The Village is committed to increasing the knowledge and effectiveness of its staff. To this end, we have identified Dual Diagnosis (co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse) and related issues as the most important areas on which to focus our future training efforts. We have established a dual diagnosis committee within the Village that meets bimonthly to examine our approaches to this issue and improve the effectiveness of our services.

Additionally, our parent agency, the Mental Health Association in Los Angeles County, was recently selected by the county as the coordinator of training funds for the Service Area 8 Dual Diagnosis Committee. Therefore, we have begun to explore the many different approaches to providing services to people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders with the intention of seeking outside training from experts in these areas. Particularly, we have identified Motivational Interviewing as a very promising clinical approach to providing services to this population. We intend to have at least one of our own staff certified as a trainer in Motivational Interviewing. This staff person would then be available to provide training not only to Village staff but also to contract and directly operated staff throughout the county mental health system.