It’s fairly common for someone who is dealing with an addiction to also have some type of mental or psychological issue as well. If there is a direct connection between the mental disorder and the addiction, the addiction treatment community will refer to that person as having co-occurring conditions. So how could an addiction treatment professional determine if a client has co-occurring conditions? Through the therapeutic process, a therapist would have ample opportunity to delve into a client’s psyche.
Through the process of discovery, the client’s mental or psychological disorder will usually become apparent. It’s even possible that the client has already been working with a psychologist and has a mental health diagnosis. Furthermore, it’s also possible that the client’s addiction involves their prescription medication that the psychologist has been prescribing. When there are indications that a client has co-occurring conditions, it changes the focus of treatment. If the client were to only be suffering from an addiction, they would go through a regular addiction treatment program. When there is a directly related psychological issue in the mix, the client has to get treatment for both conditions at the same time.
Why? The untreated condition will always be a risk to the treated condition. For example, you go into rehab for an addiction to heroin. During your initial interview, you report to the rehab staff member that you have a diagnosis of a personality disorder. If they were to continue developing a treatment program without addressing the personality disorder, it’s very likely you would relapse if your personality disorder is one of the driving forces behind your addiction.
Instead of bypassing the personality disorder, they should immediately recommend you go through a dual diagnosis therapy program, In such a program, you would get treatment for both conditions at the same time. It would be very beneficial if the rehab facility would have a therapist who is licensed to provide therapy for both conditions. Otherwise, you might have to deal with two therapists with each one handling one of your conditions.
Do People with Personality Disorders Need Longer Inpatient Rehab in Florida to Recover from Addiction?
The titled question is a valid one. What it really boils down to is causation. If you have a personality disorder that has directly led you to drugs or alcohol to mask your problem or vice versa, then you might need to stay longer in rehab. Why? As you can imagine, there would be a lot of work that needs to be done if you are battling two conditions at the same time. Naturally, that could take a lot more time, forcing you to stay in rehab until you have satisfactorily dealt with both conditions. Remember, you entered rehab with the goal of recovering from your addiction. To that end, you need to commit to doing whatever is necessary to get to your goal.
If you did get placement in a dual diagnosis treatment program, you might encounter several types of therapy, including:
- Psychoanalysis
- Holistic therapies
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Let’s focus more on the last two.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on how a client’s negative thoughts are driving them to use drugs or alcohol. In theory, therapists believe that making a client aware of their negative thoughts and how they are dictating addictive behaviors opens the door to solutions. The solutions would come in the form of coping skills that would give the client a way to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts, which could diminish their need to abuse substances for escape.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
The Dialectical Behavioral Therapy model is very similar to the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model with one major difference. The therapist would have the client focus on how their negative feelings and emotions are driving the addiction. Again, the therapist would train the client to recognize the negativity and turn it into something positive. That should diminish the need the client has to abuse substances. If you have an addiction and a personality disorder diagnosis, you can expect treatment to take a bit longer than if you only had an addiction problem. The good news is we have a way to help you in either case. What we need from you to get started is a call to us at 772-266-5320. We will use that call as an opportunity for us to tell you about our treatment services and facility.
