Dual diagnosis is a situation whereby two independent disorders are present, and most often denotes a co-occurring drug abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis will help someone who might not have been capable of being helped during the past, stop drug or alcohol abuse because they can be accurately diagnosed and helped. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated that may have triggered and resulted in their drug abuse problems. Establishing the truth that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish an effective treatment plan for them, but may also help clients better determine what led to their drug abuse and ways to prevent it in the future. Addressing dual diagnosis can be a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people who have a dual diagnosis may need to participate in an extensive aftercare program that might include proper medical support and also further treatment services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply that the individual should be medicated for the rest of their lives either, and in fact a lot of people with a dual diagnosis experience more effective outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.