Dual diagnosis is a circumstance in which two independent disorders are present, and most typically describes a co-occurring drug abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help someone that might possibly not have been able to be helped in the past, end drug or alcohol abuse by being accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or mistreated which could have prompted and resulted in their substance abuse problems. Establishing the truth that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not simply helps establish an effective treatment plan for them, but may also help clients better determine what triggered their drug abuse and ways to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis might be a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people who have a dual diagnosis might need to take part in an extensive aftercare program that might include proper medical support and also 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 solutions are employed.