Dual diagnosis is a circumstance whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often describes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis might help someone that may not have been capable of being helped before, finish drug or alcohol abuse because they can be accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or mistreated which may have prompted and led to their substance abuse issues. Establishing the truth that someone is certainly a dual diagnosis client not just helps establish a highly effective treatment course for them, but may also help clients better know what caused their drug use and ways to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis may be a more extensive process than a typical drug rehab program, and folks who have a dual diagnosis may need to take part in an extensive aftercare program which may include proper medical support in addition to further rehabilitation services. Being identified as having co-occurring disorders doesn't imply the individual will have to be medicated through out their lives either, and actually a lot of people who have a dual diagnosis experience more effective outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.