Dual diagnosis treatment centers are crucial in offering treatment to patients who have been diagnosed with dual diagnosis. Several studies show that most patients who have a substance abuse problem also suffer from a mental disorder. They further show that approximately 30% of all mentally ill people also have a substance abuse problem.
These treatment centers must, therefore, have the capacity to recognize the relationship that exists between the chemical and psychiatric disorders. Failure results in a patient going into relapse in the previously treated condition. The patient must be made aware of that his or her relapse is not the end but rather a condition they can recover from completely.
Many generally agree that under dual diagnosis treatment, the co-occurring problems should be treated simultaneously; most treatment centers prefer that a patient first undergoes either a detox rehab or substance abuse withdrawal. There are also dual diagnosis treatment centers who believe that a patient’s treatment program ought to be as personalized as possible. Whichever option a treatment center prefers, the primary focus should entirely be on ensuring that the program offered is proven and appropriately licensed. Most treatment centers also provide aftercare programs should a patient go into relapse.
A treatment center’s primary function is to take the patient through the treatment successfully. For this to effectively take place, the patient needs help to overcome his denial. If not dealt with quickly and thoroughly, the patient may fail to respond to treatment. When helping the patient overcome denial, the treatment team needs to consider their patient’s family history with regard to mental health problems and drug abuse while reviewing his treatment history.
Have any of their family members been diagnosed with a mental problem? Has this patient ever received treatment for his or her drug problem? Why did the treatment fail? These are questions the dual diagnosis treatment center needs to ask.
One should remember that quite a number of substance abuse treatment centers rarely offer to take patients with severe psychiatric problems while several psychiatric institutions rarely have expertise when dealing with substance abuse patients and the resultant treatment. This would consequently make it difficult to find the treatment for those diagnosed with mental and substance abuse disorders.
Invariably, where there are centers offering this treatment, it needs to be a collaborative effort between the patient and the treatment team. Dual diagnosis treatment centers have the responsibility of ensuring that the patient is made fully aware of the knowledge that the treatment process is a long term one rather than a quick fix.
A list of all the certified and licensed dual diagnosis treatment centers is offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). They have ten regional offices across the U.S in several cities helping SAMHSA with research and provide information on the behavioral health attributes of particular population groups and those with mental health issues or are recovering. When this information is availed to the dual diagnosis treatment centers, it goes a long way in helping them come up with the correct treatment programs for the patients under their care.
