Dual diagnosis can be a situation whereby two independent disorders are present, and most often denotes a co-occurring drug abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis will help someone who may possibly not have been capable of being helped during the past, end substance abuse by being accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder may have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or mistreated that could have triggered and led to their drug or alcohol use problems. Establishing the fact someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish a highly effective treatment plan for them, but will also help clients better understand what caused their drug abuse and ways to prevent it in the future. Handling dual diagnosis may be a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and folks who have a dual diagnosis might need to participate in a substantial aftercare program which can include appropriate medical support and also continued rehabilitation services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the individual should be medicated through out their lives either, and in fact a lot of people with a dual diagnosis experience much better results when treated holistically and when alternative therapy is employed.