How Is Dual Diagnosis Treated?
January 8, 2008
Historically, addiction treatment programs, drug rehab programs and psychiatric hospitals, have treated dual diagnosis separately. This has not proved to be an effective addiction treatment approach and today most addiction treatment programs, drug rehabs and psychiatric hospitals treat both disorders concurrently.
- Ideally, drug addiction, alcoholism and psychiatric disorders should be treated simultaneously.
- The first step in addiction treatment for drug addiction or alcohol addiction must be detoxification or detox – a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol and/or drugs and all withdrawal symptoms managed.
- Detox should be medically monitored as medical challenges do occur. Time in detox varies, depending on what substances the person is addicted to, the frequency of use and amount of usage.
- Once stable in detox, a psychiatrist will assess the person to determine the mental illness and how to best address it. Addiction treatment programs or drug rehab programs for this population should take a gradual approach. Those with a dual diagnosis have to proceed at their own pace.
- The goal of any quality drug addiction treatment program or drug rehab program should be abstinence and medication compliance.
- After completing drug addiction treatment or drug / alcohol rehab, the person should be involved in psychiatric follow up and aftercare in the drug rehab or addiction treatment program they have completed in order to prevent relapse.
Denial is an inherent part of the problem with dual diagnosis. The person with dual diagnosis often does not have insight as to the seriousness and the scope of their problem. In many cases, an intervention is required to get the person into addiction treatment or drug rehab so the recovery process can begin
Dual Diagnosis Treatment and Substance Abuse
January 2, 2008
The term “dual diagnosis” may be new to your life and vocabulary or it may be something you are familiar with and have heard about before today. While not particularly well-known, dual diagnosis is more common than you might imagine. According to a report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), “Thirty seven percent of people who suffer from alcohol abuse and fifty-three percent of people who suffer from drug abuse also have at least one serious mental illness, which creates a dual diagnosis. Of all people diagnosed as mentally ill, 29 percent abuse either alcohol or drugs (NMHA, 2005). “Dual diagnosis” is defined as an individual who has two separate but very interrelated diagnoses. For the purpose of this article, dual diagnosis means a person has both:
1. A psychiatric diagnosis
2. A substance abuse diagnosis which may include drug addiction or alcohol addiction
A dual diagnosis occurs when an individual is affected by both chemical dependency and an emotional or psychiatric illness. Both illnesses may affect an individual physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually. Each illness has symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to function effectively and relate to themselves and others. Not only is the individual affected by two separate illnesses, both illnesses interact with one another. The illnesses may exacerbate each other and at times the symptoms can overlap and even mask each other making diagnosis and dual diagnosis treatment more difficult.
Alcohol Abuse, Alcoholism and Depression
December 30, 2007
Mental health professionals who treat alcohol abuse, alcoholism and depression have long known that these two illnesses occur together more often than not. In fact, it is quite common in medical settings for people to seek addiction treatment or alcohol rehab for either of these conditions. Not only is it true that in this setting the sensitive health care provider identifies the presence of the other illness 1, but it is also known that the earlier in one’s life that either of these two disorders develops, the greater the chance the other will also arise.
But what is known of the relationship between alcohol abuse, alcoholism and depression in people who are not seen in medical settings? In what order do they occur? This is obviously an important point in terms of understanding the development of these conditions, since people tend to seek help only in the later stages of a problem. A study recently done at the Harvard School of Public Health and a Harvard affiliated hospital has answered these questions.
Scope and aim of the study
The authors used data from a large survey that studied 14,480 people from 5 cities 3. In order to be included in the analysis, subjects could not have had a previous diagnosis of either major depression or alcoholism.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has established a set of criteria and symptoms that characterize various psychological disorders. In order to receive a diagnosis of major depression, a person must meet a specific number of criteria from the APA.
This means that someone may have some of the signs and symptoms of depression, but may not qualify to receive a diagnosis of the illness. Nevertheless, in practical terms, these symptoms can still affect the individual’s overall functioning and well-being. And by eliminating people with a diagnosis of depression or alcoholism, the researchers were able to more clearly evaluate the order of onset of new cases of depression, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.
Understanding Dual Diagnosis
December 22, 2007
The term dual diagnosis is a common, broad term that indicates the presence of two independent medical disorders. Recently, within the fields of mental health, psychiatry, and addiction medicine, the term has been popularly used to describe the coexistence of a mental health disorder and drug addiction / alcohol addiction problems. The equivalent phrase dual disorders also denotes the coexistence of two independent (but invariably interactive) disorders, and is the preferred term used in this Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP).
The acronym MICA, which represents the phrase mentally ill chemical abusers, is occasionally used to designate people who have an drug addiction / alcoholism disorder and a markedly severe and persistent mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. A preferred definition is mentally ill chemically affected people, since the word affected better describes their condition and is not pejorative. Other acronyms are also used: MISA (mentally ill substance abusers), CAMI (chemical abuse and mental illness), and SAMI (substance abuse and mental illness).
Dual Diagnosis and Relapse Prevention
October 13, 2007
People who have had a dual diagnosis must learn to identify warning signs that may affect their recovery from drug addiction, alcoholism and accompanying psychiatric disorders. While many addicts and alcoholics pay close attention to not taking that first drink and drug, they often lose focus that a flare-up of psychiatric symptoms can leave them vulnerable to relapsing on drugs or alcohol. For this reason, it is important to have a close relationship, with your psychiatrist. You may want to view them as your psychiatric sponsor or medication management sponsor.
Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Psychiatric Medication
When a person relapses and enters back into their drug addiction or alcoholism they generally do not manage their psychiatric medication in a responsible manner. Poor management of psychiatric medication, coupled with drug addiction and alcoholism rapidly leads to a relapse that is very complex and challenging to recover from. Alcohol and drugs can change the effects of psychiatric medications creating unpredictable results which are best treated in an addiction treatment center or drug rehab specializing in dual diagnosis treatment.
Dual Diagnosis and Relapse Prevention
October 12, 2007
People who have had a dual diagnosis must learn to identify warning signs that may affect their recovery from drug addiction, alcoholism and accompanying psychiatric disorders. While many addicts and alcoholics pay close attention to not taking that first drink and drug, they often lose focus that a flare-up of psychiatric symptoms can leave them vulnerable to relapsing on drugs or alcohol. For this reason, it is important to have a close relationship, with your psychiatrist. You may want to view them as your psychiatric sponsor or medication management sponsor.
Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Psychiatric Medication
When a person relapses and enters back into their drug addiction or alcoholism they generally do not manage their psychiatric medication in a responsible manner. Poor management of psychiatric medication, coupled with drug addiction and alcoholism rapidly leads to a relapse that is very complex and challenging to recover from. Alcohol and drugs can change the effects of psychiatric medications creating unpredictable results which are best treated in an addiction treatment center or drug rehab specializing in dual diagnosis treatment.
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