Dual diagnosis is a circumstance in which two independent disorders are present, and most often denotes a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help someone who may not have been able to be helped before, end substance abuse by being accurately diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which may have prompted and resulted in their drug abuse problems. Establishing the fact someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not merely helps establish a highly effective treatment course for them, but may also help clients better determine what led to their drug use and how to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis can be a more extensive process than 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 along with continued rehabilitation services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply the individual will need to be medicated for the rest of their lives either, and in reality many people who have a dual diagnosis experience much better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment solutions are utilized.