Dual-Diagnosis Treatment

Anxiety

Much like depression, anxiety is an incredibly common mental health disorder. There are a wide variety of anxiety disorders that can affect people including specific phobias, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorders. While these may be triggered by different factors, they all can dramatically interfere with a person’s ability to meet the responsibilities of everyday life.

Addiction often develops as a person will attempt to self-medicate for symptoms of anxiety. Substances may provide a person with a temporary calm, but these feelings are often short-lived. Tolerance can develop quickly, leading a person to need greater amounts to achieve the same effects. Increased tolerance often leads to the development of an addiction as a person becomes dependent on substances to feel “normal”. Unfortunately, withdrawal from substances can create symptoms that worsen anxiety and may lead to heightened states of panic or hyper-anxiety.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, is characterized by sudden, dramatic shifts in energy levels, behavior, and mood. These shifts are more dramatic than the typical shifts people experience on a daily basis and they often interfere with a person’s ability to manage everyday responsibilities. It also often takes a toll on a person’s ability to maintain relationships with others.

Drugs and alcohol may be used to offset the sudden, intense shifts people experience, but studies suggest that substance abuse can also trigger these swings. Chemical imbalances in the brain can play a role in the development of bipolar disorder and the introduction of illicit substances can further affect these imbalances, leading to more frequent, severe shifts in mood and energy.

Schizoaffective Disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health disorder whose symptoms often cause it to be misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Schizoaffective disorder is relatively rare compared to other mental health conditions and because of this, it is less well-studied. There are two major forms of the disorder that are categorized as bipolar and depressive. Symptoms can vary from person to person and are dependent on what type of schizoaffective disorder is present, but some of the most common symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, depression, and manic behaviors.

Schizoaffective disorder can cause a person to have major manic and depressive episodes with dramatic, intense mood swings that may occur simultaneously with symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations. Drugs and alcohol may be used as a method of coping with symptoms, but often worsen the condition. Because schizoaffective disorder is not incredibly common, substance abuse may allow it to go undetected and untreated for a long period of time.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on changing clients’ unproductive, negative thoughts through developing healthy coping mechanisms and focusing on problem-solving so that clients are empowered to change their circumstances.
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET): MET helps clients accept the need for help in treatment by resolving ambivalence and encouraging self-motivating statements early in sessions.
• Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT): This form of treatment is family-centered and primarily used to help adolescents cope with the problems that have developed as a result of substance abuse.
• Psychodynamic Therapy: This treatment is often used in patients who have depression, who have lost a sense of meaning in their lives, and in cases where a person has difficulty forming meaningful relationships with others.
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT focuses on helping clients who suffer with borderline personality disorders and other mood disorders. It works by helping clients manage painful emotions and learn how to decrease conflict in their lives.
• Gestalt Therapy: Gestalt therapy focuses on personal responsibility and exploring what is happening in the present in order to work on developing solutions.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is used to help those who have experienced trauma. When asked to recall traumatic incidents, it diverts the client’s attention to reduce distress and makes the experience less emotionally upsetting to explore.
• Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): REBT helps clients change irrational beliefs, resolve emotional or behavioral problems, and ultimately feel more fulfilled.
• Art Therapy: Art therapy allows clients to express themselves through a medium that requires no words. It can be a powerful way to relieve stress and express oneself in a healthy way.
• Surf Therapy: Surf therapy challenges clients to take on a physical activity they may have no experience with. In the water, they respond naturally to stimuli, allowing therapists to observe behaviors and provide real-world context to coping mechanisms for stressful situations.
• Music Therapy: Creating, writing, or playing music provides a valuable outlet in treatment and can help a person cope with stressors in a healthy way.
• Yoga: Yoga encourages inward focus, inviting clients to clear their minds, focus on their breathing, and engage their bodies and minds simultaneously.
• Meditation and Mindfulness: Meditation and mindfulness encourages self-awareness and self-reflection. The ability to clear one’s mind from the noise of daily life can provide inner peace and focus that is valuable in recovery