Chapter 8 Conclusion Heather

Those who have comorbid conditions see themselves as much more disabled than those with a single substance use or psychiatric disorder; hence their over-representation in health services. However, as the preceding chapters have illustrated, they are usually in treatment for a single disorder, and the services are not enabled to tackle comorbidity. A frequent message throughout has been that comorbidity is common, yet insufficient research and funding have been directed towards explicating and alleviating the serious problems associated with comorbidity. A telling figure is that presented in the introductory chapter, where it was highlighted that the percentage of the health dollar allocated to mental health services in Australia is currently 5% while the burden of disease due to the mental disorders is rated world-wide at 20%. Add to this the fact that this funding is allocated in general to treatment services for single disorders, with scant regard for individuals suffering comorbid conditions, then it is clear that such individuals tend to be seriously neglected within the present health system.