Case stories: How joined-up support transforms care for co-occurring conditions

Stigma Kills. For people living with both mental health challenges and addiction, stigma and fragmented services can make it difficult for people to access and trust support. Sometimes people are passed from team to team, asked to retell painful histories, or excluded from mental health care because of their experience with addiction.

When primary care, mental health services and substance use teams work together, people are offered more than a pathway to treatment, they are treated with dignity, compassion and consistency. Our members have shared anonymised case stories that illustrate this:

Person 1

This individual was drinking 20-30 units of alcohol daily and experiencing frequent suicidal thoughts, leading to repeated hospital admissions.

After referral to a Primary Care Network multi-disciplinary team: bringing together general practice, mental health staff and substance use specialists - their care became more coordinated. They received medication to support abstinence, were transferred to services for relapse-prevention, and also connected with the Probation Wellbeing team. Together, these steps helped address both their addiction and mental health needs.

Learning point for clinicians: Co-ordinated care across teams can reduce cycles of crisis, lessen hospital admissions, and offer a safer pathway forward.

Person 2

A man with schizophrenia was drinking more than 50 units of alcohol each day alongside addiction to cannabis.

When he was referred to the Primary Care Network multi-disciplinary team, he accessed a residential detox and then continued with GP-led mental health aftercare and relapse-prevention support through our member’s service.

Learning point for clinicians: Joint planning prevents “bounce backs” - where experience with addiction leads to exclusion from mental health services. Treating both conditions together makes recovery possible.

Person 3

A young adult was experiencing addiction to cocaine and cannabis, alongside experiencing anxiety, debt, self-neglect and self-harming.

With support from a wellbeing assessor, they engaged in intensive work on cravings and motivations for use. The outcome shows abstinence from cocaine, reduced cannabis use, and ongoing engagement with both mental health and relapse-prevention support.

Learning point for clinicians: Early, focused interventions addressing reasons for use can lead to measurable reductions in harm and stronger engagement with ongoing care.

Person 4

This young woman had a background of trauma and was living with post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder and an eating disorder. Alongside these challenges, she was experiencing addiction to alcohol and cocaine and frequently attending hospital.

Through referral by a community mental health team, she engaged with motivation-to-change interventions. She became abstinent from cocaine, reduced alcohol consumption, and began dialectical behaviour therapy. Hospital admissions reduced, and she was able to continue engaging with structured support.

Learning point for clinicians: Trauma-informed, integrated care reduces repeat admissions and provides safer engagement routes for people with complex needs.

Person 5

A woman with a long history of experience with addiction to drugs also experienced chronic pain, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Bipolar disorder was suspected but not yet diagnosed.

Through referral and joint assessment with a community mental health team, she was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 and placed on appropriate medication. Alongside this, she remained abstinent from all substances.

Learning point for clinicians: Accurate joint assessment avoids diagnostic overshadowing - and ensures patients receive appropriate treatment without delay.

These cases show how joined-up support makes a difference for people with co-occurring conditions. When addiction and mental health are treated separately, people often fall through the gaps. Joint assessments and shared care planning mean that all needs are recognised and addressed at the same time.

For clinicians, the key message is practical: treating co-occurring conditions together helps people stay engaged, reduces repeat crises, and builds trust in services.

Interested in learning more about best-practice in supporting co-occurring conditions? Explore our campaign and access the training guide here