Dual diagnosis can be a situation whereby two independent disorders are present, and most often denotes a co-occurring drug or alcohol use and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis will help someone who may not have been capable of being helped in the past, end substance abuse because they can be properly diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which could have prompted and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the fact that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not just helps establish an effective treatment plan for them, but could also help clients better determine what caused their drug use and how to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Handling dual diagnosis may be a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis might be required to participate in an extensive aftercare program which might include proper medical support in addition to continued rehabilitation services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the individual will need to be medicated through out their lives either, and in reality many people who have a dual diagnosis experience much better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative therapy is utilized.