Treatment Centers for Dual Diagnosis

The term “dual diagnosis” is used when a patient exhibits both an addiction, such as alcoholism, and a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety attacks, or post-traumatic stress syndrome. There are a great many variations within this spectrum. Psychological disorders might be caused, wholly or in part, by substance abuse (the rage experienced by steroid users, for example) or by withdrawal symptoms (hallucinations and psychosis caused by heroin withdrawal). It is often difficult for a layman to differentiate. A true mental disorder such as clinical depression may seem similar to physical issues that result from the addiction, such as hangovers or the crash following the euphoria produced by many drugs.

Which problem came first varies from case to case. Often, substance abuse arises from the patient’s attempt to self-medicate for psychiatric disorders, as when a depressed person turns to alcohol or cocaine to feel livelier or an anxiety-ridden person uses tranquilizers and sedatives to calm down. For adolescents, the opposite is often true: they use the drugs or alcohol and then develop a dependency, which leads to mental disorders.

Dual diagnosis can be difficult to recognize, even for medical professionals. Often, the patient must undergo detox at a treatment center in order for a doctor to know whether there is a mental issue or a substance issue or both.

How Does a Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center Work?

The treatment for substance abuse and for some mental issues overlap in talk therapy. Individual, group and family counseling sessions can help the patient learn the underlying causes of both disorders and work on both simultaneously. However, it is best to choose a facility that specializes in working with dual diagnosis patients. You can find a listing of such treatment centers by using the filter under “Special Focus Programs” on our home page.

Making the Transition: Outpatient Treatment Centers

Residential treatment centers are the all-important first step toward recovery from an alcohol or drug addiction. During your time in residence, you are supervised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Almost all of your time is scheduled. There are individual, group and family counseling sessions. There are probably twelve-step meetings to attend daily. There may be physical activities to help your body back to health. All of this supervision and scheduling not only helps in your recovery per se, but also makes you feel secure so that you can focus your attention on breaking your addiction.

Once the residential program is over, however, you may feel apprehensive about your ability to maintain sobriety without all that help. If you feel that it’s too soon for you to be thrown back into your everyday environment, with all its stresses, temptations and challenges, you might want to consider going to one of the many residential outpatient treatment centers that exist to help you make that transition.

Find Outpatient Treatment Centers To Help You Adjust

Outpatient facilities run the gamut from bare-bones dormitory style to luxury accommodations. What they all have in common is that they provide a place where you can make the transition to living on your own, yet have help available to it when you need it. Outpatient facilities have resident staff available, and generally provide transportation to AA or NA meetings. You share the facility with others who are also making the transition to sober living, and can find support from each other. Depending on how upscale the facility is, you may also find holistic treatments available, such as yoga, Pilate’s, gym equipment, nutritional counseling or massage.

Find an appropriate outpatient facility by looking under “Treatment Phases” on our home page.