Dual diagnosis is a situation whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often describes a co-occurring drug abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis can help someone who may not have been capable of being helped before, stop drug or alcohol abuse because they can be properly diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or mistreated which may have prompted and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the reality that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not only helps establish a highly effective course of treatment for them, but could also help clients better know what triggered their substance abuse and how to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis can be a more extensive process than the usual typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis might be required to take part in a substantial aftercare program that might include appropriate medical support and also further rehabilitation services. Being identified as having co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the person will have to be medicated through out their lives either, and in fact lots of people with a dual diagnosis experience far better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.