Contrasting the views of substance misuse and mental health treatment providers on treating the dually diagnosed.

Service delivery to dually diagnosed individuals is often impeded by the divergent treatment approaches used by mental health and substance misuse treatment providers. This paper describes findings from a survey of mental health and substance misuse treatment program administrators and staff in Los Angeles County (n = 275) on their views about treating the dually diagnosed. All groups agreed about the challenges of treating dually diagnosed patients; however, there were differences both between and within providers in the two treatment systems on other aspects of treatment. The findings are discussed within the context of clinical and programmatic efforts to improve service delivery to the dually diagnosed.