What are the harms associated with co-occurring disorders?

The high prevalence of co-occurring mental disorders means that AOD workers are frequently faced with the need to manage complex psychiatric symptoms, which has been cited as a major challenge and ongoing training gap for almost two-thirds (62%) of Australian AOD workers [7]. Clients with co-occurring mental and AOD use disorders present to treatment with a more complex and severe clinical profile, including poorer general physical and mental health, greater drug use severity, and poorer functioning (see Figure 6) [90–93]. The presence of co-occurring mental health conditions may also place an enormous strain on clients’ families and others close to them, both emotionally and financially.