Concurrent Disorders: The Lived Experience of Youth in the Continuum of Alberta Treatment Services

• Author / Creator

  Ruddy, Carlee, L.

• With the recent amalgamation of Addiction and Mental Health treatment systems in Alberta, I wanted to understand what it feels like to be a youth with both addiction and mental health concerns, in the treatment system. Specifically, I was interested in what it’s like to navigate both systems and to see if any headway has been made towards integrated treatment. Six youth, aged 15-17 with mental health and suspected addiction concerns, were recruited from a specialized mental health treatment program. They took part in interviews and using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, I identified themes in their verbatim interview responses. The major themes included: “Just a Diagnosis”, The Power of Home, “We Know What We Need”, “We Don’t Know Where to Get It” and The Impact of Stigma. The results support service delivery recommendations to enhance addiction and mental health treatment in Alberta.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Concurrent disorders, addiction and mental health

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3G129

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.