Dual Diagnosis

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Dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders refers to people who have a mental disorder along with a substance abuse issue. According to the Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders TIP 42 people who were treated for only the mental disorder or the substance abuse did not have high success rate and many fell through the system (2015). Furthermore, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) estimates about 8.9 million adults have co-occurring disorder, from which only 7.4 percent receive treatment for both conditions. For this reason, treating clients for both conditions is essential and equally important is having professionals trained on integral treatment. This essay will briefly reflect the experiences of Holly and James’s experiences after being treated for co-occurring disorders, the common problems associated with dual diagnosis, the events leading to their…show more content…
In Holly’s case she went from social to drinking alone. She believes she hit bottom one day when her depression got the best of her and she drank a pint of vodka and took a bottle Xanax. This led her to end up in the hospital. She could no longer hide her addiction from her friends or family. By her own admission she did not believe she had a problem until halfway through the program. James on the other hand, was working with someone who recommended he look for a dual diagnosis treatment center. He does not describe on the video what point in his life led him to recognize he had a substance abuse problem. However, he describes that when he went into the dual diagnose treatment center he was agitated and believes he was in a drug induced psychosis. Unlike Holly whose family made the decision to admit her into treatment, James demanded to go to a dual diagnose treatment center since the help he was receiving was not working for
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