Dual diagnosis can be a circumstance 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 able to be helped during the past, end drug abuse by being properly diagnosed and treated. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or mistreated which may have prompted and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the reality that someone is actually a dual diagnosis client not only helps establish an effective course of treatment for them, but may also help clients better understand what caused their drug use and ways to prevent it in the future. Addressing dual diagnosis is often a more extensive process than the usual typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis may need to take part in an extensive aftercare program that might include appropriate medical support along with further treatment services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't mean that the person will have to be medicated through out their lives either, and in reality a lot of people who have a dual diagnosis experience much better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative therapy is utilized.