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.

As 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