Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Dual diagnosis treatment is an integrated model of care that is administered in order to treat a drug or alcohol addiction in conjunction with a mental disorder. A person who has been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, and who is also struggling with substance abuse problems is a prime candidate for dual diagnosis treatment. Even though mental illness and drug addiction are two separate entities, these problems can often influence one another; thus, without treating both conditions, there is little chance of an individual with a dual diagnosis being able to maintain a state of long term sobriety.

Many dual diagnosis treatment facilities are staffed with trained mental health clinicians that specialize in facilitating this integrated form of treatment. Individuals who attend a dual diagnosis drug treatment center are likely to benefit from all of the various standard types of drug addiction therapies; additionally, the person's psychiatric symptoms will also be closely monitored during visits with medical staff.

A dual diagnosis treatment program can only offer effective care when staff professionals are aware of what type of psychiatric symptoms are present, as these symptoms will often vary greatly from patient to patient. In order to ensure that an individual with a dual diagnosis receives the appropriate types of drug and mental health therapies, a treatment professional must administer a comprehensive pre intake assessment.

Many individuals that have been determined to have a dual diagnosis are inaccurate in the reporting of their drug using behaviors; to ensure an accurate and complete overview of the person's particular situation, the dual diagnosis treatment center may request that the medical staff be made aware of the patients former case history; additionally, the patients loved ones may be invited to contribute to the drug recovery care plan. When the staff at a dual diagnosis drug treatment facility is properly informed in regard to the unique challenges facing each individual patient, it will give them the ability to be able to administer the proper form of dual diagnosis treatment from day one.

Dual diagnosis treatment will generally begin with the drug detox; this process will often present some very unique challenges, depending on the drugs that were abused, the severity of the substance abuse problem, and what medications are being to treat the individual's psychiatric symptoms. The detox staff at a dual diagnosis drug treatment center must always be made aware of all of the medications that the person is taking in order to avoid adverse interactions; additionally, these clinicians must be educated in regard to how the person's psychiatric symptoms may interact with their drug withdrawal symptoms.

It is important to note that dual diagnosis treatment is much more challenging than traditional drug rehabilitation, which only addresses the person's substance abuse problem. It is for this reason, that individual's who require dual diagnosis treatment, should settle in for a full stay or residence. Even after an individual has completed a dual diagnosis treatment program, they must participate in an aftercare program that offers therapies that can greatly increase their long term treatment success.