ABSTRACT
Understanding and treating persons with dual diagnosis, including primary substance abusers with secondary mental disorders, necessitates a conceptual framework from which to work. Weiss and Collins (1992) organize the coexistence of mental illness and substance abuse into five categories:
1) The presence of an Axis I or Axis II disorder may act as a risk factor for substance abuse;
2) Psychiatric symptoms may develop in the course of chronic intoxication;
178 Jill RachBeisel and David McDuff
3) Psychiatric disorders may occur as a consequence of substance abuse and may persist after remission;
4) Substance abuse and psychiatric symptoms may be meaningfully linked over time; and
5) Substance abuse and psychiatric disorders may occur in the same individual but may be unrelated.
