Dual Diagnosis

‘Dual diagnosis’ or comorbidity is a generic term referring to the co-occurrence of disorders suffered by an individual. Comorbidity of mental disorders and substance use disorders is widespread, particularly among young people” (Victorian Government Department of Human Services 2007)

I found the workshop on dual diagnosis to be extremely interesting and helpful. Before the workshop my knowledge around dual diagnosis was very limited and I had no idea how many mental health patients had a dual diagnosis. I was also unaware on how important understanding dual diagnosis was to provide the best holistic care possible to these patients. I know understand that you must treat both the substance use and mental illness at the same time to have the best treatment outcome, rather than treating one then the other.

I found the statistics presented in the workshop to be very interesting as I did not realise how high the percentage of dual diagnosis was. I was shocked that an individual with a mental illness is likely die twenty five years earlier then the general population due to medical issues related to substance use. The Better Health Channel (2015) states that about sixty four percent of individuals with mental health illness have or had substance use problems. They also stated that about ninety percent of all males with schizophrenia potentially have a substance use problem.

I also found the stages of change section of the workshop and the helper verse listener section interesting and helpful as they were to things I realised I could incorporate into my nursing practice with clients with dual diagnosis. I implemented the stages of change into my daily nursing practice by working out which stage my patient was in and if they were in a stage where change might be possible I spoke to them about dual diagnosis and resources available. I also utilised the helper verse listener and from the workshop it was demonstrated that there is likely to be more change when you ask an individual questions about the problem and not give advice rather then pushing them in a direction you think is best.

Another area I increased my knowledge in was the reasons around why individuals with mental health illnesses use substances. I found it interesting that they use it as a coping method, to improve cognition, to receive side effects from medication and to feel more normal. I think it is important to understand why they use substances rather then just making assumptions as this will contribute to providing them with the best care possible and treatment outcome.


References

Better Health Channel. (2015). Dual Diagnosis. Retrieved from www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Dual_diagnosis

Victorian Government Department of Human Services. (2007). Dual diagnosis key directions and priorities for service development. Retrieved from www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/dualdiagnosis/dualdiagnosis2007.pdf