Dual Diagnosis

Dual diagnosis is fairly common in teens, especially among those already struggling with mental health challenges. It happens when a mental health condition and substance use issue occur at the same time.

Research shows the overlap can be significant. In one U.S. study, 48% of adolescents and young adults ages 12–20 admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a mental health condition also had a substance use disorder.

This highlights how often these challenges occur together and why treating both at the same time is important.

Substance use in teens often happens alongside other mental health conditions. Research suggests that adolescents who use multiple substances are about twice as likely as their peers to experience depression and anxiety.

Some of the most common co-occurring mental health conditions include:

• Conduct disorder
• ADHD
• Depression and other mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders and PTSD

These conditions often overlap because they can share root causes, such as trauma, stress, genetics, or brain-based risk factors. In some cases, teens also turn to substances to cope with symptoms, which can make both problems harder to untangle.

Because they rarely operate as two separate problems. Mental health symptoms can push a teen toward substance use as a way to numb out, calm down, or escape. 

Then the substance use starts adding its own damage by worsening mood, increasing impulsivity, disrupting sleep, and making it harder to think clearly. That creates a loop. 

If treatment only focuses on the substance use, the emotional pain underneath it is still there; if it only focuses on the mental health side, the substance use can keep undercutting progress. Treating both at the same time gives teens a better chance at real stability rather than temporary improvement.

Our team works to collaborate with your child’s school and district to keep education on track. Because each district has different policies, we recommend you also connect with the school’s support staff to explore available options if your child attends daytime Partial Hospitalization (PHP) care. 

You might consider exploring state advocacy resources under IDEA. For our Intensive Outpatient (IOP) treatment, students are generally allowed to attend school as usual, though extracurriculars may be impacted.

We provide affirming care for teens of all backgrounds, gender identities, and sexualities. Treatment is tailored to each teen’s needs and lived experience while staying fully integrated into the same groups, schedule, and level-of-care options. This way, teens receive individualized support without being separated, labeled, or singled out. Read our story to learn more about our values and approach.

When you connect with our admissions team, we’ll schedule an assessment to understand your teen’s symptoms, safety needs, and day-to-day functioning. From there, we recommend the level of care that best fits right now and can adjust as needs change.

Coverage depends on your insurance plan and provider. We work with most major insurance providers across the U.S. to help minimize out-of-pocket costs for our teen treatment programs.