7.1 Navigating the treatment system: Is there a system?

A Family Guide to Concurrent Disorders - Part III: Treatment

Outline - Chapter 7: Navigating the treatment system

• Is there a system?
• What should happen: Integrated treatment
• What may happen: Sequential or parallel treatment
• Access points
• Screening, assessment and diagnosis
• Treatment planning
• Treatment
• Treatment approaches
• Co-ordinating treatment
• Continuing care

You have to be active with the health care system when you're trying to get help for your family member . . . the dynamic is not that the system is serving you. The dynamic is that you're getting what you need out of the system—and that takes effort. Trying to deal with the mental health system or the addiction system for that matter . . . can be just as frustrating as dealing with the problems your sick family member has all by yourself—and by that I mean just as soul-devouring and just as hope-destroying . . . because the health care system—well, you think of it as something that's going to help you, and when it doesn't, it's doubly devastating. It feels like you've been let down by your grandma or something . . . the door has been shut in your face by someone you thought was kind and benevolent. So, we have to be strong and knowledgeable . . . people have to become “system navigators”—like a new profession that requires education and training. We have to be proactive and learn what to do, who to call, what kind of program is best and how to find the right spot in the system . . . and we have to develop negotiation skills and talk like we have knowledge.

Is there a system?

While there are many substance use and mental health resources and services available, what are missing are the threads that would join these resources and services together. If those threads were in place, roles and tasks would be clearly understood, client-centred planning started, and services across programs easily accessed. Connecting services is even more of a concern when clients have complex problems, which is usually the case with concurrent substance use and mental health problems. Though providers will acknowledge that a client has many needs, too often, they aren't willing or able to say, “You've come to the right place, and we are the right people to work with you. If we can't meet all of your needs, we have access to other resources that can.”

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