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A Public Dual Diagnosis Detoxification Unit
Author(s) -
Wilens Timothy E.,
O'Keefe Janice,
O'Connell James J.,
Springer Ronnie,
Spencer Thomas
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1521-0391.1993.tb00418.x
Subject(s) - dual diagnosis , detoxification (alternative medicine) , medicine , psychiatry , intervention (counseling) , intensive care unit , alcohol dependence , unit (ring theory) , alcohol , substance abuse , psychology , alternative medicine , mathematics education , pathology , biochemistry , chemistry
In Part I, the authors described the philosophy and organizational concerns of a public inpatient unit for the stabilization and treatment of acute dual diagnosis patients. In this pilot report, clinical experience with 70 consecutively referred alcohol‐dependent psychiatric inpatients was retrospectively reviewed and findings were contrasted with 70 primarily alcohol‐dependent referrals (controls). Demographic and patient‐care variables were examined to elucidate some of the special needs of these “dually diagnosed” patients. The results show that psychiatrically referred patients have fewer social and professional supports, higher rates of homelessness, earlier ages at onset, and more comorbid chemical dependency than the alcohol‐dependent referrals. Psychiatrically referred patients required more staff intervention and had more inpatient problems than controls.