Dual diagnosis is a term used when an individual is grappling with both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse issue concurrently. This condition presents a unique set of challenges as both issues often fuel each other, making it harder to tackle either in isolation.
In the context of adolescence, the complexity of dual diagnosis significantly escalates. Research shows that 30% – 45% of teenagers and young adults with mental health disorders also struggle with substance abuse. These individuals are not only grappling with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, but they are simultaneously engaged in a battle against substance misuse.
Continue learning more about substance abuse in adolescents and it’s signs, risk factors and treatment options.
Co-occurring disorders, or dual diagnosis, is a term used in adolescent health care to describe a situation where a teenager is simultaneously dealing with a mental health disorder and a substance abuse problem. Teens with substance abuse disorder frequently present with co-occurring disorders such as:
The challenges of treating these dual diagnoses are unique, as each disorder can amplify the other, complicating treatment and recovery. Recognizing these common co-occurring disorders and developing comprehensive, multi-faceted treatment strategies are essential in addressing adolescent health concerns.
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Identifying substance use in teenagers can be challenging, given the typical behavioral changes that occur during adolescence. However, there are several telltale signs to look out for. These may include:
Marijuana, a substance commonly used by teenagers, is known to potentially lead to reduced motivation or ambition. For further understanding, it is beneficial to delve deeper into the effects of marijuana on teens. It’s important to remember that these signs may also indicate other issues, so professional consultation is vital for accurate diagnosis.
Beyond behavioral signs, there are physical and psychological signs that can indicate substance use in teenagers. Some of these can include:
Recognizing the complex nature of dual diagnosis, at Massachusetts Center for Adolescent Wellness, we adopt a comprehensive, holistic approach to treatment tailored to teens needs. Our professionals are trained to identify and recommend the treatment program option that will be most effective for your adolescent’s dual diagnosis.
We offer individual and group counseling, with an emphasis on family involvement as our dedicated team of professionals works tirelessly to provide adolescents with the support they need to overcome their challenges and lead fulfilling, healthy lives. If your teen is struggling with a dual diagnosis, contact us at Massachusetts Center for Adolescent Wellness today.
Melanie Carbonneau is the Clinical Director at Massachusetts Center for Adolescent Wellness and is a licensed counselor and certified music therapist with a Ph.D. from Lesley University. She leads MCAW with a focus on holistic care, emphasizing the importance of family and community involvement in the healing process.
230 Broadway
Suite 201
Lynnfield, MA
01940
Massachusetts Center For Adolescent Wellness
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to