Dual diagnosis is a circumstance whereby two independent disorders are present, and most typically describes a co-occurring drug abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help an individual who may not have been able to be helped during the past, stop substance abuse by being accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which could have prompted and led to their substance abuse problems. Establishing the fact that someone is certainly a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish an effective treatment course for them, but could also help clients better know what led to their drug use and how to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis may be a more extensive process compared to a typical drug rehab program, and folks with a dual diagnosis may need to participate in an extensive aftercare program that might include appropriate medical support and also continued rehab services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply the individual should be medicated for the rest of their lives either, and in reality many individuals with a dual diagnosis experience more effective outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative therapy is employed.