Contrary to popular belief, the process of treating addiction does not always follow a straight line. Each addiction sufferer that walks into the door of rehab does so with a unique set of circumstances. Sometimes, the individual is dealing with a lot more than a drug or alcohol addiction.
When a client enters rehab, they go through an admission interview. The purpose of the interview is to help the addiction treatment facility’s administrators figure out the circumstances behind the client’s addiction. From this information, the administrators can then plot a path of treatment.
Many times, the path of treatment involves nothing more than a detox program and therapy sessions (individual, group, family). However, there are clients that enter rehab with something more hiding behind their curtain. When the facility’s administrative staff is able to detect the client is also dealing with emotional and/or mental issues, it changes the way the facility’s therapists need to handle therapy.
When emotional issues are intermingled with an addiction, the client is said to be suffering from coexisting conditions. In such cases, the proper course of treatment becomes “Dual Diagnosis Therapy.”
The need for Dual Diagnosis Therapy is more prevalent than most people realize. Within the addiction treatment community, coexisting conditions are viewed as significant issues that demand the specialized treatment afford by Dual Diagnosis Therapy. At this point, there a need to discuss this type of therapy in more depth.
About Dual Diagnosis Therapy
There are two ways in which addictions and emotional/mental problems can become intermingled. The first way is directed at cases where the emotional problem or problems become one of the driving forces behind the addiction. The most common way this occurs is when a person with an emotional disorder like depression or anxiety needs prescription medication in order to function properly. It’s noteworthy that some of these medications are highly addictive. If the patient starts abusing their prescription medications to makes their emotional issues manageable, they can create an addiction to said medications.
The second way coexisting conditions occur is when the addiction becomes the direct cause of an emotional or mental disorder. Think of the individual who spends a significant amount of time dealing with the cycle of addiction. It is highly plausible that the individual’s addiction issues will eventually create an anxiety or depression disorder.
The challenge that comes from dealing with coexisting conditions is treating the client in such a manner that both conditions get equal focus. That’s really what Dual Diagnosis Therapy was designed to do. You see, there’s no value that comes from treating only one condition if the existence of the untreated condition is eventually going to interfere with the treatment process. Think about it. If you were to be treated for your addiction without addressing your need for anxiety or depression medication, how long do you think your recovery is going to last? Chances are it’s not going to last very long. Likewise, any effort to address your anxiety/depression is doomed if the addiction keeps interfering with the quality of your life.
By the way, there’s a very real chance that a client who needs anxiety, depression, or even pain medication will still need medicinal support after treatment has been concluded. It creates a very tenuous treatment conflict that requires a great deal of finesse to get around.
For these reasons, it’s imperative that both conditions be treated at the same time. The problem is that’s not always an easy thing to do. Some treatment facilities don’t maintain staff members who are licensed and qualified to treat psychological issues. In such cases, a client might have to deal with two different therapists with one focusing on the addiction issue and the other one focusing on the emotional/mental disorder.
In the best of cases, the rehab facility will have at least one therapist who has the credentials to deliver both sides of Dual Diagnosis Therapy. In a controlled addiction treatment environment, that’s going to be a great benefit for the client. There’s great value to be found in continuity of treatment.
If you suspect you might be suffering from coexisting conditions, you have more than a few reasons to seek help. You surely are struggling in many aspects of your life. Assuming that’s true, we do have the ability to offer you Dual Diagnosis Therapy. At this point, we would like you to contact one of our representatives at (440) 253-9915. That will give us an opportunity to discuss our facility and available treatment options.
