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from not just one problem, but two. In adolescents, however, drug
or alcohol abuse may merge and continue into adulthood, which may
contribute to the development of emotional difficulties or psychiatric
disorders.

In other cases, alcohol or drug dependency is the primary condition. A
person whose substance abuse problem has become severe may
develop symptoms of a psychiatric disorder including episodes of
depression, anger, hallucinations, or suicide attempts.
In terms of treatment for dual diagnosis, people have asked which
diagnosis should be treated first. It is often difficult to separate what
symptoms belong to which diagnosis. Since many symptoms of
substance abuse mimic or mask other psychiatric conditions, the
person must go through withdrawal from alcohol and/or other drugs
before the clinician can accurately assess whether there is a psychiatric
problem also.

That being said, research has concluded that both problems should be
treated simultaneously or in an integrated fashion. For any substance
abuser, however, the first step in treatment must be detoxification -- a
period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of
alcohol or drugs. For opioid addiction, it may be best to get the
addicted patient stabilized on methadone so that the withdrawal and
craving aspects can be suspended. Some persons with co-existing
psychiatric problems will need mental health evaluation and treatment
to get through detoxification or stabilization.

Psychiatric Services Within A Substance Abuse Health Care
Program

Addicted patients already in early in recovery are generally referred
for assessment and stabilization of psychiatric symptoms. 70% of this
population comes from the legal justice system. These patients meet
the criteria for Dual-Diagnosis, i.e., having both an addiction and a
psychiatric diagnosis. This is also referred to as co-occurring
disorders. Drug addicts present with the same psychiatric conditions
as the public at large, hence common problems tend to be prevalent
among addicts too. Although women traditionally present with