One of the Best Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

Substance abuse treatment is often paired with concurrent treatment for a mental health disorder, such as depression, anxiety or bi-polar disorder. It’s quite common for both a substance abuse and a mental health disorder to occur together. In fact, the two conditions typically drive each other and compel the individual to self-medicate with drugs in an effort to alleviate the symptoms of the mental health problem. Both substance use disorder and mental disorders are brain diseases that can be successfully treated. It’s not the person’s fault. However, the substance abuse treatment plan must include therapy for both disorders, which is called dual diagnosis treatment. Silver Creek’s Dual diagnosis treatment center offers the best chance for long-term sobriety.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers that Accept Medicaid

Not all facilities offer a dual diagnosis outpatient program but here at Silver Creek we do. Although Medicaid does include substance abuse treatment benefits, not all rehab centers will necessarily accept it. This could vary widely depending on the facility and area. A good place to start is with the Medicaid or Medi-Cal caseworker to help find dual diagnosis treatment centers that accept Medicaid. Also try consulting online with SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s online treatment locator guide. Just enter the city or zip code to find substance abuse rehabs in the desired area.

Dual diagnosis is sometimes also called integrative treatment, meaning that social, mental and drug abuse disorders are all treated at the same time. A social health problem means that the individual has a disabling inability to form or maintain meaningful relationships with others. Having a mental illness doubles the risk of substance abuse. Over one-third of people with an alcohol problem and over half of those with a drug problem also have some type of significant social health problem..

Evaluation for a Dual Diagnosis Program

To determine the need for integrative treatment, dual diagnosis treatment centers evaluate new clients using a number of different assessment factors::

• The person has a history of suicidal thoughts and may be a danger to themselves or others
• The person shows symptoms of a mental disorder
• The person has a history of substance abuse that persists in spite of clear evidence of harm

The best outcomes occur among people who are highly motivated to take an active part in their treatment and who have a solid support system available.

Signs of a Mental Disorder

Symptoms may vary from person to person and also according to the exact mental issue, but some general signs include:

• Feelings of sadness and despair
• Irrational fears
• Sleeping difficulties
• Mood changes
• Withdrawal from friends, activities and family
• Fatigue
• Changes in eating patterns

Signs of Addiction

Someone with a substance abuse disorder, also called an addiction, will typically display a total inability to control their use. They will use as much of the drug as they can get and will go to extremes to get it. They will disregard their personal safety and that of others. They will show signs of tolerance or needing large amounts of the substance and also signs of physical withdrawal and cravings when the drug isn’t available. They will neglect family, social, school and work responsibilities and may have problems with law enforcement. In other words, nothing matters more than the drug.

There may also be physical signs, such as needle marks on the skin, slurred speech, constricted or dilated pupils, sleeping too much or too little, irrational or giddy, inappropriate moods and wearing sunglasses indoors or long sleeves when the weather is too warm for it. Drug paraphernalia, such as spoons, syringes, small glassine envelopes or plastic bags, balloons, burnt pieces of foil, glass pipes or other materials may be present as well. Prescription drug abusers will often peel the labels off of pill containers to hide their level of use.

Dual Diagnosis: Common Mental Disorders

• Depression

Everyone feels discouraged, sad and down sometimes. This is normal and tends to be situational. Of course, someone will feel bad about losing a job or an important relationship. However, true clinical depression is different. This person feels worthless, hopeless and trapped in a vicious cycle of despair. This kind of depression often has a physical cause linked to low levels of a brain chemical called serotonin. Brain cells communicate with each other with substances called neurotransmitters, one of which is serotonin. Closely associated with feelings of happiness and reward, serotonin is necessary for normal mood.

Clinical depression can often be successfully treated with medications called SSRIs. These medications help the brain restore normal serotonin levels, and the results can be dramatic. The depression lifts, and the person can feel good and participate in life again.

• Bi-polar disorder

Once called manic depression, this mental disorder is characterized by severe mood swings from wild elation to black depression. The condition can make a normal lifestyle all but impossible. This condition typically requires the use of three classes of medication: Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Psychotherapy is generally part of the treatment as well. The element lithium is often quite effective in normalizing the manic part of the disease. Certain antiepileptic drugs, such as carbamazepine along with older or newer antipsychotic medications like haloperidol or aripiprazole may be very effective in treating this complicated disease.

• Anxiety disorders

It’s not hard to understand how overwhelming fear and anxiety could lead to self-medication just to get some relief. The problem with this is that self-medication just ends up making the anxiety problem worse and also adding another problem, substance abuse disorder. Anxiety often responds well to psychotherapy along with a calming medication called buspirone. An effective alternative to the addictive benzodiazepines, such as Valium and Xanax, buspirone works to gradually reduce anxiety. Certain antidepressants may also help the condition, and another drug class called beta-blockers are sometimes prescribed as well.

Getting Help

There is always hope for recovery and a bright future. Dual diagnosis treatment has helped to make substance abuse treatment more effective than ever before. Call Silver Creek or fill out our contact form today and get the help you need to get your life back on track!