Dual diagnosis is when one or more mental health issues affect an individual simultaneously. In many cases, trauma is the common thread in many dual diagnoses. Dual diagnosis treatment centers offer support for people living with dual diagnoses that include trauma. For people living with mental health issues and trauma concurrently, it’s important to address both issues at the same time. This way, people who deal with these issues can find and utilize helpful tools that not only help them manage symptoms of trauma but other mental health issues as well. And, identify how trauma plays a part in their concurring mental health issues to gain lasting and sustainable healing.

Trauma Influences Mental Health Issues

Research concludes that almost all people who live with mental health illnesses have been exposed to traumatic experiences in their lifetimes. And, people who have dealt with trauma and are misdiagnosed when it comes to mental health have a reduced chance of finding effective mental health treatment. So, it’s incredibly important that people who have dealt with trauma and have mental health issues find help that addresses not only their mental health diagnoses but their trauma as well.

Examples of Trauma

Trauma comes in many shapes and forms. It can happen during childhood, early adulthood, or adulthood. No matter when or where a person experiences a traumatic event, experiencing trauma increases a person’s likelihood of developing a mental health issue. Some examples of traumatic events include:

• sudden loss of a loved one or loved ones
• surviving a natural disaster
• witnessing extreme violence
• being the victim of criminal activity (theft, assault, etc.)
• being diagnosed with life-altering illnesses or injuries
• experiencing childhood neglect
• suffering from abuse (sexual, emotional, or physical)
• war combat

It’s important to note that trauma may impact different individuals differently. Since trauma can include one singular event or a lifetime of traumatic events, not everyone responds to traumatic events the same way. So, there are people who deal with trauma and don’t develop mental health issues as a result. Or, there are people who experience trauma and develop trauma-related mental health issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And, finally, some people who experience trauma may develop other mental health issues as a result of trauma’s effect on mental health. For example, some people who experience trauma may develop anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, etc.

Getting Help for Trauma and Co-occurring Disorders

It’s imperative that people living with the effects of trauma along with other mental health diagnoses get care that is not linear. This means getting help from a dual diagnosis treatment center that provides treatment services that address both the impacts of trauma and concurring mental health disorders.

Trauma-informed treatment is mental health care that takes an approach that understands how trauma can impact mental health, adjusts treatment perspectives and approaches according to traumatic experiences, and shifts expectations for treatment outcomes based on the role of trauma in mental health services.

Yellowbrick understands that people living with trauma and other concurring mental health issues need specific care that takes into account the traumatic experience and how it may alter the treatment experience. Find out more about how we help people who have lived through traumatic experiences and also have been diagnosed with other mental health issues from our website.