ABSTRACT
As has been well documented by now, treatment of dual disorders in separate but parallel systems is inefficient and ineffective (Ridgely, Goldman & Willenbring, 1990). Treatment in parallel systems fails for a variety of reasons. Programs and clinicians in parallel systems do not modify their previous ways of working to accomodate comorbid conditions. Treatment in either system is incomplete due to inattention to the comorbid disorder, and clients tend to be extruded from both based on complications related to comorbidity. Treatment systems tend to be rigid at the interface and have difficulty developing and delivering care that is individualized and coordinated. Finally, in a parallel treatment model, there is often no fixed point of responsibility; the burden of integrating diverse aspects of the two systems typically falls to the client.
