Dealing with a Dual Diagnosis and an addiction can be costly, time-consuming, and an all-around impairing experience. Those who have lived with mental illness or substance abuse alone know the difficulties involved with coping, even with performing daily functions. Together, the two can create a world for the individual that is scary, depressing, or just plain impossible.
Because the scope of a Dual Diagnosis encompasses both the mental illness and the addiction, several treatment options are suggested to help one get clean and face the world day by day. Inpatient hospitalization, or partial hospitalization (PHP), provides intensive, round-the-clock assistance for those suffering with addiction or abuse and a severe mental illness.
Psychiatric Hospitalization and Dual Diagnosis
Inpatient hospitalization can be used as a step in the recovery process, or it can serve as a treatment option all its own. When a person is admitted into an inpatient program, that individual receives continual and consistent monitoring. Detoxification often occurs in an inpatient setting, as the effects of withdrawal can be especially difficult to manage alone. Hospitalization can also occur as a transitory period between a residential community and discharge, or be included as part of various stages of an integrated treatment plan.
When you are receiving treatment for a Dual Diagnosis, the length of time it takes to receive adequate and long-lasting care ranges depending on the individual. Sometimes inpatient partial hospitalization can last from a few weeks to a few months. Recovery, however, is a lifelong commitment so when you’re making choices to empower you and better your health for the long-term, a few years can make a lifetime’s worth of difference.
Who Needs Hospitalization for a Dual Diagnosis?
Not everyone requires intensive therapy for their comorbidity. Often individuals are best assessed after detox, so the symptoms of the illness can be more appropriately diagnosed. Of the 57.7 million Americans who live with severe mental illnesses, this type of treatment is crucial for overcoming the complications of a Dual Diagnosis. Sometimes, however, circumstances alone warrant immediate intervention and/or hospitalization. There are some characteristics that deem a person more fit for intensive therapy than another. These factors usually take into account the severity of the illness and addiction, the person’s behavioral history, and the history of treatment. You or a loved one may want to seek hospitalization if:
- A substance or alcohol overdose has occurred.
- An individual cannot be treated in an outpatient setting due to the severity of the illness or addiction.
- Traditional outpatient therapy and/or residential communities have not proven effective in maintaining drug or alcohol abstinence.
- There is a history of relapse.
- The co-occurring mental condition or illness is severe and requires immediate treatment.
- The individual is a danger or threat to himself/herself or others, or if he/she has attempted suicide.
Foundations Recovery Network recognizes that Dual Diagnosis can impact every bit of your life, from relationships with others to otherwise normal activities like sleeping, eating, and going to work. Sometimes less intensive therapy doesn’t work and that’s all right. No one treatment option fits everyone, so we’ll design a treatment approach with you and for you. Our in-house specialists work day and night to make sure you have the best care and one-on-one attention. Getting clean isn’t easy, but with Foundations Recovery Network, it can get better.
Further Reading About Psychiatric Hospitalization Treatment
- 6 Theories Behind It
- Costs of Outpatient Treatment
- Does Medicare Cover It?
- Dual Diagnosis Treatment for Professionals
- Explaining the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Guide to Outpatient Rehab
- How Is It Discovered?
- Important Statistics
- Issues and Dangers of Self-Diagnosis
- Options for Free Rehab
- Options for Severe Mental Illness
- Options to Pay
- Privacy and Anonymity in Recovery
- Psychiatric Hospitalization Treatment
- Staff at a Facility
- Traveling for Dual Diagnosis Treatment
- Treatment Accreditations
- Using Insurance
- What to Know About Opiate Addiction and Mental Health
- Where to Find Help: Outpatient vs. Inpatient Programs
David W. Newton is a board certified pharmacist and also has been a board member for boards of examiners for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy since 1983. His areas of expertise are primarily pharmaceuticals as well as cannabinoids. You can read an article about his expertise in CBD on the National Library of Medicine.
Reviewed by: Kim Chin and Marian Newton