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Fifteen to twenty per cent of adults with a history of substance abuse have ADHD in the US. These individuals attempt to alleviate their internal chaos and physical anxiety with alcohol, marijuana or cocaine, but this can be likened to trying to put out a fire with petrol. During the psychiatric screening process at the Alcohol unit in Region Ho-vedstaden (the Capital Region of Denmark), a large number of patients have been identified as having symptoms of attention-deficit disorder. When we treat these patients with medication, give psychoeducation, individual coaching and conversational therapy, they experience an improvement in life quality, and patients decrease their substance abuse or stop using completely. Treating just the dependency, or just the attention-deficit disorder, is not sufficient. Both diseases need to be treated in an integrated and parallel care pathway. Patients with attention-deficit disorder and alcohol dependency are often in a socially complex and stressed situation. They have difficulty in dealing with the authorities, often because such situations involve a significant need for them to maintain an overall perspective and to coordinate their activities. The challenge for us, in dealing with these patients in a professional capa-city, is to increase our knowledge and experience so that in the future, this patient population can be met with understanding, professional competence and, consequently, better treatment.

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