Villa Paradiso helps clients with a wide range of addictions and other psychological or psychosocial conditions. The team uses a flexible approach to rehabilitation that is adapted to each and every client’s personal situation and requirements. Villa Paradiso Spain has achieved a great deal of success with treatments.
For more specific information about the definition and characteristics of these conditions and any other related conditions please refer to our treatment pages. For details about the most effective addiction treatments available in Spain today, get in touch with us and we will be happy to provide free advice with no obligation.
NOTE: It is our philosophy that you should only come to Villa Paradiso in Spain when you are ready and know the time has come to commit to recovery. The investment you make will be offset many times by what you’ll save on drugs, alcohol and other substances.
What is a Co-Occurring Condition?
The term co-occurring disorder replaces the terms dual disorder and dual diagnosis when referring to an individual who has a co-existing mental illness and a substance-use disorder. While commonly used to refer to the combination of substance use and mental disorders, the term also refers to other combinations of disorders (such as mental disorders and intellectual disability).
Clients with co-occurring disorders (COD) typically have one or more disorders relating to the use of alcohol and/or other drugs as well as one or more mental disorders. A client can be described as having co-occurring disorders when at least one disorder of each type can be established independent of the other and is not simply a cluster of symptoms resulting from another disorder.
Common examples of co-occurring disorders include the combinations of major depression with cocaine addiction, alcohol addiction with panic disorder, alcoholism and poly-drug addiction with schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder with episodic poly-drug abuse. Thus, there is no single combination of co-occurring disorders; in fact, there is great variability among them.
The combination of a substance use disorder and a psychiatric disorder varies along important dimensions, such as severity, chronicity, disability, and degree of impairment in functioning. For example, the two disorders may each be severe or mild, or one may be more severe than the other. Additionally, the severity of both disorders may change over time. Levels of disability and impairment in functioning may also vary.
People with co-occurring disorders often experience more severe and chronic medical, social, and emotional problems than people experiencing a mental health condition or substance-use disorder alone. Because they have two disorders, they are vulnerable to both relapse and a worsening of the psychiatric disorder. Further, addiction relapse often leads to psychiatric distress, and worsening of psychiatric problems often leads to addiction relapse. Thus, relapse prevention must be specifically designed for the unique needs of people with co-occurring disorders. Compared to patients who have a single disorder, patients with co-existing conditions often require longer treatment, have more crises, and progress more gradually in treatment.
