Addictions and mental illnesses conjoin so frequently, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, that many treatment professionals simply assume that a client who has one issue will have the other. An assumption rarely makes for a diagnosis, however, as most insurance companies and other paying entities like to see specific tests performed and definitive results placed before they’ll agree to pay for care. While each specific mental illness and each specific addiction might be diagnosed in slightly different ways, these are the tools treatment professionals typically employ when they’re attempting to spot problems in the people they’re trying to help.

Starting With Mental Health

While addictions and mental health concerns can both cause distress, some people begin their path to healing by asking for help with the mental health problem they face. In fact, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about 34 percent of people who have serious mental health issues and substance use issues only get help for their mental illnesses. It’s a trend that can be reversed if facilities provide drug screening to the people who come to them for care.

Drug screening can take many forms, including:

• Verbal tests, in which people are asked to name the drugs they take
• Family interviews, in which the person’s behavior is described by others
• Urine tests
• Blood tests
• Hair tests

Combining methods might also be helpful, as people might lie in an interview or a chemical test might provide inconclusive results. When the two techniques match, however, medical staff members have a clear picture of the addiction and can develop treatment programs that could be of major benefit.

Leading With Addiction

Some addiction treatment programs provide routine screening for mental health disorders. When people have completed detox and they’re sober for the first time in quite some time, they’re provided with a variety of written and verbal tests that can help administrators measure their mental health. There are some facilities, however, that reserve mental health screening for people who demonstrate behaviors that are commonly associated with addiction. For example, a study in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that people who had dual diagnosis concerns had much more severe life disruption, when compared to people who did not. Dual-diagnosis clients had more hospitalizations, for example, and they had fewer outpatient contacts with substance abuse providers. They were also living in undesirable situations with fraught relationships, and they had low levels of employment. If people with serious disruptions like this are provided with mental health screening, it’s likely that their mental health concerns would become clear, and perhaps they’d get the help they’ll need in order to get better.

Mental health screening tests are rigorous, and there are specific measures medical professionals have to use in order to diagnose an illness. People must have a specific number of symptoms, for example, or they might need to have a set of symptoms for a specific length of time. Often, the issue must also have a deep impact on the person’s life in order to qualify as a mental illness. Minor quirks in personality that don’t cause distress wouldn’t qualify as a problem, for example, as they don’t cause the person any sort of disruption or pain. But serious issues that impair a person’s quality of life would qualify as a mental illness. The line can be a fine one, but it’s something mental health experts obtain years of training in order to define.

Where to Go for Help

Since research suggests that mental illnesses and addictions go hand in hand so frequently, it’s likely that people with these dual diagnosis issues can get help via almost any venue. They could begin at a mental health facility, an addiction facility or at the family doctor’s office. It’s just important that people do ask for help. Dual diagnosis issues like this can take a serious toll on a person’s physical and mental health, and they shouldn’t be allowed to fester and grow stronger. Treatment really can help to ameliorate the damage, allowing people to overcome all the issues they face and live lives that are healthier, stronger and happier.

At Axis, we specialize in dual diagnosis treatment, and we provide rigorous mental health screening for people who come to us for addiction help. If you’d like to find out more about the help we can provide, or you need assistance with a dual diagnosis issue you already know is in place, please call us.