Introduction to the Volume: The Case for Integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Emotional Disorders and Substance Use Disorders

This Introduction to the volume, “Treating Comorbid Substance Use and Emotional Disorders” in the series CBT: Science into Practice underscores the public health impact of comorbid emotional disorders and substance use disorders. The Introduction provides a theoretical and historical overview about the study of the treatment for this comorbidity, arguing that integrated treatments that simultaneously address emotional disorder symptoms as they are functionally related to substance use are superior to parallel or sequential treatments. This integration of care is the focus of this volume, which is described in the Introduction. An overview of the structure of the chapters and the volume as a whole is described.