Co-occurring disordersThe term "dual diagnosis" refers to people who suffer from serious mental illnesses and have problems with drugs or alcohol to the extent that their mental and physical health is compromised. The condition of substance abuse disorder does not imply that there is addiction or addiction, rather it defines a point at which the person's use of drugs or alcohol has become problematic and impairs the tone of the person's spirit and his or her ability to work as part of a community. Some reasons why mentally ill people drink and take drugs include self-medication, to normalize joining social groups, to escape, or to disengage because their spirit is difficult, so they prefer to be "numb" rather than deal with their problems. In this article I will cover the following topics: the role of substance abuse in offending behaviors, the challenges from both the client and clinician perspectives, interventions and techniques that can be used with this population, and some research findings. The role of substance abuse in offending behavior appears Conduct disorder (CD) may be linked to substance abuse disorders (SUD) among adolescents compared to other mental disorders within this population. There is a strong correlation between childhood diagnosis of CD due to environmental and genetic factors and is more common among boys than girls when there is a positive parental history of SUD. Pagliaro and Pagliaro (2012) indicated that a dual diagnosis involving Crohn's disease may be mediated among adolescents with childhood AD/HD by the deviant peer affiliation factor and that comorbid Crohn's disease or OCD presents a greater risk of developing a peer relationship. SUD mediated during adolescence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence prov...... middle of document ...... Somerset, New Jersey: WileyMangrum, L., Spence, R., & Steinley-Bumgarner, (2006) . Gender differences in substance abuse treatment patients with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 6 (3), 255 - 267 National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (n.d.). Domestic violence and substance abuse. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.ncadv.org/files/SubstanceAbuse.pdfPagliaro, L. & Pagliaro, A. (2012). Handbook of drug and substance abuse in children and adolescents: Pharmacological, developmental, and clinical considerations. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, Inc. Rassool, G. (2008). Dual diagnosis nursing. Chichester, UK: WileySacks, S., Chandler, R., & Gonzales, J. (2008). Meeting the challenge of co-occurring disorders: Suggestions for future research. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 34(1), 139-146