The possibility does exist of serious psychological distress with addiction treatment. The process of going through any treatment facility can be an emotional and mentally challenging event. It can involve a lot of confrontation from staff, other residents, and the client themselves. In order to beat addiction it is necessary for the barriers that the addict has created to protect themselves be knocked down, and this can all involve a lot of emotional and mental energy and resources. Some individuals are just not up to this type of treatment and so suffer psychological distress.
The most usual cause of serious psychological distress with addiction treatment is failure to identify a co-existing mental health problem. Many addicts suffer from a dual diagnosis which means that they not only have a addiction problem, but they are also suffering from another mental health problems such as; bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, or a personality disorder.Many of these people are not even aware that they have a dual diagnosis, and in many instances it isn’t picked up by the health care professionals. This failure to identify a dual diagnosis is due to the similarities that exist between the symptoms of addiction and the symptoms of other mental health problems. This failure to identify the presence of this other issue can easily lead to serious psychological distress with addiction treatment.
In many instances the traditional form of treatment will just not be suitable for those with a dual diagnosis. In fact this type of intervention could be counterproductive and lead to serious psychological distress with addiction treatment. For a lot of people with a dual diagnosis it is particularly hard to deal with emotional issues and cognitive strategies that involve thinking; in fact these types of interventions may cause a lot of suffering it the client is not ready. That is why it is often advisable that those with a dual diagnosis follow a treatment option that will be able to deal with both their problems at the same time. It is good that these services will be under the same roof or else the client will feel like a ping-pong bouncing between the different services and being pulled in different directions.
If an individual going through a programme suffers serious psychological distress with addiction treatment then this is very problematic. Many people with a dual diagnosis only manage one attempt at recovery so this one chance has to be really supported in every way possible. If the person receiving the treatment finds it all too painful they might begin to believe that the cure is worse than the problem and be put off recovery for life. This should not be allowed to happen because once their other issues are dealt with appropriately there is no reason why they can’t have a productive and enjoyable life free of addiction. This it is why it is so important that a dual diagnosis is not only identified, but also treated appropriately; failure to do so could have dire consequences for the individual and those close to them.
