Drug Rehab for Dual Diagnosis, What’s Needed?

Patients with a single diagnosis of depression, borderline personality disorder or anxiety are far more likely to develop a problem with alcohol and drugs, and suffer a dual diagnosis problem.

This is problematic for a number for a number of reasons. Patients suffering the pains of a psychological condition often turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to self medicate the negative affective symptoms, and although intoxication can bring some temporary alleviation of symptoms severity, over time, it always increases the severity of the original psychiatric condition, which often results in ever greater abuse.

Additionally, once psychiatric patients turn to drugs or alcohol in quantity, they do not tend to maintain strict compliance on medications regimens, and even if they do, the negative influence of alcohol or drugs often reduces the effectiveness of these otherwise worthwhile psychiatric medications. Patients suffering a dual diagnosis need intervention and treatment, and since the longer they abuse drugs or alcohol, the harder already difficult treatment becomes, sooner is always better than later.

Unique treatment needs

Pre intake interview

Dual diagnosis patients require a comprehensive pre intake interview, and any drug or alcohol rehab that claims that they can accommodate a dual diagnosis patient without first requesting this interview should be regarded with skepticism. Most patients with a dual diagnosis should receive treatment for their problems in a drug or alcohol rehab, but some patients, with very severe psychiatric symptoms will not get the attention they need outside of a psychiatric hospital.

The intake assessment should be comprehensive, should incorporate individual, family and outside medical opinions and should allow for the development of a tailored recovery plan.

Psychiatric monitoring throughout

Dual diagnosis patients can benefit from conventional therapies for addiction, but they need continual psychiatric symptoms monitoring to ensure their good progress. They need special care during the detox phase, to ensure the medications given do not interact with psychiatric medications taken, and although psychiatric symptoms severity generally betters with sobriety, psychiatric observation ensures that drug regimens are altered in response to the realities as they present throughout the treatment period.

Aftercare

Family needs to be patient with the dual diagnosis patient, and need to expect the recovery will take longer than for a single diagnosis of addiction. A lengthy participation in the therapies of aftercare is vital to ensure a consolidation of the lessons of relapse avoidance, and so that gains made through treatment are not lost to relapse.

In many cases, a case worker assigned to monitor progress made, and to intervene if necessary can be beneficial. Dual diagnosis patients tend to start feeling a lot better once they stop the abuse of drugs or alcohol, and because the use of illicit drugs or alcohol can make psychiatric symptoms so much worse, they really need treatment as soon as is reasonably possible.

Find out what you really need:

http://www.choosehelp.com/rehab-programs/dual-diagnosis-psychiatric-treatment

Read the daily addiction and recovery blog http://www.troubleblog.com/drugs-alcohol/drug-rehab/200762/

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