ADHD and Addiction
ADHD frequently co-occurs with substance use disorder.
Read more →Personality Disorders and Addiction
Personality disorders — long-standing patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating that create ongoing distress or conflict — frequently co-occur with substance use disorder.
Signs of self-medication
When use is doing a job.
Substance use that started as a way to manage symptoms eventually creates its own problem. These are the patterns we see most often in patients with co-occurring personality disorders and addiction:
- Using substances to manage intense or rapidly shifting emotions
- Substance use that spikes during periods of relationship conflict or fear of abandonment
- Using to quiet self-critical thoughts or chronic feelings of emptiness
- Impulsive substance use tied to difficulty tolerating distress
- Patterns of unstable relationships that overlap with unstable substance use
- Using substances to regulate emotions when other coping skills feel unavailable
Integrated treatment approach
Both conditions, one plan.
Clinical sequence
Integrated treatment addresses personality-disorder patterns and substance use together, since symptoms of each tend to intensify the other. Skills-based therapy — particularly DBT's focus on distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness — is paired with structured addiction treatment and, when clinically appropriate, medication management for co-occurring symptoms like anxiety or depression. Because these patterns develop over time, treatment emphasizes consistent, structured support rather than a fixed timeline.
DSM-5: F60
Therapies we use
Evidence-based for this pairing.
Different condition pairs respond to different therapies. The modalities below have the strongest evidence base for co-occurring personality disorders and addiction.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Person Centered Therapy
- Individual Therapy
- Group Therapy
Insurance coverage
Typically covered.
Commercial insurance plans typically cover integrated treatment for personality disorders co-occurring with substance use, including behavioral-health and medical assessment, medication management, and evidence-based therapy such as DBT. Our admissions team verifies your specific plan's coverage as part of that first conversation.
Coverage is determined by medical necessity. Call admissions and we'll verify your specific plan as part of that first conversation.
Other dual-diagnosis conditions
More conditions we treat alongside SUD.
Anxiety and Addiction
Anxiety disorders — generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, and specific phobias — commonly co-occur with substance use disorder.
Read more →Bipolar Disorder and Addiction
Bipolar disorder and substance use disorder frequently occur together.
Read more →Depression and Addiction
Depression and substance use disorder co-occur at very high rates, and the relationship runs both ways — depression increases the risk of substance use, and chronic substance use worsens depression.
Read more →PTSD, Trauma, and Addiction
PTSD and substance use disorder co-occur at high rates.
Read more →Sleep Disorders and Addiction
Disrupted sleep is one of the most common co-occurring issues in addiction treatment.
Read more →
Take the next step
Treat personality disorders and addiction and substance use together.
Admissions answers 24/7. We work with commercial insurance and verify your specific coverage on the call.