A Screen that can be used to Identify People

Who Need to be Assessed for a Co-occurring Disorder

(The AC-OK Adolescents Screen for Co-occurring is also available on this page.)

Below you will find, two Screens that can be used to identify people who need to be assessed for a co-occurring disorder.  This screen is NOT a diagnostic instrument.  It is a rapid screen to help identify people presenting for treatment that will need a full assessment for a mental health problem, substance abuse problem, and/or a problem with trauma.  These screens take about 5 minutes to administer.  They are easy to score.  Most people presenting for services can complete the Screen without assistance.  

To obtain a copy of the AC-COD Screen (it is a WORD document) and the instructions use this link:

  Link to the AC-COD SCREEN

5-18-2008

A paper describing the process used to construct and validate this scale can be found in the article:

Cherry, A. L., Dillon, M. E., Hellman, C. & Barney, L. D. (2007).  The AC-COD Screen: Rapid Detection of People with the Co-occurring Disorders of Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Domestic Violence, and Trauma.  Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 4(1), DOI: 10.1300.

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The AC-OK Screen for Co-Occurring Disorders

(Mental Health, Trauma Related Mental Health Issues & Substance Abuse)

For the a copy of the screen and the report on the OK Online Screen Tested in 2006 click on the following:

Link to the AC-OK COD SCREEN

To view the PowerPoint presentation about the AC-OK Screen click on the following:

What a Difference 5 Minutes can make.

The AC-COD Screen and the AC-OK Screen for Co-Occurring Disorders

(Mental Health, Trauma Related Mental Health Issues & Substance Abuse) Screen are used for identifying people with co-occurring disorders.

An important SAMHSA initiative that started in 2003 is focusing on improving treatment for people with the co-occurring problems of mental illness and substance abuse.  The 2002 national survey found over 23% of adults with a serious mental illness also abused alcohol or other drugs, and 20.4% of adults who abused alcohol or other drugs also had a serious mental illness.  To provide more effective treatment for people with a co-occurring disorder, universal screening has been suggested. 

In the past, available treatment approaches for people with a co-occurring disorder have resulted in what can be referred to as sequential treatment (treatment from one provider, then treatment from another) or parallel treatment (treatment by two different providers at the same time). 

Screening is defined as a brief process that collects only enough detailed information to determine if the person’s needs a full, more sophisticated assessment.  The screening process can also provide important information to potential consumers that can assist them in clarifying their own position regarding treatment.

There are many reasons to use a screening tool in the intake interview.  It will identify people that need to be fully assessed for mental health services that call for substance abuse services and visa versa.  It will reduce the number of people needing a full assessment on all four dimensions.  Rather than completing a full assessment on everyone who seeks services to determine if they have a co-occurring disorder, which is extremely time consuming and costly for the agency and their funders, a rapid screen can be used to identify people who are most likely to have a co-occurring disorder.  This could greatly reduce the cost of doing a full assessment on everyone asking for treatment and at the same time identifying the people who were most likely to have a co-occurring problem and needing to be further assessed for a concurrent problem.  Of course, assessment of people in treatment for either disorder is an ongoing process.  For some people, the co-occurring disorder will be identified during treatment, not during intake or during the initial full assessment.

Note:  These screen are copyrighted.  Anyone or any agency can use it without charge or permission from the authors.  It should not be commercialized or sold by any party under any conditions.  For information on the procedure and statistical test of reliability, send your request to Andrew L. Cherry, Endowed Professor of Mental Health, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa Campus, 4502 E. 41^st Street, Suite 3J08, Tulsa, OK 74135-2512, or call 918-660-3363.