Dual Diagnosis Treatment: Not to be Overlooked!

Dual diagnosis (co-occurring illness) is often overlooked in primary treatment. Dually diagnosed individuals, those who have both an addiction and a co-occurring psychiatric disorder, don't fit neatly in the "program" for most rehabs. That's because they use a cookie-cutter treatment approach that does not lend itself to looking at individual issues that are important in the treatment of that person.

Fact is, most people with addiction have significant issues besides their addiction. Many of them have a bona fide anxiety disorder, depression, or history of trauma that warrants specific treatment in conjunction with the addiction. To overlook the individual issues dooms the person to a much higher risk of relapse when they leave treatment.

The best drug rehabs and best alcohol rehabs treat the individual. This means treating the dually diagnosed as well. Trouble is, many programs say that they treat dual diagnosis, but in reality, they don't. The best way to see if a program is set up to treat dually diagnosed people is to first see if they say they do, then look at their staffing page. Is the staffing page filled mostly with therapists that have Master's level education and below? If so, they are not likely going to be a place that is going to have the skillset necessary to effectively diagnose and treat dual diagnosis. Look for programs that are more heavily weighted with PhD and MD level treatment providers. That's the best place to start.