Translating Evidence-Based Practice for Managing Comorbid Substance Use and Mental Illness Using a Multimodal Training Package

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjective: Comorbid mental health and substance use problems are highly prevalent in substance use treatment settings and generally lead to poorer treatment outcomes. Pathways to Comorbidity Care (PCC) is a multimodal training program developed to encourage an integrated service approach to improve clinicians capacity to identify and manage comorbid substance use and mental health outcomes within public drug and alcohol treatment settings.Methods: In this paper we describe the concepts underlying the PCC package and the use of implementation science to assess and overcome potential barriers, including clinicians preferences, knowledge about best practice, and professional culture.Results: The training components include didactic seminars, group workshops run by a local clinical champion on relevant subjects such as motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, individual clinical consultation, and feedback with a senior clinical psychologist. The PCC also includes an online portal containing comorbidity resources including manuals, guidelines, and booster webinars. Finally, we describe the evaluation of PCC implementation.Conclusions: Drug and alcohol services need to be equipped to treat the majority of comorbid mental health conditions in their clients. We anticipate that this multimodal training package, which applies the principles of implementation science, will facilitate effective and integrated care for these vulnerable clients.