March 2006 GCR Newsletter - Dual Addiction

About half of all people entering into drug rehab suffer from a dual addiction, or are dependent on more than one substance concurrently. Whether alcohol and marijuana, alcohol and pills, or heroin and cocaine, the occurrence of a dual addiction does complicate treatment, but the therapies and interventions needed are not substantially different from that of a single addiction.

For people suffering dual addictions, drug treatment needs to begin with a comprehensive pre intake assessment, in which addictions professionals evaluate the relative severity of the two addictions, and determine the risk factors for detox and the pharmacological interventions and therapies most needed.

Dual addiction complicates the initial period of drug treatment most, and detox off of more than one concurrent substance intensifies symptoms, and complicates medical interventions during this detox. Dual addiction detox requires professional medical supervision, and therapies and medications need to be prescribed with an awareness of the symptoms interactions of co occurring addictions.

Treatment for dual addictions does not differ significantly from treatment for a single addiction. While prescribed medications will vary depending on the drugs of abuse and the legacy of damage; psycho social therapies are designed primarily to prevent addiction and drug seeking behaviors, and thus the particular drug (or drugs) of abuse are of secondary importance.

Recovering dual addiction addicts will also work during private sessions with addictions professionals to develop relapse prevention plans cognizant of the specific triggers that lead to use of each of the drugs of abuse.

Using peer support therapy, individual counseling, cognitive teachings and by encouraging private reflection, drug rehab encourages a deeper understanding of the factors that lead to a compulsion to use, and gives recovering dual addiction addicts the life skills they'll need to achieve sobriety, regardless of the history of abuse, and regardless of the drugs abused.