background Although there is a great need for staging and profiling in psychiatry, no-one has so far devised a staging and profiling model to aid diagnosis and treatment.
aim To devise a basic staging and profiling strategy that can be used to treat patients suffering from both substance abuse disorder and a psychiatric disorder.
method On the basis of existing staging model for addiction, we explore how staging could also be useful for the treatment of comorbidity in psychiatry.
results Since there is hardly any evidence of the use of staging for this kind of comorbidity, we present a staging model that might help to provide a solution. To the described stages we add a recommended treatment setting or treatment intensity.
conclusion Further research is needed to ascertain whether the staging model that we have presented will lead to improvements in the prognosis and treatment of patients with dual disorders referred to Dutch psychiatrists.