Substance use disorder (SUD) in persons with severe mental illness may worsen the course of psychiatric illness. The loss of family support for individuals with mental illness is a major contributing factor to housing instability, homelessness, and other problems. Despite progress toward integrating mental health and substance abuse services, interventions that improve the course of mental illness while helping the families of the mentally ill are not currently available. Enhancing skills for coping with mental illness may be an effective strategy for treating SUD, decreasing caregiver burden, and improving the long-term outcomes for people with mental illness.