Dual diagnosis is a circumstance whereby two independent disorders exist, and most often describes a co-occurring drug or alcohol use and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis may help a person that might not have been able to be helped before, stop substance abuse because they can be accurately diagnosed and helped. Their mental health disorder might have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or treated incorrectly which could have prompted and led to their drug abuse issues. Establishing the truth that someone is actually a dual diagnosis client not simply helps establish an effective treatment plan for them, but may also help clients better understand what caused their drug abuse and ways to prevent it down the road. Handling dual diagnosis might be a more extensive process compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people with a dual diagnosis may need to participate in an extensive aftercare program that might include appropriate medical support in addition to continued rehabilitation services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't imply that the individual should be medicated for the remainder of their lives either, and in fact a lot of people with a dual diagnosis experience much better outcomes when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are utilized.