A Dual Diagnosis Inventory
Dual diagnosis rehabilitation specializes in the treatment of substance abuse and dependence when accompanied by a mental illness diagnosis. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with chemical dependency plus one of the following mental illnesses, dual diagnosis rehab could be the right treatment.
· Depression
· Anxiety
· Bipolar disorder
· Post-traumatic stress disorder
· Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
· Obsessive-compulsive disorder
· or any other mental illness diagnosis
If you believe you or a loved one is appropriate for dual diagnosis rehabilitation treatment, you are not alone.
Dual Diagnosis RehabilitationAs the chart above shows, of those admitted for chemical dependency treatment: 30% of mentally ill people have a problem with either alcohol or other drugs, and conversely, 44% of alcohol abusers and 64.4% of substance abusers also have a serious mental illness.
“I believe I had depression all along, even before I started using, and so through alcohol, marijuana, and even heroin, I was treating that depression.”
– 24-year-old with a dual diagnosis*
The National Comorbidity Survey, conducted once a decade, concluded that each year 40 million Americans experience a mental disorder (schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, an anxiety disorder, or a personality disorder), and of those 40 million, 7 million to 10 million also experience a substance-related disorder.
The study also determined that half of all those living in the United States will develop a mental disorder at some point in their lives. 50% of those cases developed by the individual’s age of fourteen and 75% by the age of twenty-four.
With so many young clients, Dr. Burt Pepper classified 11 character traits he uses to determine dual diagnosis in young adults.
1 A low frustration tolerance
2 A need for constant encouragement and guidance while working on a goal
3 Lying to avoid punishment
4 Hostility about dependency because of mixed feelings about independence and dependence
5 Limits are constantly tested
6 Feelings are expressed as behaviors (crying, running away, hitting instead of talking, reasoning, explaining, or apologizing)
7 A shallowness of mood, or shallow labile affect (give a child a toy, he will laugh and smile. Take the toy away and the child will cry.)
8 Intense fear of rejection
9 No hope for the future
10 Strong denial
11 A black-and-white approach to relationships (feeling that another person is either for me or against me)
“I didn’t think that I was a mentally ill person. I thought, well, I’m a drug addict and I’m an alcoholic, and if I don’t drink and I don’t use, then it should just be a simple matter of just changing my entire life; and I felt a little bit overwhelmed by the thought.”
– 35-year-old male with major depression*
Treatment begins with an assessment of an individual’s symptoms. Once sober, you or your loved one will work with a counselor to determine a treatment plan that addresses the symptoms of each diagnosis. Based on a thorough assessment and the input of the entire treatment team, you and your counselor will work together to identify your goals and plan of attack for your time in treatment.
* Quotation from Uppers, Downers, All Arounders by Darryl S. Inaba, Pharm.D. & William E. Cohen.
Dual diagnosis rehabilitation testimonial video:
Blog Post By:Jared Friedman