Does Every Addiction Treatment Center Have a Dual Diagnosis Program?

The majority of the people diagnosed with drug abuse addiction also suffer from underlying mental and behavioral disorders. In dual diagnosis, the aspect of addiction and mental disorders are addressed. 

However, addiction treatment centers only focus on the aspect of addiction, leaving mental and behavioral disorders to go without treatment.

A few mental disorders accompany addiction in a victim’s long-term recovery process. And we cannot ignore them because these symptoms of mental disorders are possibly the reasons the victim has been into drug abuse. Therefore, it is very critical to visit a dual diagnosis treatment center for better treatment of your loved ones.

Why Are There Only a Few Centers Offering Dual Diagnosis Programs, What to Expect From Them, and How do They Work?

1. Failure to Acknowledge That Addiction is Simply a Symptom

The most common challenge that psychiatrists and drug rehabilitation centers fail to acknowledge is that addiction comes with other struggles. One may focus on treating habits without considering the emotional damage or trauma the person is struggling to overcome. Some of the reasons addiction treatment centers pay little attention to dual diagnosis are the high cost associated with the program.

Contrary to other habitation programs, a dual diagnosis treatment center comprises a team of experts capable of relating and reflecting addiction to other psychological and emotional problems that made the addict get recruited into drug abuse.

2. A Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center Requires Highly Trained Personnel

A specialist is concerned with addiction treatment in a dual diagnosis program, and others deal with emotional and psychological issues. And therefore, not all drug rehabilitation centers can afford these two facilities.

In a dual diagnosis treatment center, both emotional and addiction challenges are given greater attention by hiring a specialist and allowing more time for the victim to recover fully.

3. Many Individuals are Struggling With Self-Medication

Some individuals try to justify the consumption of a particular drug claiming that they boost their moods or otherwise. These are some of the challenges that a dual diagnosis treatment center has to deal with extensively. It is not the case with addiction treatment centers, as they do not take time to probe the victim to know what they are medicating.

The dual diagnosis treatment center specialists can discover the underlying reasons by having an open conversation with the victim. 

4. High Risks of Relapse

Some addiction treatment centers are afraid that if the victim stays a little longer waiting for the second phase of treatment. One may fall back into the past, thereby losing the revenues. In a dual diagnosis treatment center, an individual stays for the longest time possible until complete recovery. 

Summary

It is worth noting that a dual diagnosis treatment center may be way too expensive than addiction treatment alone. And that is why many addiction centers are not willing to upgrade to dual diagnosis programs. However, it is worthy because there is evidence that those who go through a dual diagnosis program do not develop maladaptive behaviors afterward.