The field of mental health treatment is evolving at a rapid pace. All these changes could have major implications for the way that substance abuse treatment programs deal with addiction and mental health issues.

In particular, changes in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which are planned for 2013, and new laws that will soon go into effect as a result of healthcare reform, could revolutionize the way mental illnesses such as addiction are treated.

One specific change to the DSM that Charles O'Brien, the chair of the workgroup responsible for revising the DSM, told Medscape will impact rehab facilities is the elimination of the "substance abuse and dependence" diagnosis. It will be replaced with the category "addiction and related disorders."

He told the news source that the distinction will help clarify the difference between compulsive drug-seeking behaviors and physiological responses of tolerance and withdrawal that some individuals deal with after taking prescription medications.

Additionally, by making care more accessible, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could help reduce the time between the onset of mental illnesses and an individual's decision to seek treatment, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.