consensus on a recommended model of intervention to follow in these patients [36], although models employing integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders have a solid evidence base [68–69]. Regardless, the preponderance of the evidence indicates combinations of psychotherapies, behavioral and pharmacological interventions offer effective treatments for this population [65], but how these should be applied in light of such heterogeneity in substance use problems is not well-established. Recent reports suggest that the intensity of substance abuse treatment should be commensurate with the severity of SMI [65], and advise implementing the integrated model due to the favorable results achieved [66, 36]. The integrated model assumes that the patient is cared for by a single team [66–67], and since it already targets the impact of substance use on psychiatric symptomology [66–67], these programs are adaptable to account for sub-group characteristics in terms of treatment needs. The integrated model is expensive and difficult to implement within the current systems of care [36, 68–69], but it will be crucial for efforts to focus on creating cost-effective programs while initiating personalized interventions.
