Substance Abuse & Mental Illness

The Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University provides technical assistance to health and behavioral healthcare organizations in Ohio, numerous other states, and several countries that are committed to improving outcomes and quality of life for people with addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness (SAMI). 

Our SAMI consultants and trainers help service systems and organizations implement and integrate evidence-based practices, best practices, and other strategies that promote recovery with services that are stage-based, strengths-based, person-centered, and motivational.

The strategies include but are not limited to those described on this page.

Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment

Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment (DDCAT) helps service organizations assess their capability (or capacity) to provide treatment to people diagnosed with a substance-use disorder who also have a co-occurring mental illness and to develop and implement a plan to do so with increasing capacity over time. The DDCAT index explores an organization's policies, clinical practices, and workforce capacities.

Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment

Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT) helps service organizations assess their capability (or capacity) to provide treatment to people diagnosed with a mental illness who also have a co-occurring substance-use disorder and to develop and implement a plan to do so with increasing capacity over time. The DDCMHT index explores an organization's policies, clinical practices, and workforce capacities.

Learn more about Dual Diagnosis Capacity.

Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment

Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) is an evidence-based practice that improves the quality of life for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance-use disorders by combining substance abuse services with mental health services. IDDT helps people address both disorders at the same time—in the same service organization by the same team of treatment providers. IDDT takes a stages-of-change approach to treatment by emphasizing that big changes like sobriety and symptom management occur through incremental changes over time.

Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment for Inpatient Settings

Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) for Inpatient Settings was developed by the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE)—an initiative of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University—and the State of Ohio’s inpatient Behavioral Healthcare Organizations (BHOs). This model was created with reference to and as an adaptation of the community-based IDDT model and fidelity scale.

Learn more about Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment.

Recommended Reading

  • Gotham HJ, Brown JL, Comaty JE, McGovern MP, Claus RE. Assessing the co-occurring capability of mental health treatment programs: the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT) Index. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2013 Apr;40(2):234-41. 
  • Mark P. McGovern PhD, Aurora L. Matzkin MA, and Julienne Giard MSW. Assessing the Dual Diagnosis Capability of Addiction Treatment Services: The Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment (DDCAT) Index.  Pages 111-123 | Received 28 Apr 2006, Accepted 14 Jun 2006, Published online: 17 Oct 2008.