Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment Clinical Director Featured in Hazelden Co-Occurring Disorders Webinar

CHICAGO, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment is a leader in providing substance abuse and co-occurring disorders treatment. Dr. Phil Welches, Clinical Director for Gateway Foundation, will be a co-presenter in a webinar on July 26, 2011, sponsored by the renowned Hazelden Treatment Centers. The webinar will present the Hazelden/Dartmouth Co-occurring Disorders Program (CDP), a comprehensive program containing multiple curricula that are based on research as being effective for treating co-occurring mental health and drug abuse problems.

Dr. Welches will be discussing Gateway's use of several evidence-based approaches as they relate to the Hazelden/Dartmouth CDP. Dr. Welches will co-present with Timothy Sheehan, Ph.D.  Director of Institutional Effectiveness Hazelden Publishing and Rodney L. Bragg, MA, M.Div Assistant Commissioner Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Dr. Welches will review the clinical elements needed to implement an effective co-occurring disorders program in an alcohol and drug treatment center environment.  Dr. Welches will also touch on Gateway's co-occurring disorders program that is featured in a Hazelden video entitled "A Guide for Living with Co-occurring Disorders: Help and Hope for Clients and Their Families." Part of the video recording took place at Gateway's Chicago West Treatment Center. The DVD is component of Hazelden's CDP and used by treatment professionals throughout the U.S.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), people addicted to drugs are roughly twice as likely to suffer from a co-occurring or dual diagnosed mental health problem such as mood and anxiety disorders when compared to the general population. Individuals with co-occurring disorders require a comprehensive and integrated treatment program like those offered at Gateway. Untreated mental health problems are a common known cause for substance abuse relapse.  "It is essential to treat these problems together," emphasizes Dr. Welches. "We have refined our co-occurring substance abuse treatment programs expertise using the Hazelden CDP and now we are able to share our best practices with other treatment providers through Hazelden's webinar." Gateway Foundation is also a member of the Dartmouth Collaborative that is dedicated to determining effective measures related to dual-diagnosis treatment (Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment Index Collaborative DDCAT).

About Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment
Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment is Illinois' largest provider of substance abuse treatment, providing services for adolescents and adults at treatment centers throughout Illinois and close to St. Louis, MO.  Drug and Alcohol Treatment programs include Intensive Outpatient, Residential and Day Treatment and Aftercare. As an organization, Gateway Foundation has treated over 425,000 people and currently helps more than 29,000 individuals a year reclaim productive healthy lives.  Gateway is in-network provider for most health insurance plans and accepts fee for service.

For more information please call 877-321-RECOVER (877-321-7326), or visit:  RecoverGateway.org.

SOURCE Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment