Meet the Director: Lynn Burke, Co-Occuring Disorders Program

Date Posted: May 01, 2009

From my first job as a weekend monitor, I was bitten by the TC (therapeutic community) bug. I decided to do my internship in the co-occurring disorders program at Second Genesis, and ultimately became one of its therapists. Today, after attaining dual licenses as a Professional Counselor and an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, it is my privilege to be the director of the Co-occurring Disorders Program at the Anne Arundel Facility.
When I began at Second Genesis, I hadn’t yet discovered the rich history of our co-occurring program. Begun in 1999, out of a request by the state of Maryland to treat inmates completing their sentences prior to community release, the co-occurring program is still a pioneer to providing innovations as an integrated model of service to clients with co-occurring disorders (substance abuse and mental health concerns).
Clients with mental health and addiction disorders are growing at an alarming pace. More and more, I am seeing individuals who have this deadly combination that requires specialized care and attention. There are anywhere from 50-70% of clients in addiction treatment who have a lifetime co-occurring mental disorder. Many Second Genesis clients whose mental disorders are not at a level that impairs their ability to function are treated in our traditional programs. Only those clients with Serious Mental Illness, whose conditions require a modified therapeutic community approach, must be treated in the co-occurring program.
Our unit at Second Genesis has a capacity of 27 beds now. It is almost continuously full. There are certainly are many more clients who could benefit from our services than there are beds. I am looking forward to expanding our program to better serve the needs of the increasingly complex client population.