How We Evaluate It
Every patient entering our substance abuse treatment program is also screened for co-occurring mental health conditions, and every behavioral health patient is screened for substance use concerns — so dual diagnosis cases are identified from the start rather than discovered later after treatment has already begun in only one direction.
Our Approach
- Coordinated treatment across behavioral health, psychiatry, and substance abuse treatment as one plan
- Medication-assisted treatment when appropriate, alongside psychiatric medication management for the mental health condition
- Individual and group therapy addressing both the mental health condition and the substance use together
- A single, unified care team rather than fragmented referrals
What to Expect
Dual diagnosis treatment is more complex than treating either condition alone, but it also tends to produce more durable results, since it addresses the actual relationship between the two rather than treating one as a footnote to the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which condition gets treated first — the mental health issue or the substance use?
Both are addressed together as part of one coordinated plan, since treating them in sequence rather than together tends to produce worse outcomes.
I've been told before that I need to get sober before I can work on my mental health — is that true here?
No — we treat both simultaneously as an integrated plan, which is now the evidence-based standard of care for dual diagnosis.
Does having both conditions make treatment take longer?
It can, since there's more to address, but coordinated treatment of both together is generally more effective than sequential treatment, even if it takes more time upfront.
Mental health and substance use are rarely separate problems — treating them as one coordinated picture is what actually gets patients to lasting recovery.
Confidential · No Pressure · Coordinated Care
Start today. Walk-ins welcome.
Call us, send a message, or just come by the clinic. Same-day appointments are available, and our team will meet you without judgment.
1010 E McDowell Rd, Suite 410, Phoenix, AZ 85006 · Open until 7 PM Wednesdays