Dual Diagnosis Part 1: Concepts and Treatment Issues

Goals/Objectives

This course will provide the trainee with information and issues related to the treatment needs of patients who have a psychiatric disorder in combination with an alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorder. This Distance Learning Course (DLC) consists of information regarding the identification and the treatment of patients with dual disorders. It was written primarily for addiction treatment staff. However, it contains information and treatment recommendations that can be used by healthcare providers in a variety of treatment settings. For example, it will be useful to people who work in primary care clinics, hospitals, and various mental health settings. In addition, there are recommendations that are targeted to administrators and planners of healthcare services.

By participating in this DLC, the trainee will:

1. study descriptions and diagnostic criteria for alcohol and other drug abuse and dependence;
2. examine interactions between alcohol and other drug use and psychiatric symptoms and disorders;
3. explore the similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of the treatment systems used by patients with dual disorders: the mental health system, the addiction treatment system, and the medical system;
4. review treatment models most frequently used in the treatment of dual disorders: sequential treatment of each disorder, parallel treatment of each disorder, and integrated treatment of both disorders;
5. discuss the critical treatment issues and general assessment issues in providing care to patients with dual disorders;
6. obtain an overview of the types of medications used in psychiatry and addiction medicine and for patients with dual disorders;
7. learn about a stepwise treatment model that can minimize medication abuse risks;
8. review cautions about drug interactions;
9. obtain an understanding of the principle medications used in psychiatry and how they are used;
10. create a forum to discuss practical application and special issues related to dual disorders through the use of internet technologies.

Your Course Instructor:
Kevin R. Scheel
MS, MAC, LMFT
Co-Founder, DLCAS

Kevin R. Scheel is a Masters prepared chemical dependency counselor with more than twenty-three years of experience in the human service field. He has served as the director of programs in the public sector as well as in private care facilities, both in the profit and not-for-profit arenas. He has been involved in the delivery of education services to the field since 1986 as an instructor at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, and as a private training consultant with Hazelden. Mr. Scheel is the author of "Alcohol: Chemistry & Culture," as well as a series of education videotapes on the various drugs of abuse, published and marketed by WRS Group, Inc. He has also created a preparation and review manual that is currently in use by a variety of colleges and universities in Texas, designed to aid students preparing for their Texas chemical dependency credential.

While in Texas Kevin served as the Texas Coordinator for the federally funded Project for Addiction Counselor Training (PACT) program. For this project Mr. Scheel designed a 270 hour curriculum for beginning counselors, delivering over 45,000 hours of classroom training to 415 minority students. As a result of his efforts, 268 of these students have gone on to obtain their credentials to practice chemical dependency counseling in Texas.

Kevin also served in the position as Coordinator for the Texas Addiction Training Center (currently the Texas Addition Technology Transfer Center), a federally funded project from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Washington, D.C. The goal of this project has been to increase the level of addiction education to the various disciplines offering counseling services to drug and alcohol affected clients. In Texas this project worked with 8 major colleges and universities.

In addition to his role as a founder of the DLCAS, Kevin is currently serving as the Director of Educational Services for the DLCAS.