Dual Diagnosis in Lynchburg, VA

Public information available with the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that at least one out of every two people who suffer from substance abuse addiction struggle with an undiagnosed mental disorder. Known also as co-morbid conditions, such combination disorders require special treatment. When addiction is treated without attention paid to a mental disorder that appears alongside, treatment is bound to fail. Long-term sobriety becomes virtually impossible. If you are looking for help with an addiction, it's important that you look for rehabs that offer expertise in dual diagnosis in Lynchburg.

How Are Addiction and Mental Health Disorders Related?

Addiction is not a direct result of substance abuse; only a fraction of those who experiment with substance abuse actually end up addicted. Often, it is the mental health of the person attempting substance abuse that makes the difference.

When a person suffers from conditions such as bipolar, depression or anxiety, and does not treat their condition, they tend to suffer very difficult mental lives. They struggle with an inability to get things done, poor capacity for focus, an inability to get along with people and so on.

Incidentally, drugs and alcohol tend to act on parts of the brain that such mental disorders affect; substance abuse, then, actually makes for temporary relief from these conditions. People begin to use drugs as self-medication and go too far.

Mental health disorders can bring about addictive behavior in other ways. These conditions tend to come with problems with self-control, for example.

The presence of a mental disorder can lead to an unreasonable level of substance abuse. While drug rehabs in Lynchburg are important to anyone who suffers from an addiction, it tends to be especially critical to those struggling with dual diagnosis disorders. The needs of treatment for dual diagnosis can be complex.

Treating a Dual Diagnosis Disorder

When you look for treatment for a dual diagnosis in Lynchburg, it's important that you find the most advanced integrated care possible. Such care ensures that a mental disorder is treated alongside the addiction, by specialists who operate as a team.

The advantage of such an approach should be obvious -- should there be problems in treatment, there can be no shifting of blame. It's the team, ultimately, that bears responsibility.

As with any other form of addiction, Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs begins with an intake assessment in rehab. Mental health professionals participate in the assessment process. Since the symptoms of mental health disorders tend to be similar to symptoms seen in addiction, however, diagnosis takes special expertise.

Once a thorough evaluation reveals the exact nature of the patient's mental and physical health, a treatment program is put in place, where medications for the treatment of the patient's conditions come together.

In most cases, addictions involving dual diagnosis disorders need inpatient detox. The painful process of withdrawing from a drug can be challenging. It can benefit a patient to have access to caregivers, nurses and other specialists all the time. Patients can do very well with such personal care. Outpatient treatment, in these cases, would put the patient under too much stress.

Helping with Therapy

While rehab treatment always involves the need for deep focus and engagement by the patient, this can be especially important through therapy, the treatment process in which patients improve psychological health and gain the skills needed to avoid relapse.

Therapy, however, can be very difficult when one suffers from a mental disorder. Not only is it unlikely that a patient who is mentally unwell would participate in therapy, it's unlikely that they are able to make the changes needed. In dual diagnosis treatment centers that offer psychiatric treatment prior to therapy, these complications are adequately addressed.

The drug rehab industry tends to be a fragmented one; different rehabs often do not often offer the same depth of treatment. Doing your own research is vital to finding treatment success. It's important to look for rehab with specific experience in both the kind of addiction involved and the mental disorder. Specific expertise can be an asset when you look for treatment for a condition involving dual diagnosis in Lynchburg. Call Lynchburg Drug Rehab Centers. (877) 804-1531.