Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Union, NJ
If you struggle with an addiction disorder, you owe it to yourself to consider the dual diagnosis possibility. As a leading rehab, Union Drug Rehab Centers offers the most advanced dual diagnosis treatment in Union and the surrounding region, and you could call us. If you aren't sure if a dual diagnosis would apply in your case, read on.
What is Dual Diagnosis?
Until 20 years ago, when people went to rehabs with addictive disorders, they were treated for those conditions alone. It wasn't a routine part of the addiction treatment protocol to attempt to investigate patients of addiction for the existence of concurrent mental conditions such as depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Over time, however, researchers have proven a close connection between addiction and other mental disorders. Depending on the depth of the disorder experienced, between 1 in 2 and 1 in 3 of those who struggle with addiction are found to experience such an overlap. Such comorbidity is known by the term dual diagnosis, and when found, requires special, integrated treatment.
Why is Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment Important?
Integrated treatment is important in dual diagnosis because, often, these conditions are able to influence and aggravate one another. As an example, when a person starts out with depression, a preference for alcohol may develop simply because the substance helps lighten the mind.
Other mental disorders lead to addictive behavior in their own ways. Statistics show that 56% of those who suffer from bipolar disorder are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Researchers believe that such patients often turn to substance abuse to help calm the wild mood swings that they experience.
In some cases, addiction begins with a doctor's prescription. A person who suffers from anxiety disorder or insomnia may receive a prescription for Xanax or Valium. Once use of these medications starts, those with genetic, psychological or other vulnerabilities may quickly move to overuse, and then trap themselves in a prescription drug addiction In Union.
In these cases, treating the addiction alone tends to leave the underlying mental disorder untouched. Over time, the disorder is left free to act on the patient, and to cause a drift toward substance abuse again. Integrated treatment of both addiction and the underlying mental disorder helps ensure that at the end of the treatment program, the patient emerges free of any need for drug abuse.
How is Dual Diagnosis Treated?
While some dual diagnosis treatment programs do operate on an outpatient basis, most experts recommend inpatient treatment in Union. The withdrawal symptoms of detoxification and the abstinence requirement tend to be hard enough for patients with addiction alone to handle. Those who struggle with more than one disorder can find it impossible to comply. Patients at our center for dual diagnosis treatment in Union often ask about the special treatment approaches that dual diagnosis conditions require.
The bulk of the work of our rehab program is done after detoxification. Once the withdrawal symptoms and immediate cravings of addiction are temporarily out of the way with detoxification, rehab aims to help equip patients with the mental skills that they need to resist and avoid future temptation. To this end, rehabs offer a wide variety of long-term therapeutic aid. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, moral reconation therapy, motivational interviewing, 12-step programs, family counseling and other therapeutic approaches greatly help.
Most of the work of dual diagnosis treatment is done through therapy after detoxification, as well. With dual diagnosis patients, however, psychiatrists and therapists work on both medical detox in Union, as well as special psychotherapy while taking the mental illnesses involved into account.
In both the detoxification and the therapeutic stages, the presence of medical professionals at all times not only helps ease the process, it helps bring to the patient the level of intensive therapy needed. Psychotherapy, counseling and other treatments can last hours each day, and can continue for months. Only the inpatient approach offers treatment of the intensity needed.
Choose our Center for Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Union
Most rehabs do not offer dual diagnosis treatment. Of those that do, only a few are truly capable. It takes patient research to locate ones that are really able to help. Starting your search at Drug Rehab Centers for dual diagnosis treatment in Union would make a lot of sense. We offer some of the best expertise in the region. All you need to do is to call us at (877) 804-1531.