There are several formats of addiction treatment program in Hawaii being commonly implemented in today's times, right from new kinds of outpatient treatment programs to sophisticated kinds of rehabilitation treatment programs. Recently, the dual diagnosis program has become quite prominent in the island state. This program has actually existed since several years in Hawaii, but its importance has increased in recent times, since most counselors for substance abuse in Hawaii are now recommending this form of treatment. This has made the program quite popular, but not many people know what the treatment program is exactly about.

This is a brief summary of what dual diagnosis is, how it is conducted in Hawaii and what effects it has on the people that go through this treatment.

Meaning of Dual Diagnosis

Basically speaking, the dual diagnosis treatment program is a method of treatment in which more than one condition is treated simultaneously. This term is not specific to addiction treatment. Any two or more coexisting conditions that are treated together constitute a dual diagnosis program. However, when this treatment is used for addiction treatment, the person's addiction is naturally one of the conditions. The second condition could be any physical or mental disorder that is causing the addiction to become more complicated and makes treatment difficult.

Dual Diagnosis in the Addiction Treatment Program in Hawaii

In most cases, the addiction treatment program in Hawaii has seen this second condition to be either a secondary disorder or a mental illness. Problems like eating disorders or phobias can make addiction treatment difficult. These are treated along with the addiction by the dual diagnosis approach of treatment. The second most common contenders are the mental illnesses. Many people who check in for addiction treatment in Hawaii are seen to be suffering from a psychiatric problem which could be anything from a depression to schizophrenia. Other problems that may coexist with the addiction are anxiety disorder, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, emotional stress, hallucinations, etc. Each of these can make the addiction treatment complicated and hence, they need to be treated along with the addiction itself.

It must be noted that as long as these conditions remain, the person can never be treated effectively. Addiction treatment requires a lot of resolve and determination on the part of the person undergoing the treatment and underlying coexisting problems can make the situation indeed quite serious. That is the reason they need to be treated together. One cannot be treated without the other, because these conditions can mutually influence each other.

How is Dual Diagnosis carried out in Hawaii?

Conducting a dual diagnosis treatment in Hawaii does require a lot of care and attention. Only specially licensed treatment centers in Hawaii can administer this type of treatment, and even the treatment providers need to be specially qualified for the purpose. Since the treatment is not for the addiction alone, the treatment providers need to have some diverse qualifications.

Generally, when a person checks in for a dual diagnosis addiction treatment program in Hawaii, they are first led into a preliminary assessment of their condition and then taken into detox treatment. The detox treatment is an important feature for dual diagnosis because people who have some impeding mental conditions will find the withdrawal to be too drastic. They will need special care and attention. There is a chance that the withdrawal will go on too long too, and hence the detox treatment in the dual diagnosis treatment in Hawaii is longer than the normal dual diagnosis program.

Once the detox treatment is completed (this is ascertained by making sure the patient has come out of the withdrawal), the patient is led to a psychiatric analysis program. Here a psychiatrist would assess the real extent of the mental condition in the patient. This is the stage where the nature of the secondary illness will be determined and on the basis of that a combined treatment program will be chalked out.

The program will usually incorporate alternating treatment methods for both the addiction and the coexisting condition. This may prove too strenuous on the patient actually, but the treatment centers take care that things are not taken too far. Usually, the center will implement the program in such a way that one stride is taken at a time.

Of course, this was about the dual diagnosis treatment for addiction and a supplementary mental illness. The dual diagnosis addiction treatment program in Hawaii follows a similar pattern for other problems that can coexist with the addiction.