Those of us who work in the mental health field are not surprised when research articles are published “proving” things we already believe are true. Sometimes I read through articles and think, ‘Duh, that’s obvious”. I realized today, though, that it may not be obvious to everyone. Sometimes I forget that my knowledge base came from 8 years of school and 10 years of practice – something my husband likes to remind me of when I am spouting off numbers. It hit home when I was speaking to my daughter about the research on marriage happiness – what seemed obvious to me was shocking to her. So, I decided to look at some recent research on topics that I would have glazed over before, thinking it was nothing new. I found some things that may be helpful to people who are concerned about someone and are wondering what the best course of action is. I will address a few of these in upcoming blogs.
Today I am going to focus on research related to depression and substance abuse. There has long been an association between substance abuse and depression. Often depression is the starting point, with people turning to drugs (including alcohol) to alleviate the emotional pain. What starts off as an attempt to numb pain can turn into long-term addiction.
Treatment for addiction comes in a variety of options – inpatient, outpatient, group therapy, individual therapy, etc. The 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are the standard baseline for most treatment, with slight variations for other additions. But the steps don’t address underlying mental health issues. While stopping the addictive behavior is important, dealing with the underlying mental health issues is paramount for long-term success.
A new study published this month in the Archives of General Psychiatry addresses the issue of treating depression during substance abuse treatment. The researchers compared those with depression who went through the standard treatment to those who went through the same program, but also received sixteen 2-hour group sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. The outcomes were fairly significant. Those who received CBT not only had fewer symptoms of depression at both the 3 and 6 month follow-up assessments, but also had improved mental health functioning in general while having fewer days of problem drinking/drug use than those who had only the traditional treatment.
The result of this study shows the benefits of addressing mental health issues while treating addiction. There are “dual diagnoses” treatment facilities out there, but it seems that the standard approach to treatment does not take the mental health aspect into account. If someone you care about has an addiction problem, and you believe there are mental health issues impacting the addiction, help ensure they are getting treatment for both.