Dual diagnosis can be a circumstance whereby two independent disorders are present, and most typically denotes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help an individual who may possibly not have been capable of being helped previously, stop drug abuse because they can be accurately diagnosed and helped. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which could have prompted and resulted in their drug abuse problems. Establishing the fact that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish an effective treatment course for them, but could also help clients better determine what led to their substance abuse and ways to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Handling dual diagnosis is often a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people who have a dual diagnosis might need to participate in a substantial aftercare program which may include appropriate medical support in addition to further treatment services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply the person will have to be medicated through out their lives either, and in reality many people with a dual diagnosis experience more effective results when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are utilized.