Dual diagnosis is a term that can be confused by many people seeking recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. Dual diagnosis is a term characterized by substance abuse as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, bipolar, manic, or dissociative disorders, as well as many other mental health issues. The most common misconception about dual diagnosis is that the symptoms need only be present for dual diagnosis rehab. The fact is that determining whether a specific case is dual diagnosis is a lot like the chicken or the egg question. Did this individual have a mental health disorder prior to his or her addiction, or is the mental health issue a part of the addiction? Often, when addicts use, they feel an intense sense of remorse and shame, which can lead to depression, which then leads to more use, and so on, continuing in a vicious cycle. Also, with some addicts, alcohol and certain drugs can cause behavior that mimics manic or dissociative disorders, leading addicts and observers to believe dual diagnosis treatment is the only answer. In situations like these, dual diagnosis rehab is not called for. Once the addict becomes sober and abstinent for some period of time, the symptoms that mimic mental health disorders will go away.
However, in some cases, the addiction can actually cause a mental health disorder. For example, methamphetamines are one class of drug that can do irreparable damage to the brain which may result in permanent brain damage.

For the most part however, dual diagnosis rehab is called for when someone has been suffering from a mental health issue prior to addiction and needs to be specially treated for the clinical mental health disorder as well as the substance abuse. For this dual diagnosis rehab, special doctors and therapists are required to accurately assess the situation and prescribe the appropriate medications and therapies necessary to get a handle on the dual problems an individual in a dual diagnosis rehab will face.
Dual diagnosis treatment has proven to be very effective over the past several years for individuals suffering from dual diagnosis issues and are yet one more addition to the many different kind of drug and alcohol rehabs available.