Keramefs Panagiotis, MSc, BA Psychologist
Contact details: keramefs@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Dual diagnosis, or else coexisting drug and mental health problems, remains a field that requires further understanding. The causes of dual diagnosis are multiple and uncertain, the definition has the experts disagreeing and the therapeutic approach seems to have no positive results so far and it still remains under consideration. The aim of this study is to reveal drug users assumptions concerning the dual diagnosis identity, to understand their definition of the phenomenon and to address issues of its management from addictions intergroup subjects. The data was collected through focus group interview, focusing in the dual diagnosis identity perceptions, the discrimination and prejudices that dually diagnosed individuals may have to face with and in the group interactions. Thematic analysis was used to process the results. The study revealed that participants in the focus group focused mainly in the psychopathology of dual diagnosis and on drug prescription from psychiatrists, which they perceive as legal drug use. The study also reveals that non-dually diagnosed drug users perceive their ingroup as being different and hierarchically superior to the dually diagnosed drug users group, especially in relation to rehabilitation options and possibilities. They also refer to dual stigma and to their prejudices and difficulties they face when interacting with the dual diagnosis group.
Key words: Dual diagnosis, Intergroup relations, Social identity, Double stigma.
