Learning How Dual Diagnosis Treatment Works

Dual Diagnosis

Cliffside Malibu is a licensed dual diagnosis residential treatment center where cutting edge, evidence-based psychotherapy and analysis meet world-class drug and alcohol addiction treatment, medically supervised detoxification and holistic medicine. The individualized and specialized approach each person receives who walks through our doors is what makes this Malibu oasis more than just a place of luxury and serenity.

Those suffering with dual diagnosis experience not only the pain of chemical dependency and addiction but also a co-occurring emotional or psychiatric illness such as Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Personality Disorders, like borderline personality disorder, Gambling Addiction, Sex Addiction and Eating Disorders, only to name a few. Both illnesses may affect an individual physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually, and each illness has symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to function effectively and relate to themselves and others. Furthermore, with dual diagnosis, not only is the individual affected by two separate illnesses, but also each illness interacts with the other, potentially exacerbating symptoms on each side and predisposing the individual to relapse in each of the illnesses.

At times the symptoms associated with dual diagnosis can overlap and mask each other making diagnosis and treatment more difficult. Cliffside Malibu has created an exceptional team of medical and psychiatric doctors, psychologists, therapists, chemical dependency counselors, spiritual advisors, and fitness and nutrition experts to address the complex physical, emotional/mental and spiritual components of those with a dual diagnosis.

If you or a loved one is in need of immediate treatment for addictions, depression treatment, and other problems associated with dual diagnosis, please call Cliffside Malibu today at 1-800-501-1988. Help is a phone call away.

Extensive Dual Diagnosis Intake Process

Upon admission for a dual diagnosis condition, there is an extensive intake process, where information is gathered and the individual is compassionately welcomed into the home. From that point on, they then meet with their primary therapist who serves as a primary source of support and guidance throughout their treatment process, and who formulates an extensive clinical assessment based on the individual's history, self-report, report from prior professionals and family members (as permitted by the individual) and based on the clinician's observation and expertise. The individual also meets for an initial dual diagnosis evaluation with the psychiatrist who conducts an extensive psychiatric evaluation with the individual, again based on observation, history, self-report and report from other sources as is permitted.

The clinical team then collaborate throughout the individual's treatment as the individual's symptoms are stabilized, for example teen self esteem issues, engaging in a process of differential diagnosing to methodically separate out the dual disorders and any overlap and exacerbation of co-occurring symptomatology, thereby establishing the most effective and appropriate course of treatment. This, of course, can take time, as a key part of treating dual diagnoses is allowing an individual to safely detox and stabilize before any conclusions are drawn, and the clinical team engages in the intensive assessment process while the person is removed from any external stressors in their life. The symptoms thereby come out in a sober environment and more pure form, allowing for more accurate assessment and diagnosis that ultimately informs the course that treatment takes in all its forms - psychiatrically and therapeutically.

If you'd like more information on this topic, please call 1-800-501-1988, or visit our website at www.cliffsidemalibu.com .

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Copyright 2009 Cliffside Malibu