Dual diagnosis can be a situation whereby two independent disorders exist, and most typically denotes a co-occurring drug or alcohol use and mental health disorder. A dual diagnosis might help a person that might possibly not have been able to be helped in the past, end substance abuse by being correctly diagnosed and helped. Their mental health disorder could have been misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all, or treated incorrectly that may have prompted and resulted in their substance abuse issues. Establishing the truth that someone is in fact a dual diagnosis client not just helps establish an effective treatment course for them, but may also help clients better know what triggered their drug use and ways to prevent it in the foreseeable future. Addressing dual diagnosis is often a more extensive process when compared to a typical drug rehab program, and people who have a dual diagnosis might need to take part in an extensive aftercare program which might include appropriate medical support in addition to continued rehab services. Being clinically determined to have co-occurring disorders doesn't signify the individual must be medicated for the remainder of their lives either, and in fact a lot of people who have a dual diagnosis experience far better results when treated holistically and when alternative treatment methods are employed.