Dr. Gilbert Varela is an experienced doctor and medical leader in Los Angeles, California. He serves as the CEO and medical director of Sadler Healthcare, the medical director for Varela Medical Group, and the CEO of Alliance Health Systems. Through his work as a medical director, Dr. Gilbert Varela has developed seen a variety of treatment approaches for co-occurring mental and physical health conditions.

When a person has two illnesses or disorders that occur at the same time or in close sequential order, the conditions are described as being co-occurring or comorbid. This can include virtually any two conditions, from schizophrenia and diabetes to chronic pain and depression. The conditions may be a physical and mental one, they can both be mental conditions, or they can be a set of physical illnesses.

Co-occurring illnesses present a unique challenge for both patients and physicians. Treating these issues requires a multidisciplinary team and collaborative care models since each diagnosis requires its own form of treatment. For patients, comorbidity often worsens the symptoms that a person experiences with either disorder or illness. On top of that, function is more severely impaired by co-occurring illnesses, and patients often have a decreased quality of life and decreased lifespan.