Dual diagnosis can be a situation whereby two independent disorders are present, and most typically describes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help someone who might not have been capable of being helped in the past, stop substance abuse by being accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or treated incorrectly which may have prompted and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the fact that someone is certainly a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish an efficient treatment course for them, but may also help clients better know what triggered their drug abuse and ways to prevent it later on. Addressing dual diagnosis might be a more extensive process compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis may need to participate in an extensive aftercare program which may include appropriate medical support in addition to continued treatment services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply that the person will need to be medicated for the remainder of their lives either, and in fact lots of people with a dual diagnosis experience more effective results when treated holistically and when alternative treatment solutions are utilized.