Dual diagnosis is a circumstance whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often denotes a co-occurring drug or alcohol use and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis will help a person that might possibly not have been capable of being helped in the past, end drug or alcohol abuse by being properly diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which may have triggered and resulted in their substance abuse problems. Establishing the reality that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not simply helps establish a highly effective course of treatment for them, but will also help clients better understand what triggered their substance abuse and ways to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Handling dual diagnosis can be a more extensive process compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis might need to participate in a substantial aftercare program which may include appropriate medical support along with continued rehab services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't signify the individual must be medicated through out their lives either, and actually a lot of people with a dual diagnosis experience far better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.