Dual diagnosis is a circumstance whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often denotes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis might help a person that may not have been capable of being helped in the past, finish drug abuse because they can be properly diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or mistreated which may have triggered and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the reality that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not simply helps establish a highly effective treatment course for them, but may also help clients better understand what triggered their drug abuse and how to prevent it down the road. Handling dual diagnosis is often a more extensive process than the usual typical drug rehab program, and folks with a dual diagnosis might need to participate in an extensive aftercare program which can include proper medical support along with continued rehab services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the individual will have to be medicated through out their lives either, and in fact a lot of people who have a dual diagnosis experience much better results when treated holistically and when alternative therapy is utilized.