Overview

Mental health problems are very common in those with a substance use disorder, and these patients have more clinically and psychosocially severe problems than patients with substance use disorders without comorbid mental health problems. On this page, you can find links to data, scientific publications and resources available from the EMCDDA on the topic of mental health problems and substance use.

This discussion paper aims to highlight the evidence related to mental and physical health comorbidities in drug use disorders and to promote the development of innovative, evidence-based policies and practices to treat drug use disorders and comorbid disorders.

The paper advocates for an integrated approach to treatment from a biopsychosocial perspective and the ‘no wrong door’ principle, so that patients receive comprehensive therapeutic interventions regardless of their entry point in the health system.

This discussion paper was developed by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC...

BACKGROUND:

A close relationship between a parent and a child and parental acceptance can mediate the appropriate self-acceptance of an adolescent, which is an important variable related to personality and a pillar of emotional health. In the paper we present the conclusions of a research study about the quality of the attachment towards parents and self-acceptance of adolescents at Czech secondary schools.

AIMS:

The aim of the study was the exploration of the relation between the attachment style and self-acceptance.

SAMPLE:

The research sample consists of 3,239 adolescents aged 15–19 in...

Contingency management (CM) is a psychological treatment based on operant conditioning. It consists of providing incentives in exchange for achieving a target behaviour such as abstinence or other treatmentrelated variables (e.g. session attendance, adherence to medication). The objective of this article was to introduce the rationale of CM for substance use and, more specifically, for smoking cessation. A growing body of empirical literature supports CM as an effective treatment for quitting smoking both in the general population and among other hard-to-treat smokers (e.g. pregnant women or...

Watch the video of the SHAAP/SARN 'Alcohol Occasionals' webinar, held over Zoom on 23 May 2022: "Navigating the complexity of harm and care: a qualitative study of self-harm and alcohol use" by Dr Amy Chandler and Annie Taylor from the University of Edinburgh.

Watch the video of the SHAAP/SARN 'Alcohol Occasionals' webinar, held over Zoom on 21 June 2022:

"‘I’m just getting the impression I have to sort myself out’: How people with co-occurring heavy alcohol use and depression describe the care they receive in a fragmented health system - a qualitative study" by Dr Kat Jackson & Dr Amy O’Donnell from Newcastle University.

Substance use and mental health needs are two of the primary concerns for many people experiencing multiple disadvantage. We know that people who experience both issues at the same time (also known as “co-occurring conditions” or “dual diagnosis”) find it difficult or impossible to access the right support for their needs.

However, despite these concerns, appropriate support for people with co- occurring conditions remains an unresolved challenge for many local areas. Without appropriate support, individuals’ health, wellbeing and trust in services can be drastically harmed. In this briefing...

Research has shown that alcohol use and common mental disorders co-occur; however, little is known about how the global prevalence of alcohol use compares across different mental disorders.

This review examined:

(i) report global associations of alcohol use (alcohol use disorder (AUD), binge drinking and consumption) comparing those with and without common mental disorders 

(ii) how this differed among those with and without specific types of common mental disorders 

(iii) how results may differ by study characteristics.

Results:

A total of 512 papers were reviewed. Individuals with a...