What Parents Can Do For Their Teens With Dual Diagnosis

For individuals aged 13 to 16, the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2019 NSDUH) provides extensive information on the prevalence of co-existing substance and/or alcohol use disorder. Per the year 2019, the following are the prevalence figures for teenagers:

Major Depressive Episode (MDE) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

• SUD or MDE affected 17.9 percent of teenagers.  That’s more than 4500,000 teenagers.
• MDE was found in 13.8 percent of adolescents who did not have SUD.  That’s 3400,000 teenagers.
• SUD was present in 2.7 percent of the population, but not MDE.  That’s 682,000 teenagers.
• SUD and MDE affected 1.7 percent of adolescents. That’s a total of 397,000 teenagers.

Let’s look at the number of teenagers who underwent treatment.

SUD and MDE Treatment:

• 66.3 percent of adolescents with SUD and MDE received treatment for one but not the other. That is a little over 250,000 teenagers.
• SUD treatment was received by 2.4 percent of the population. This equates to around 9,500 adolescents.
• 63.6 percent received MDE treatment but not SUD treatment. This equates to around 248,000 adolescents.
• Treatment for both SUD and MDE was given to 1.3 percent of the population. That’s a little more than 5,000 teenagers.
• 33.7 percent of people with SUD or MDE did not obtain therapy. That’s around 134,000 teenagers.

These figures help to put the phenomena of co-occurring in context. Reading figures like “1.7 percent of teenagers had SUD and MDE” might be misleading, as it may cause some parents to believe that the problem isn’t common. We’d want to counteract that notion with one essential fact and a few additional numbers.

The noteworthy statistic is that over half a million teenagers had co-existing MDE and SUD in 2019. (397,000). That’s a lot of teens who need help with not one, but two problems that can have a detrimental influence on their social, emotional, and physical well-being.

The frequency of youth with a major depressive disorder who use drugs is a set of numbers we need to address. When we look at the prevalence data in this way, we get the following:

• 31.9 percent of teenagers with MDE admitted to using illegal drugs.
• Adolescents who did not have MDE reported using illicit drugs at a rate of 4%.
• Marijuana use was reported by 25.1 percent of teenagers with MDE.
• 1% of teenagers without MDE admitted to using marijuana.
• Binge drinking was reported by 8.9 percent of teenagers with MDE.
• Binge drinking was reported by 2percent of teenagers who did not have MDE.
• Opioid use was reported by 4.6 percent of adolescents with MDE.
• Opioid use was reported by 8 percent of teenagers who did not have MDE.

These figures clearly reveal that teenagers with MDE use illegal drugs opiates and marijuana at a rate that is more than twice as high as adolescents without MDE. Furthermore, statistics reveal that adolescents with MDE binge drink more than twice as often as teenagers without MDE, ingesting more than 5-6 alcoholic drinks in one sitting.

While not all of these teenagers will acquire AUD or SUD in conjunction with MDE, they are at a higher risk. These figures also reveal a treatment gap: around two-thirds of the over 400,000 teenagers identified with co-occurring SUD and MDE did not obtain treatment for both illnesses. This means that in 2019, over 250,000 adolescents in the United States did not receive the therapy they required to manage their co-existing diseases.

In spite of this, it is critical for families of teens with co-existing mental health and substance/alcohol use disorders to recognize that therapy is effective. However, data suggests that both the substance/alcohol use disease and the mental health illness must be managed.

When one illness is treated without another, both disorders have a worse prognosis, but when a person with a dual diagnosis gets professional assistance and care for both diseases, both abnormalities have a better outcome.

If you feel your teenager has a mental health problem as well as an addiction issue, you should have them reviewed by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health specialists – preferably one who deals exclusively in or has medical experience in addiction and mental illnesses in adolescents. You should schedule a proper evaluation, also known as a biopsychosocial assessment, which will provide a mental health expert with a complete perspective of all the elements that may be influencing your teenager’s difficulties.

You will almost certainly receive a therapy recommendation after your child has undergone a thorough evaluation. Outpatient therapy either once or twice a week may be enough in some cases. However, if your kid has a dual illness, outpatient therapy may not provide the kind of care needed to help them heal and go ahead.

A more intense form of treatment may be recommended by the evaluating professional for your child. Treatments that are more intensive may include:

• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) 
• Programs for Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
• Residential Treatment Facilities (RTF)
• Hospitalization

These levels of care are described as follows:

Programs of Intensive Outpatient Care (IOP). This is a definite upgrade from weekly therapy or alcohol and drug counseling. The duration and frequency of treatment are determined by the program. Teenagers in an intense outpatient program often attend treatment three times a week for three hours per session. The benefits being the patients can live at home with their parents, and continue attending school.

Programs of Partial Hospitalization (PHP). This is a level up from intensive outpatient treatment. As is the case with IOP treatment, the duration and frequency of treatment are determined by the particular program. Teenagers receive treatment every day, often for four hours, and go to school on a part-time basis. They either live in the house or in a sober living center if extra support is required.

Residential Treatment Centers (RTC). Residential alcohol therapy, often known as inpatient alcohol treatment, involves your daughter or son living in a non-hospital treatment center 24 hours a day. Based on your child’s therapy requirements and progress, this intense standard of care may last between 1 and 4 months. Along with undergoing full-time alcohol therapy, one of the primary benefits of residential alcohol rehabilitation is living in an alcohol- and drug-free atmosphere. This allows your child to concentrate on healing rather than on the desire to consume alcohol.

Teens who obtain a dual diagnosis for co-existing disorders may benefit from IOP, PHP, and RTC treatments.

Hospitalization in a Psychiatric Facility. Hospitalization may be essential if your kid poses a serious threat to themselves or people (e.g., psychotic or suicidal) or requires 24-hour medical supervision because of too much alcohol consumption. Medical supervision may be required in conjunction with excessive binge drinking, a harmful trend among teenagers and young adults. Quitting alcohol abruptly (cold turkey) can result in hazardous and perhaps fatal symptoms of withdrawal, which is why medical observation may be essential.

Except for psychiatric hospitalization, which has as its major purpose urgent safety and psychological stability, these levels of care often entail some combination of various therapeutic approaches:

• Individual counseling and treatment
• Counseling and group treatment
• Psychotherapy and therapy for families
• Fitness and meditation are both experiential activities.
• Support from the community (Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery)
• The specific treatment regimen will vary depending on the treatment center and the level of care required for your kid.
• Providing Support and Encouragement for Your Child