Drug And Alcohol Treatment Facilities For Dual Diagnosis Clients

Although drug and alcohol abuse problems might appear to be significant issues in and of themselves, many individuals with these substance abuse issues also grapple with a number of mental health issues. If this is the situation, it is typically known as a dual diagnosis or a co-occurring psychiatric problem.

Today, drug and alcohol treatment centers for dual diagnosis patients focus on addressing drug addictions that are coupled with physiological and/or psychological problems.

As such, the rehab centers focus on offering a wide variety of therapeutic rehabilitation and treatments to provide the persons affected by these issues with the support and help they require to experience full recovery.

Understanding Alcohol And Drug Treatment Facilities For Dual Diagnosis Clients

As stated, a great deal of individuals struggling with addiction and substance abuse meet the basic criteria for having psychiatric issues. When mental health issues and addiction issue co-exist, they are known as dual diagnosis, co-occurring, or comorbidity disorders.

In most cases, the common co-occurring issues that addicts face include trauma-related issues, anxiety, and depression. However, some clients might suffer more serious mental health issues, including but not limited to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Today, alcohol and drug treatment centers for dual diagnosis patients are prepared and certified to handle these issues, although some are specialized in providing co-occurring treatment in the long term.

However, just because dual diagnoses are so prevalent in the substance use population, this doesn't mean that one necessarily caused the other. To ascertain if there is a directional or causal connection, you must undergo assessment and testing before a physician can determine if it is a dual diagnosis. For instance, when you abuse alcohol and drugs to such an extent that you become dependent, you may experience changes in your brain. These brain changes may later cause such psychological conditions as psychosis, depression, and anxiety.

However, some patients may already have subclinical or pre-existing symptoms of these psychotic, depressed, or anxious conditions, which could cause them to start abusing drugs to modify and offset some of the underlying symptoms that they often experience. When this happens, it is commonly known as self-medication.

To this end, if you think that you might have a co-occurring disorder alongside your addiction, you may find that rehab at drug and alcohol treatment facilities for dual diagnosis patients will help you meet and exceed your demands and requirements for full recovery.

Who Needs Drug Rehabs For Dual Diagnosis Clients?

The importance of treating co-occurring issues as part of a grander scale therapeutic practice at a drug addiction rehab program cannot be overstated. This is particularly true considering most struggling with substance use have twice the rate of concurrent mood and anxiety disorders in comparison to individuals who do not use intoxicating alcohol and drugs. However, the list of co-occurring issues does not end with anxiety and mood disorders.

In fact, there are mental health disorders that are commonly diagnosed with substance abuse. These disorders include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol-related brain damage
• Anxiety issues, such as agoraphobia (fearing open spaces), social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (or GAD), and panic issues
• Attention deficit hyperactivity issue (ADHD)
• Depression
• Eating issues such as BED (binge eating disorder), bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa
• Grief and loss issues
• Mood disorders like bipolar disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and major depression
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (also known as OCD)
• Panic or anxiety attacks
• Personality disorders such as borderline personality issue
• Post traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD)
• Psychotic issues like schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia
• Sexual compulsivity

If you abuse drugs and alcohol and/or alcohol and you are diagnosed with any of these mental health problems, then it may be necessary for you to attend drug and alcohol treatment centers for dual diagnosis clients.

At most drug and alcohol treatment facilities for dual diagnosis clients, the accurate diagnosis of these - and all other co-occurring issues - will most often set the stage for laying out and planning the most workable rehabilitation plan.

Irrespective of the facility you choose, however, you may need highly specialized rehabilitation to treat both the mental health condition and your drug and alcohol abuse disorder as well as the related issues between the two. In doing so your rehabilitation and therapy lead to long term and effective recovery.

Importance Of Drug Treatment Facilities For Dual Diagnosis Patients

In every case, drug treatment facilities for dual diagnosis patients address all issues that you display concurrently. In any case, this does not mean that both the psychiatric and addiction issue will be addressed in parallel. Rather, your specialized dual diagnosis rehabilitation and treatment will encompass a wide number of therapeutic and pharmaceutical interventions to address and treat the separate conditions as well as any interactions between them.

The choices here include:

• Medication use, including anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants
• Nutritional guidance as well as other health supports
• Psychological therapy and counseling activities consisting of combinations of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and several other behavioral therapies like MI (motivational interviewing)

In some cases, your dual diagnosis might only be made once your treatment is underway. For instance, you might go to the drug treatment centers for dual diagnosis patients to receive detox only for the rehabilitation professionals to discover that you have a concurrent condition particularly since substance abuse sometimes masks and distorts the expression of poor mental health. Once identified, it will be vital for the rehabilitation staff to change your rehab plan accordingly.

Rehab for dual diagnosis may be offered in an inpatient or outpatient center - although the decision will greatly vary based on several situations. Because not every rehabilitation center is the same, you may require medically assisted detox as well as balancing medications and other highly effective treatments. As such, inpatient rehab may be the most ideal option for you.

Having said that, the specialized inpatient program you check into for dual diagnosis rehabilitation will have highly skilled medical and psychiatric professionals to help you address your complicated and uncertain case. Where necessary, therefore, it might be in your best interests to enroll in drug and alcohol treatment centers for dual diagnosis clients so that the issue does not worsen over time.