Dual Diagnosis

A recent report from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that 59% of people with drug addiction problems also suffer a mental illness. To put it simply, substance abusers are more likely to be victims of a psychological disorder as well. There is a need for specialized treatment programs that can address both issues, otherwise known as dual diagnosis.

Dual diagnosis is a term used to describe the presence of one or more disorders apart from a primary disease already identified. Sometimes, dual disorder is also called co-occurring disorder or co-morbidity.

Dual diagnosis is a serious health concern that needs to be addressed properly. Emphasis should be given that what needs to be treated is not only substance abuse. Persons suffering from co-occurring disorders need drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation as well as mental health disorder treatment.

Dual diagnosis treatment is available in select California rehabilitation centers. These facilities have skilled health professionals trained to provide medical treatment to patients with co-occurring disorder. Treatment generally kicks off with drug detox to cleanse the patient's body from traces of substances. Patients not only receive medical treatment on the process. Instead, they are also guided and educated throughout their stay in the residential drug treatment facility.

Dual Diagnosis and its Importance

Dual diagnosis, also known as co-occurring disorder, refers to treatment of both psychological disorder and that of addiction in a person. In most instances, this occurs among drug addicts or alcohol addicts who also exhibit anxiety, post-traumatic disorder, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder and other various personality disorders.

Mental disorders are considered offshoot of drug addiction. Drug rehabilitation centers confirm that if addiction is not treated earlier, substance abusers may develop mental and psychological imbalances such schizophrenia and hallucinations. This is most probably the reason why dual diagnosis treatment programs have become indispensable in most places where drug and alcohol abuse is so rampant. This is practically important given that it ideally treats two ailments simultaneously.

When a person enters drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, medical professionals examine and assess the patient and his/her conditions. The results of this assessment become the basis for the dual diagnosis treatment programs that will later on be used for the treatment.

Detox treatment is always a part of the treatment program in all residential drug treatment centers. Others however, prefer medical detoxification without having to be confined at this treatment centers.

Drug treatment centers have psychiatric counselors to give series of psychiatric tests to its patients. This is important in determining the extent of addiction and the mental illness of the patient, from which becomes the basis for the overall treatment program of each individual.