Dual diagnosis can be a circumstance whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often denotes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis will help a person that may not have been capable of being helped during the past, stop substance abuse by being properly diagnosed and helped. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated that may have prompted and resulted in their drug or alcohol use issues. Establishing the fact that someone is certainly a dual diagnosis client not only helps establish an effective treatment plan for them, but can also help clients better understand what caused their drug use and how to prevent it in the future. Handling dual diagnosis may be a more extensive process than the usual typical drug rehab program, and folks who have a dual diagnosis might need to take part in a substantial aftercare program that might include proper medical support as well as continued treatment services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the individual must be medicated for the remainder of their lives either, and actually a lot of people with a dual diagnosis experience much better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.