Co-occurring disorders, also known as dual diagnoses, refer to the presence of both a substance use disorder (SUD) and a mental health condition in the same person. This combination is much more common than most people realize. More than half of those with a substance use disorder will also experience a mental illness at some point in their lives, and vice versa.

Trauma is not merely an event that fades with time; it etches itself into the very fabric of our being, demanding acknowledgment and resolution. Though my experience happened in 2017, it took me four years to give the pain the acceptance and acknowledgment it needed. I got a text from someone wishing me "Happy Mother's Day," and it broke me four years later. It was at that point that I realized that our body keeps the score of every experience we go through.

The Role of Inner Child Healing in Overcoming Adult-Child Syndrome explores the importance of reconnecting with the inner child to address Adult-Child Syndrome (ACS).Stephanie Watterson is our author. Stephanie grew up in a home affected by mental illness, with a mother who struggled with mental health issues and an emotionally unavailable workaholic father.

Kirsten Rabuck collaborates with me as a co-author for this issue. She is a substance abuse counselor and an adult child of an alcoholic father, just like me. Together, we draw on our experiences as adult children to help others facing similar challenges.

Cendie Stanford is passionate about understanding and preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Drawing on her personal and ancestral history of trauma, Cendie is dedicated to educating and inspiring others.

I am truly privileged to have Joudy Ghata as my co-author for this issue. She bravely surmounted devastating family trauma.

“Adult children of alcoholics” (ACOA) and “adult children of narcissists” (ACON) share a bond of growing up in dysfunctional families.