Our dedicated track for co-occurring care, with the mental health condition and the substance use treated side by side by one coordinated team.
What we treat
Dual diagnosis &
co-occurring disorders
When a mental health condition and substance use feed each other, treating just one side rarely holds. Dual diagnosis care looks at the whole picture, so the two are no longer working against you. You can get better, and you do not have to untangle it alone.
Outpatient care in Montrose, Houston. Most major insurance accepted.
Understanding dual diagnosis
What dual diagnosis
means.
Dual diagnosis, also called co-occurring disorders, means living with both a mental health condition and a substance use disorder at the same time. The two are deeply linked: each one can set off, mask, or deepen the other.
This pairing is more common than many people realize. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that substance use disorders and other mental disorders frequently occur together: among adults with a substance use disorder, more than a third also live with a mental illness. One does not cause the other in any simple way. Genetics, trauma, chronic stress, and the way substances act on the brain all overlap, which is why the two so often appear side by side.
It is common to use alcohol or drugs to quiet anxiety, lift a low mood, or numb the weight of trauma, and to find that over time the substance use creates problems of its own. Treating only one side tends to leave the other free to pull a person back. That is the reasoning behind integrated care: addressing both together, in one coordinated plan.
What it looks like
Common signs
and symptoms.
Dual diagnosis can be hard to spot, because the two conditions blur together. These are some of the patterns that suggest both a mental health condition and substance use may be in play.
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Using substances to cope
Leaning on alcohol or drugs to manage anxiety, a low mood, sleep, or painful memories, and needing more over time to get the same relief.
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Symptoms that keep returning
A mental health condition that lifts and then slips back, or substance use that resists every attempt to cut down, each one undoing the progress of the other.
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Strain on health and relationships
Work, school, physical health, and relationships suffering, and the people close to you noticing changes in mood, reliability, or behavior.
When to reach out
When it may be time
for more support.
Dual diagnosis exists on a spectrum, and the right level of care shifts with it. These are signs it is worth reaching out, and signs that cannot wait.
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The two keep feeding each other
Every time you address one side, the other pulls you back. A cycle like that usually needs both treated at once, with more structure than weekly sessions can give.
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Substance use is escalating
You are using more, more often, or to get through ordinary days, and cutting back on your own has stopped working.
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Daily life is slipping
Work, school, health, or relationships are coming apart, or you are withdrawing from the people and routines that usually keep you steady.
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It is an emergency
Any thought of harming yourself, an overdose, or dangerous withdrawal needs help right away. Call or text 988, or call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Once you are safe, outpatient care can take over the ongoing work.
Our approach
How we treat
dual diagnosis.
At The Lovett Center, dual diagnosis treatment is built around one idea: the mental health condition and the substance use are treated together, by one team, in a single plan. Care begins with a thorough assessment, then we match the therapy, the medication, and the level of structure to what you actually need.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes treating both conditions at the same time, rather than one after the other, as the more effective path to lasting recovery. That is the standard we hold to. Rather than sending you to one place for therapy and another for substance use, we coordinate it in one plan so the two are not working against each other.
Care is led by clinicians who work across both worlds. Michael Sprintz, DO, our medical director in addiction medicine, and our psychiatrists oversee medication and the substance use side, while our therapists carry the underlying mental health work. For substance use, that can include medication-assisted treatment when it fits, alongside CBT and DBT to build skills for managing emotions and cravings alike.
All of this happens on an outpatient basis. You receive structured treatment during the day or week and go home each night, so recovery is built into your real life rather than apart from it.
- A thorough assessment of both mental health and substance use
- One integrated plan, not two competing ones
- Therapy, medication support, and group care under one roof
- Outpatient levels that flex as you stabilize
Treatment options
Where dual diagnosis
treatment can start.
Co-occurring conditions are treated successfully on an outpatient basis, with the intensity matched to the moment. More structure during a hard stretch, a steadier pace once things settle. If you are not sure where to begin, we will help you figure it out.
Structured group and individual therapy several days a week, with the support to work on both conditions at once. You live at home throughout.
Our most intensive outpatient level: full days of structured treatment, with the freedom to go home each night. A way to stabilize without an inpatient stay.
How we work
Therapies we use
for dual diagnosis.
No single approach treats both sides at once. These are the ones we most often combine for co-occurring conditions, matched to what fits you.
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Psychodynamic therapy
Depth-oriented work that holds the whole person at once, the foundation our integrated care for co-occurring conditions builds on.
About psychodynamic therapy -
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Practical, well-studied work that helps you see the thoughts and triggers that drive both a low mood and substance use, and build steadier responses to them.
CBT for dual diagnosis -
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Concrete skills for riding out intense emotions, distress, and cravings without being pulled under, which matters when feelings and substance use are tangled together.
Explore DBT -
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
For substance use, FDA-approved medications such as buprenorphine or naltrexone for opioid use, or naltrexone and acamprosate for alcohol use, can ease cravings and withdrawal alongside therapy. Our physicians prescribe and monitor what fits.
About medication-assisted treatment -
Group therapy
A place to be understood by people who get it, practice new skills, and rebuild the connection that both mental health conditions and substance use tend to strip away.
Explore group therapy
Common questions
Dual diagnosis,
answered.
Dual diagnosis, also called co-occurring disorders, means living with both a mental health condition and a substance use disorder at the same time. The two are connected: each one can trigger, hide, or worsen the other, which is why they are best understood and treated together rather than separately.
Research points to integrated treatment, where the mental health condition and the substance use are addressed at the same time by one coordinated team, as the most effective approach. At The Lovett Center that means a single plan combining therapy, often CBT and DBT, medication support when it helps, and group care, all delivered on an outpatient basis.
Our dual diagnosis programBoth, together. Treating one and waiting on the other usually lets the untreated side pull a person back. We build one plan that works on the mental health condition and the substance use at the same time, and we adjust the balance between them as you stabilize.
For many people, yes. Co-occurring conditions are commonly treated on an outpatient basis, where you receive care during the day or week and go home each night. Even our most intensive level, the partial hospitalization program, is outpatient. If withdrawal is medically risky or a situation becomes a crisis, we help you get the right medical or emergency care first, then take over the ongoing work once you are safe.
We most often combine cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and group therapy, and for substance use we add medication-assisted treatment when it fits. The mix is matched to you rather than applied from a template, and it can change as your needs change.
See how we workIn many cases, yes. The Lovett Center is in network with major insurers including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Magellan, and TriWest, and we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay. Coverage varies by plan, so the surest way to know is to verify your benefits with us.
Verify your insuranceYou are not alone
Both can get
better, together.
When two things are tangled, the way out is to treat them as one.
When you are ready, a real person at The Lovett Center will listen and help you find the next step. No pressure, no commitment, just a conversation.
Every conversation is confidential. In a crisis, call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.