Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Table of Contents

Our Vision

Renewal Lodge operates on the basis of a clearly defined vision.

Our vision includes educating our clients on the root cause of their problems: substance use disorders, mental health and behavioral issues; as well as the solutions for these problems and conditions.

As a clinical team, we understand that our clients may experience challenges with both addiction and mental health. This is called dual diagnosis.

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What Is Dual Diagnosis?

As outlined above, the term Dual Diagnosis refers to more than one diagnosis. In the context of seeking treatment, an individual with a dual diagnosis may present with features of Alcohol Use Disorder while also displaying symptoms of an alternate mental health condition such as Bi-Polar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. If the individual is diagnosed with more than one disorder, the term dual diagnosis may apply.
What Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment
What Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Solving The Shortage Of Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

Sadly, many programs do not intermingle mental health services with treatment for substance use disorders. As a result, the individual may be required to seek two separate treatment methods: one for the mental health condition, and a second to address the substance use disorder. This complication can make appropriate diagnosis difficult to detect and treat effectively, reducing favorable outcomes.

To help solve this problem, Renewal Lodge has developed a program that treats mental health and addiction concurrently in the same treatment episode.

Peter Piraino, LMSW, LCDC, LISAC
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Combining Mental Health and Addiction Treatment

Renewal Lodge understands that suffering from a dual diagnosis condition can add complexity to the search for effective treatment. Some of the most common questions we encounter are: Which came first, the mental health condition or the addiction? Which should be treated foremost?

The answer comes from the research.

In short, persons with a dual diagnosis respond better to treatment methods that address mental health in conjunction with substance use disorders. This form of treatment not only improves abstinence outcomes, but also advances physical, emotional, and general functioning throughout the treatment episode and beyond.

The best type of dual diagnosis treatment program is an integrated approach."

“Integrated Treatment” of dual diagnosis significantly decreased psychiatric hospitalization and arrest compared to “Parallel Treatment”.

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Why Are There So Few Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers?

Dual diagnosis conditions may add complexity to the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment episode sought by the affected person. Many programs believe dual diagnosis conditions are associated with higher rates of relapse, poorer physical health, and risks other challenges, including premature departure from treatment.

At Renewal Lodge we embrace the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs of every individual we treat. It is our belief that dual diagnosis clients receive the most effective treatment when substance abuse and mental health are addressed simultaneously.

Dual Diagnosis And The Family

Prior to finding Renewal Lodge, many of our families report the following concerns in their search for effective dual diagnosis treatment:
The number one complaint from families is that too many professionals lack the proper training, education and knowledge on the important subject of effective dual diagnosis treatment. At Renewal Lodge, we understand these concerns. Our entire program is designed to combine effective mental health and substance abuse treatment together into one episode of care.
Peter Piraino, LMSW, LCDC, LISAC
“Renewal Lodge believes in treating the whole person. Utilizing evidence-based mental health services alongside addiction treatment is crucial to our core mission.”
~ Peter Piraino, LMSW, LCDC, CEO

Families Ask Us: Is It Addiction Or Mental Health?

The National Institute of Mental Health reveals that “a substance use disorder (SUD) is a mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior, leading to a person’s inability to control their use of substances such as legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications.”

Many families express confusion as they seek to navigate the various signs and symptoms that correlate between addiction and other mental health disorders. 

Some common signs of substance use disorder may include:

Sudden changes in behavior or personality

Isolation from family members, peers, relationships, and co-workers

An inability to consistently control alcohol or drug use

Displaying risky behaviors such as driving intoxicated

Missing work, tardiness, and difficulty maintaining commitments

Lying, making excuses, defensive arguing when confronted

Legal and/or financial issues

Lost interest in previously enjoyed hobbies, activities, or pastimes

While many of the signs and symptoms of substance use disorder can overlap with various other mental health disorders, here are some common signs of mental illness:

Mood changes that appear and subside rapidly

Reduced/Increased eating habits, including weight gain or weight loss

Sex drive increases or decreases

Detachment from reality, confusion and difficulty concentrating

Complaints of bodily ailments that lack an identifiable cause

Excessive feelings/moods, including sadness, fear, worry, and anxiety

Lack of insight regarding one’s own behavior or personality

Drug or Alcohol Abuse

Cynthia Singer, MS, LCDC
“Renewal Lodge is a true agent for change. We assist clients in redefining who they aspire to be in recovery and support their families along the way.”
~ Cynthia E. Singer MS, LCDC, LMFT-Associate

Where To Start: Achieving A Diagnosis

Mental health conditions are never indicative of personal weakness or inadequacy. Like any serious physical health condition, a mental illness requires personalized treatment that may include therapy, medication, support groups, and wellness services.

At Renewal Lodge, we emphasize whole-health healing supported by evidence-based clinical models. Our therapists utilize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association, to assess the symptoms of our clients and establish accurate diagnosis.

Since 2005, we have helped countless individuals overcome their mental health symptoms and lead healthy, happy, well-adjusted lives. It all starts with achieving a diagnosis.

To learn more about what makes us different click here.

The Family’s Journey with Renewal Lodge

Above all else, Renewal Lodge is a Family Program.

Understanding the family’s journey through addiction and mental health is critical to the success of our program, and a key component to sustainable, long-term recovery. Our commitment to family is to embrace their unique experience and provide customized education, resources, and onsite services that help integrate the client’s loved ones into the treatment and aftercare process.

We do this because it works!

Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.

~Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati
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Dear Renewal Lodge Visitors,

My name is John Bruna, co-founder of the Mindfulness in Recovery® Institute, and more importantly, a grateful member of the recovery community. I am incredibly fortunate to have found my recovery in 1984. Of course, I did not achieve continuous recovery through willpower or my own efforts, but through the guidance and caring support of countless others that selflessly taught me how to live through the 12 Steps.

My journey of recovery brought this once homeless, shame-based, traumatized, insecure young man to a life far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I discovered self-worth, the joy of helping others, the gifts of parenting and grandparenting, and most importantly the ability to live a meaningful and purposeful life with integrity.

One of the greatest gifts of recovery is that I have the opportunity to give back and help others discover their self-worth, dignity, and the skills to fully live lives that they find truly meaningful. This is the inspiration for developing the skills of Mindfulness in Recovery® (MIR) to meet the needs of new generations struggling with alcohol and other substance use disorders. MIR is a set of evidence-based skills designed to help people fully integrate their tools of recovery in ways that are personalized, practical, and in alignment with their deepest values.

While we train counselors and therapists throughout the United States and abroad, I personally have chosen to work directly with the amazing team and clients at Renewal Lodge to develop the model MIR 12-step program for the nation. I choose Renewal Lodge because of the vision of its mission and the dedication of its team. Renewal Lodge is an extremely rare environment in which the staff embodies the very mindfulness and 12-step practices and skills they offer their clients. The results have been beyond my expectations. It is an honor to be here and I treasure my personal time with every client I meet.

With Gratitude,

John Bruna
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John Bruna
Director of Mindfulness
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