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Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Los Angeles
One team treats your mental health and your substance use together, with one plan for both. It's built into every program at our addiction treatment center in Los Angeles in Westwood.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Eric Chaghouri, MD, our medical director. March 2026
One teamfor both conditions
What is dual diagnosis?
Dual diagnosis means you have a mental health condition and a substance use problem at the same time. Doctors also call it co-occurring disorders. Depression with heavy drinking is one common example. The two feed each other, so we treat them together, with one team and one plan.
Source: National Institute of Mental Health.
What conditions do you treat together?
Many different pairs. Two of the most common are depression with alcohol use and PTSD with opioid use. If you've struggled with both mental health and substances, and neither one fully explains how you feel, treating both together may be the piece that's been missing.
- Depression and alcohol use
- Anxiety and benzodiazepine or alcohol dependence
- PTSD and opioid use
- Bipolar disorder and substance use
- ADHD and stimulant misuse
- Complex trauma and more than one substance
- Personality disorders and addiction
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Why can't I just fix one problem first?
The untreated one tends to pull the other back. Many people start using to cope with anxiety or low moods, and over time the using makes those symptoms worse. Treating only one side raises the risk of relapse, so our team works on both at the same time.
One problem at a time
- Two separate providers, often with gaps between them
- The untreated condition can drag the other one back
- Medications handled by different people
- A higher chance of relapse
Both together
- One clinical team for both conditions
- A single plan for your mental health and your substance use
- Groups with peers who live with both
- Care at every level, from PHP to evening IOP
Who treats the mental health side?
Dr. Eric Chaghouri, our medical director, is a board-certified psychiatrist who trained at USC. He manages medication for both conditions. Your therapist works from the same plan, using CBT, short for cognitive behavioral therapy, adapted for people who live with both.
Nechama Berkowitz, APCC, is our trauma-informed therapist, for people whose substance use is tied to trauma or PTSD.
Dr. Eric Chaghouri, MDMedical director, psychiatrist
Ari Labowitz, LMFTClinical director
Viola Sulahian, AMFTPrimary therapist
Nechama Berkowitz, APCCTrauma-informed therapist
Working with Viola was amazing. She helped me open up, look at things honestly, and do real work on myself.
Accredited by The Joint Commission since August 2026
Certified by the State of California, DHCS #191643AP
Meet the whole team
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What are dual diagnosis groups like?
You sit with peers who live with both a mental health condition and addiction. Hearing someone describe what you've felt eases the shame and the isolation. The group keeps you accountable between sessions, and it becomes a community you can lean on.
What happens to the medication I already take?
Our psychiatrist goes over it during your first evaluation. From there, your mental health medication and any medication for your recovery are managed as one plan, with a close eye on how they interact. It helps to bring a list of everything you take.
- 1
Full evaluation
We look at your mental health and your substance use, and at how each one feeds the other.
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One plan
Your psychiatrist and your therapist build a single plan, so nothing falls into the gap between two systems.
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Watching interactions
Medications for both conditions get checked against each other as you go.
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Adjusting
As your brain chemistry settles in recovery, your treatment shifts with it.
Will my boss or my family find out?
Not from us. We never contact employers, and HIPAA protects your records. Substance use records get extra federal protection under 42 CFR Part 2. If you want your family involved, family therapy can help them understand both conditions and how to support you.
Evening IOP
IOP has an evening track, so you can get help and keep working.
Telehealth
Join sessions by video from anywhere in California on days you can't make it to Westwood.
Your family
Family sessions help the people close to you learn what you're dealing with. They're availible in Spanish too.
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Does insurance pay for dual diagnosis treatment?
Plans may cover it. Federal parity law and California's SB 855 require health plans to cover medically necessary mental health and addiction treatment. We work with most major PPO plans and check your benefits for free before you commit to anything.
What we find out for you
- Your deductible
- Your mental health and addiction benefits
- What your plan pays at each level of care
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Let's get you scheduled.
Verify your insurance in about a minute, or call our Los Angeles admissions team and we'll walk you through every step. Free and confidential.