New England MIRECC

The VISN I MIRECC’s website is currently undergoing some renovations, and we hope to have the website back up soon.  In the meantime, please contact Patricia.Sweeney@va.gov (781) 687-3015 ) for information on current MIRECC studies or any of our educational products including videos on assessment and treatment of dual diagnosis.

VISN I MIRECC is a combined effort between researchers and clinicians from VA Medical Centers in West Haven, CT, Newington, CT and Bedford, MA and is under the direction of Bruce Rounsaville, M.D. from VA Connecticut. The mission of VISN I MIRECC is to improve services for veterans with "dual diagnosis", that is veterans with histories of mental illness in combination with addiction problems. These veterans have unique needs, because having two types of illness makes it more difficult to recover from either one.

With this mission in mind, MIRECC researchers focus on three areas:

1. Health Services Research: comparing practice patterns, costs, and outcomes of the care of dually diagnosed veterans in VA and non-VA healthcare systems.
2. Clinical Efficacy Research: evaluating innovative treatments including medications, work therapy, and a new approach for money management.
3. Human Neurobiological Research: researching genetic factors for dual diagnosis and using brain imaging to understand changes in the central nervous system of patients with a dual diagnosis.