This new definition is the product of a year-long effort by SAMHSA (together with a wide range of partners in the behavioral health care community and other fields) to develop a working definition of recovery that captures the common experiences of those recovering from mental disorders and substance use disorders, along with major guiding principles that support the recovery definition.

“Over the years it has become increasingly apparent that a practical, comprehensive working definition of recovery would enable policy makers, providers, and others to better design, deliver, and measure integrated and holistic services to those in need,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. ”By working with all elements of the behavioral health community and others to develop this definition, I believe SAMHSA has achieved a significant milestone in promoting greater public awareness and appreciation for the importance of recovery, and widespread support for the services that can make it a reality for millions of Americans.”

For more information, visit the SAMHSA website at www.samhsa.gov or click here to view the news release online.

Because the symptoms a person with dual diagnosis has are identified in two parts, it’s sometimes common for one diagnosis to be missed; the symptoms associated with any major psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder or personality disorder are often identified first, while the issues associated with abuse of alcohol and other drugs are identified last.

Symptoms of Dual Diagnosis

• Significant impairment or distress resulting from substance abuse
• Failure to fulfill roles at work, home or school
• Persistent substance abuse in physically hazardous situations
• Continued substance abuse despite relationship or financial problems

Drug and/or alcohol abuse may or may not involve physiological dependence or tolerance.  The symptoms that do indicate dependency or addiction are as follows:

• Compulsion and preoccupation with obtaining a drug or drugs
• Loss of control over use
• Continued use despite negative consequences
• Tendency for relapse after period of abstinence
• Drug induced behavior (aggression, irritability, changes in thinking or mood)
• Increased tolerance and withdrawal

Oftentimes, a person with dual diagnosis experiences more severe and chronic medical, social and emotional problems than if they were to have just one diagnosis. They’re more susceptible not only to alcohol and/or drug relapse but also a relapse of their mental health problems.

The evidence that people with mental health illness are more likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs, or that those who abuse alcohol and other drugs are more likely to develop some form of mental health illness, indicates that the causes of psychiatric illness and drug and alcohol abuse are complex. This conclusion is best outlined in the statements below:

• Drug use can cause psychiatric symptoms and mimic psychiatric syndromes
• Drug use can initiate or worsen a psychiatric disorder
• Drug use can mask psychiatric symptoms and syndromes
• Drug withdrawal can cause psychiatric symptoms and mimic psychiatric disorders
• Psychiatric behaviors can mimic drug use problems
• Drug and alcohol abuse can make side effects from medication worse and more likely to occur

Treatment Options at Rose Hill

The term dual diagnosis is also used to refer to people with both a mental health illness and an intellectual disability. At Rose Hill, treatment options for those with a primary diagnosis of mental illness include a range of medication and both cognitive and behavioral programs, such as the Residential Rehabilitation Program, which is designed to help patients struggling with mental illness regain psychiatric stability. The program is built around a multi-stage format that allows staff and patient to work together to create and then follow a customized treatment plan. Based on this plan, patients may participate in one or more of the therapy options offered at Rose Hill, including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).

DBT is a therapeutic methodology that is used primarily to treat patients with borderline personality disorder, although it can be applied to other types of psychiatric conditions. DBT combines behavioral techniques, cognitive therapy and acceptance to provide skills which help a patient regulate their emotions, tolerate stress and have meaningful interpersonal relationships.

Other therapy options include:  Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Group Therapy, and Individual Mental Health Counseling.

Treatment for people with dual diagnosis may be more effective if the two diagnoses are treated at the same time as the two are often related.  It has been recommended that during treatment administration, both conditions be regarded as primary without one being seen as the cause of the other.

In our residential setting we can focus the time and attention on finding the most effective treatment options for each individual so they can learn to manage their symptoms, achieve their highest level of independence and go on to lead rewarding lives.

Information provided by the Mental Health Association NSW, Inc.

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• Total withdrawal from family, friends and colleagues
• Fear of leaving home; refusing to go to school
• Significant changes in eating and/or sleeping patterns
• Extreme changes in mood variation
• Deteriorating performance at work or school
• Hearing voices or seeing things that no one else can hear or see
• Believing their thoughts are being interfered with by someone or something external
• Spending extravagant/unrealistic amounts of money or talking about unrealistic business/investment ideas
• Believing people are plotting against them
• Believing they have special powers or thinking they are famous or religious political figures

How can Rose Hill help?

If you think your loved one may have a mental illness, it’s important for them to seek help.  Rose Hill Center, a mental health center in Holly, MI, offers extended residential rehabilitation along with therapy programs designed to help adults with mental illness regain control of their lives.  Rose Hill’s residential setting allows staff to focus time and attention on finding the most effective medication and dosage for each individual. By combining pharmacological treatment with an intense therapeutic rehabilitation program, Rose Hill is able to assist individuals in achieving and maintaining psychiatric stability and their highest level of independence.

If you are interested in pursuing treatment at Rose Hill Center, or if you have questions about the program, please visit the Admission Process page or contact us toll-free at (866) 504-2259.

Information provided by the Mental Health Association NSW, Inc. (http://www.mentalhealth.asn.au/)

Symptoms of Schizophrenia:

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Disordered Thinking
• Flat or Inappropriate Feelings or Emotions
• Cognitive Impairment
• Withdrawal
• Loss of Motivation

The cause of schizophrenia has yet to be clearly defined, however, the most likely cause is a combination of factors, including: genetics, a biochemical imbalance in the brain, environmental stressors or drug use.

Medication has proven to be a very effective schizophrenia treatment; however, side effects can be problematic if not properly administered. At Rose Hill Center, time and attention can be the difference between success and failure. In our residential setting we focus on finding the most effective medication and dosage for each individual.  Our clinical staff works with patients to develop an individualized treatment plan while providing medication management and daily monitoring.  All medical needs are carefully evaluated by an RN, and a skilled trained support staff is available 24/7.

At Rose Hill, we believe that recovery can take place when people receive professional psychiatric care, participate in meaningful daily activity, develop mutually supportive relationships, and engage in their own mental health treatment program.

And with therapy and intervention, patients take an active part in learning to manage their mental health illness.

How You Can Help:

• Learn more about the illness
• Provide your loved one with ongoing love and support
• Encourage your loved one to comply with treatment plan
• Be realistic about what your loved one may be able to achieve and praise small steps towards progress

Information provided by the Mental Health Association NSW, Inc. (http://www.mentalhealth.asn.au/)

Symptoms of Depression
The symptoms and the severity of feelings of depression may be different for each person, however, most people exhibit one or more of the following:

• Eating too much or too little
• Headaches, digestive disorders or nausea
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
• Thoughts of suicide or feelings of wanting to escape from the way one is feeling
• Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
• Excessive crying
• Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, isolation, helplessness and hopelessness
• Loss of interest in daily activities, a lack of energy and/or loss of sex drive
• Restlessness, agitation and irritability
• Sleeping too much or too little

If you’re concerned that you or someone you know may be experiencing symptoms of depression, it’s important to become knowledgeable about the disease and seek out the best possible treatment options, such as medications, counseling, alternative therapies, and behavioral and lifestyle changes. If treatment is required, discuss the options with a mental health professional and decide on a treatment program that’s right for you.

Also, keep in mind that depression is not your fault and it can be treated and managed effectively.

Information provided by the Mental Health Association NSW, Inc. (http://www.mentalhealth.asn.au/)

As a loved one changes right before their eyes, family members may begin to feel like they don’t even know this person anymore and they can’t understand what is happening. They lurch from crisis to crisis, spending time, money and emotional energy trying to help a sick family member who often does not recognize the mental illness or want to be “helped”. The family finds it cannot celebrate like it used to, and family gatherings are dreaded out of fear that some disaster may happen.

Even today, in our sophisticated culture, there is a stigma about admitting that someone in the family has a serious mental illness. And yet, all through the maze of hospitalizations, medications, and mental illness treatment programs; throughout encouraging years and discouraging seasons; during good days and bad, through highs and lows, the serious mental illness is always there…for everyone in the family.

So, what can your family do when someone has a serious mental illness? First, seek out the many support groups that are available to help cope with and understand this very perplexing illness. And then persevere until you find the mental illness treatment program that your loved one needs and deserves. Of course, Rose Hill Center provides a highly effective residential mental illness treatment program and a list of other residential mental illness treatment programs can be found on the Resources page of Rose Hill’s website or at www.artausa.org.

Rose Hill Center is one of only a handful of similar mental health treatment centers in the country, and it is heralded as a leading provider of comprehensive mental health treatment programs.

The goal for our mental health treatment center is simple — to assist individuals in achieving and maintaining psychiatric stability and their highest level of independence. This takes highly personalized care and an individualized treatment plan so that each patient can accomplish his/her own goals.

Click on the “Tour Rose Hill Center” button located on the right sidebar of this page to view pictures of our campus.  And the next time you hear the term “mental health treatment centers” it is our hope that this image will come to mind: Rose Hill Center, a mental health treatment center where people can achieve improved mental health in a setting that is home-like, peaceful, serene, compassionate, dignified…and effective.  Contact us today to learn more about Rose Hill Center and how we can be of service to you or a loved one.

But, unlike other illnesses with standardized treatment protocols, no two people experience mental illness in the same way. For this reason, each patient must create an Individualized Treatment Plan that is customized to meet his or her specific needs. Together, patient and staff set goals, evaluate progress and, when indicated, make adjustments to the treatment.

The highly effective, therapeutic residential treatment program at Rose Hill offers patients the tools they need to manage symptoms of mental illness and provides them with the support to do so.

Learn more about our mental health treatment plans and view some of our patient testimonials.

When we opened Rose Hill in 1992, we were convinced that with the proper treatment, people with serious mental illness could improve and recover. And over the years, our conviction has proven to be true time and time again.

Now, the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has this to say: “In the past 10 to 20 years, there has been a fundamental change in the way mental illnesses are viewed and treated. Simply put, we now know that people can improve and recover from even the most serious mental illnesses.” ¹

We are proud that Rose Hill has been an important catalyst for this new enlightened view of serious mental illness. With studies showing that one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, there is clearly a need for the treatment Rose Hill provides.

And yet, the 2010 Study on Mental Health Care in Michigan² funded by the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation, a foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with mental illness, listed some alarming facts: “In Michigan, almost two million adults experience a mental disorder each year, and almost 450,000 adults live with a serious mental illness…Even with such large numbers of persons experiencing some form of mental illness, only one-third of adults needing treatment receive it in a given year.”

That…is…startling!

The report cites stigma as a barrier to seeking treatment, but points to cost as the primary barrier. This comprehensive, 65-page report concludes by saying: “Efforts must be continued to create a uniform system of quality prevention and treatment programs that have sufficient funding mechanisms in order to further improve the quality of life for persons with mental illness.”

Rose Hill stands willing, ready and able to provide much-needed treatment and rehabilitation to adults with serious mental illness.
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1 samhsa.hhs.gov
2 flinnfoundation.org