Our Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program
At Level Up Palm Beach County, we facilitate dual diagnosis clientele. In doing so, we provide the highest quality of care to those who need it most. Dual diagnosis cases (also called “co-occurring disorders”) are extremely common, especially among those with substance abuse disorders. In fact, there’s reason to believe that there’s a causal relationship between many mental disorders and substance abuse disorders.
For instance, according to a study published on substance abuse among veterans, 11 percent of veterans who visited a VA treatment facility for the first time met the criteria for substance abuse disorders. Veterans are also more likely to suffer from mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can lead to alcohol abuse and opioid prescriptions that lead to abuse and/or dependency.
Overall Prevalence of Dual Diagnosis
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 7.9 million adults suffered from co-occurring disorders in 2014. The administration assessed the following groups as being at the highest risk of dual diagnosis:
- The homeless community
- Veterans
- Those in the criminal justice system
It should be noted that there is some significant overlap in these groups. For the populations who are homeless or in the criminal justice system, the causal relationship may be different than with veterans.
A report published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that there is a reason why people with mental disorders are up to twice as likely to develop substance abuse disorders:
- Certain drugs can cause individuals to suffer one or more symptoms of another mental illness.
- Drug use disorders and mental illnesses are caused by overlapping factors; genetic, deficits and otherwise.
- Mental illness may precipitate, exacerbate or hasten substance abuse. An individual suffering symptoms of a mental illness is likely to attempt to self-medicate.
More often than not, people with mental health disorders either seek clinical medication or self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. People that acquire prescriptions for their condition are less likely to develop abuse disorders, but conversely, often the medications that they get access to have a high abuse potential, creating great risk.
People that self-medicate for their mental illnesses often start young, and the use of drugs or alcohol is now this way to ‘escape’ becomes an essential part of their life.
The reverse order can also be true, in which a mental disorder is caused or exacerbated by the use of drugs or alcohol. For example, some common pairings:
- A study found that cocaine use can cause paranoia and anxiety
- Alcohol and its relation to antisocial personality disorder or depression
- PTSD and opioid abuse
Igniting Addiction
The original development of an addiction may have come about as a response to a mental health issue gone untreated. Without proper diagnosis, many seek to control or manage their disorders by self-medicating, using alcohol or tranquilizers for anxiety, amphetamines or cocaine for depression, etc., and the short-term relief or distraction makes the experiment look like a success.
Alternatively, a person mostly free from mental health problems might experiment with drugs and continue past “recreational use” to dependency–then secondary mental health issues can emerge. Untreated, these hasten the ongoing drug abuse with catastrophic results. Also, certain drugs like amphetamines and PCP can cause psychotic episodes themselves that may repeat themselves—these flashbacks can be triggered by stress even in long absence of drug use and are a major health and safety risk to the individual and those around them,
Repeat use then often leads to dependency, and a substance abuse disorder is formed where one previously might not have been. This very substance abuse can and will often exacerbate the mental illness, The mental illness then can impede long-term sobriety. This cyclical effect of dual-diagnosis makes it difficult to treat without the proper support or treatment, and treatment is paramount to all other matters in the individual’s life in order to achieve a life without major impediment.
Identifying Dual Diagnosis Cases
At Level Up Treatment Centers in West Palm Beach, we believe that if the client can identify the underlying issue and treat it simultaneously with their treatment for addiction. In this scenario, the client’s chances of a successful, relapse-free recovery are much improved. In fact, once we can identify and properly begin treatment on the underlying issue that’s driving or co-occurring with the dependency on alcohol or other drugs, clients will have reached a major milestone and will be that much closer to long-term sobriety. The symptoms of the multiple disorders that can occur alongside addiction often present complex and similar symptoms: proper diagnosis requires a highly trained professional staff with years of experience.
We understand that long term recovery does not come in a one-size-fits-all program. For this reason, each client, upon arrival at our drug treatment center, will undergo an extensive and comprehensive physical and psychological exam with our team of physicians, counselors, mental health specialists, spiritual advisers, and nutritionists. Together, we will determine what the client’s underlying issues are so we can then customize and fine tailor an individualized approach and, when appropriate, provide integrated dual-diagnosis treatment.
The Bottom Line
As the addiction treatment community begins to realize that addiction is itself a mental disorder, the relationship between substance abuse and mental disorders becomes more complicated. The greater treatment community largely lacks a proper understanding of dual diagnosed conditions, making for more situations going untreated in people’s lives, or having them not treated or diagnosed at all. Our dual diagnosis treatment center in West Palm Beach, Florida is one of the top facilities that employ the proper professionals trained to help treat these very co-occurring disorders concurrently. This type of tandem treatment provides some of the best success rates for individuals struggling from this comorbidity.
Get treatment for individuals stuggling with a substance abuse and mental health disorders. Call 855-719-1599 Today!
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Level Up Palm Beach County
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(855) 719-1599
