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Brief Overview of Screening and Assessment for Co-occurring Disorders

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Abstract

This paper discusses screening, assessment, and treatment planning for persons with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. Screening indicates the likelihood that a person has, or doesn’t have, a disorder, thus whether or not additional assessment is needed. While many instruments may provide adequate screening, any single instrument will be more or less preferable depending upon a variety of situational factors, which each agency should consider when choosing an instrument to suits its purposes. The paper lists some instruments that screen for substance use or mental disorders or both, and provides an evaluation matrix and guidelines to aid the selection process. Assessment acquires information through administering instruments, conducting in-depth clinical interviews, reviewing client histories, etc. Assessment instruments are listed and discussed, and advice for counselors is included. In essence, screening and assessment warrant equivalent attention and should be accompanied by careful treatment planning and the provision of (or referral to) appropriate services.

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  1. Center for the Integration of Research & Practice (CIRP), National Development & Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI), 71 W 23 Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY, 10010, USA

    Stanley Sacks

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  1. Stanley Sacks
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Correspondence to Stanley Sacks.

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This paper is adapted from a presentation to the International Symposium on Screening & Assessment of Co-Occurring Disorders sponsored by the Center for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) Toronto, ON, Canada—13 April 2005.

The presentation and paper draw primarily from material contained in Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) #42 Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons With Co-Occurring Disorders, and in Overview Paper No. 2, Screening, Assessment, and Treatment Planning (with other unpublished documents) developed by (and for) the Co-Occurring Center for Excellence (COCE; http://coce.samhsa.gov). The two published documents (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment 2005a and b, respectively) are from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and its Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), with the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). A listing and a brief review of screening and assessment instruments are available from the author. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere nor has it been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere. Views and opinions expressed in the paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Health & Human Services, SAMHSA, CSAT, or CMHS.

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Sacks, S. Brief Overview of Screening and Assessment for Co-occurring Disorders. Int J Ment Health Addiction 6, 7–19 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-007-9098-0

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