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dual diagnosis
properly treating dual diagnosis
by john carceranothe importance of recognizing dual diagnosis in treating your addictionA dual diagnosis is found in at least 40-45% of those with a history of alcohol or drug addiction. Dual diagnosis is the presence of at least one psychological disorder besides the addiction. An addiction itself is a diagnosable disorder according to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental disorders (DSM 4). It is extremely important that when you are addressing your need to quit your alcohol or drug addiction that you be checked for a psychological disorder. If there is an over looked disorder then you will most certainly not succeed in quitting your addiction until you properly treat that disorder. When you are free from all mind altering substances then you will be able to look for any and all psychological issues. The reason being, because one will mask the other. Anxiety,depression, anger and irritability are the most common symptoms to look for. A psychiatrist will be unable to look for a 2nd disorder besides the addiction, if the addiction has not been arrested because the addiction itself will bring on many of the symptoms associated with a psychological disorder. In fact, in most cases the psychological disorder will be the main trigger for the substance addiction. Drugs and alcohol are a way to self medicate from the symptoms of a mental illness. A mental illness will also make the body more physiologically susceptible to drugs or alcohol. There often is great controversy in the medical community as to what disorder should be treated first. There are psychiatrists who will not treat a patient until they are free from all drugs and alcohol, and then there are addiction counselors who will not treat an addict until their psychological disorder is being treated. For a psychiatrist or addiction counselor to take one of these attitudes really is a form of malpractice. Both disorders need to treated at the same time. If the treating counselor is not both an addiction counselor and a psychiatrist, then the patient with the dual diagnosis needs to see an addiction counselor who will work in conjunction with the treating psychiatrist. The medications used for treating the psychological disorder often take several weeks to several months before they begin working. And often times the first prescribed medications are not found to be the right ones for the patient. There are several different medications for each diagnosis, and the right ones for a specific persons physiology can only be found through trial and error. So the addiction counselor needs to have patience while this trial and error process of finding the right medicine to stabilize their patient plays out.
by john carceranothe importance of recognizing dual diagnosis in treating your addictionA dual diagnosis is found in at least 40-45% of those with a history of alcohol or drug addiction. Dual diagnosis is the presence of at least one psychological disorder besides the addiction. An addiction itself is a diagnosable disorder according to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental disorders (DSM 4). It is extremely important that when you are addressing your need to quit your alcohol or drug addiction that you be checked for a psychological disorder. If there is an over looked disorder then you will most certainly not succeed in quitting your addiction until you properly treat that disorder. When you are free from all mind altering substances then you will be able to look for any and all psychological issues. The reason being, because one will mask the other. Anxiety,depression, anger and irritability are the most common symptoms to look for. A psychiatrist will be unable to look for a 2nd disorder besides the addiction, if the addiction has not been arrested because the addiction itself will bring on many of the symptoms associated with a psychological disorder. In fact, in most cases the psychological disorder will be the main trigger for the substance addiction. Drugs and alcohol are a way to self medicate from the symptoms of a mental illness. A mental illness will also make the body more physiologically susceptible to drugs or alcohol. There often is great controversy in the medical community as to what disorder should be treated first. There are psychiatrists who will not treat a patient until they are free from all drugs and alcohol, and then there are addiction counselors who will not treat an addict until their psychological disorder is being treated. For a psychiatrist or addiction counselor to take one of these attitudes really is a form of malpractice. Both disorders need to treated at the same time. If the treating counselor is not both an addiction counselor and a psychiatrist, then the patient with the dual diagnosis needs to see an addiction counselor who will work in conjunction with the treating psychiatrist. The medications used for treating the psychological disorder often take several weeks to several months before they begin working. And often times the first prescribed medications are not found to be the right ones for the patient. There are several different medications for each diagnosis, and the right ones for a specific persons physiology can only be found through trial and error. So the addiction counselor needs to have patience while this trial and error process of finding the right medicine to stabilize their patient plays out.
