The Canadian Mental Health Association and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit have partnered to make September Suicide Awareness Month, a mental health awareness campaign. An average of 4,000 Canadians die by suicide each year; more than 90% of its victims have lived with mental health disorders.
Mental health awareness and treatment options in Canada have improved dramatically in recent years. However, there is still substantial work to be done to ensure that Canadians experiencing mental health issues are provided with the support they need. The Mental Health Commission of Canada reports that 60% of people dealing with a mental health problem won’t seek help for fear of being labelled. Only one in five young Canadians in need of mental health services receive the support they need.
Concurrent Disorders
There is a strong connection between mental health disorders and addiction problems. When someone is dealing with both addiction and mental health disorders, they are said to have “concurrent disorders.” (We recently published a comprehensive blog on treating concurrent disorders.) Health Canada state that “Between 40-60% of individuals with severe mental illness will develop a substance use disorder at some point during their lives and that “almost 2% of Canadians (or 435,000 adults) have both a mental disorder and a substance use disorder.”
Concurrent Disorders and Addiction Treatment
Dual-diagnosis or concurrent disorder treatment has become the industry standard in addiction treatment. Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres’ staff have a wide range of experience in treating concurrent disorders. Our evidence-based treatment is centred on the client, and methods including individual therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and group counselling are used to identify all of the underlying causes and concurrent issues involved in an addiction. Due to the connection between mental health disorders and addiction, sustained aftercare support after initial addiction treatment is an important aspect of the recovery process.
Long-term Treatment for Concurrent Disorders
Our long-term commitment to our clients involves our Aftercare and ContinUcare programs. Aftercare functions through group counselling sessions specific to certain issues. It provides long-term peer support and preventing a person from becoming isolated. Weekly groups are available to Trafalgar clients on an ongoing basis after finishing their initial treatment. ContinUCare keeps our clients connected to our clinical staff through sets of questionnaires. These questionnaires are provided periodically by email or text. Their answers allow our staff to monitor the client’s well-being and respond to any potential issues they identify.
Aftercare in Concurrent Disorders Treatment
Like addiction, mental health issues are often lifelong conditions that people must cope with consistently. A crucial aspect of Trafalgar’s commitment to its clients is our aftercare. We understand that our clients’ recovery goes on long after initial treatment. We know that the problems we have identified and treated do not simply go away. Rather, recovery is an ongoing process. In cases involving concurrent disorders, a person will have to continue developing their methods for dealing with mental health issues related to their addiction.
Benefits of Aftercare Programs at Trafalgar
Thanks to our aftercare programs, our clients can continue to rely on our support after their initial treatment. Rather, they are provided with a strong support network of dedicated professionals. These professionals are still proactively working alongside them on their recovery. We provide them with crucial reassurance that in moments of vulnerability, they are not alone. Instead, support them and are always ready to offer help.
ContinUcare – Ongoing Support for Concurrent Disorders Treatment
ContinUcare provides clients with a crucial support network through different phases of their recovery. An external perspective can be helpful to someone dealing with the many challenges of early recovery, who may not be able to judge their own condition and progress so easily. This may be particularly true if they are also dealing with a mental health disorder. A professional perspective from someone with whom the client has already established a relationship can be hugely beneficial. Clients can also develop a real-time awareness of their current mental state and, if necessary, can act on it immediately.
How ContinUcare Helps Treating Concurrent Disorders
If a client is struggling with their recovery, our clinical staff will flag this upon reviewing their ContinUCare responses. If a concurrent disorder such as depression or anxiety has been exacerbated by the challenges of recovery, or if a person feels that they may relapse, our staff can offer support. In some cases, clients have returned to treatment; in others, we have supported them through the immediate challenges they have faced and enabled them to continue their progress. When one client reported suicidal thoughts, our clinical staff intervened and were able to provide the necessary support. Rather than slipping back towards using, or into other negative behavioural patterns, ContinUcare allows clients to maintain their recovery.
