In memory
Sean O’Keeffe, “Anyone’s Brother”
A family’s story of a much-loved 28-year-old who died after years of complex needs the services were ill-equipped to support.
Mental Health & Addiction · Ireland
Two problems.
Two problems.
One person. One recovery.
“Dual Diagnosis” is when someone lives with both a substance addiction and another mental health issue, such as depression or anxiety. We believe that if you don’t treat both together, you can’t beat either.
Since 2008
Volunteer-led. No paid staff. Every cost tied directly to our aims.
37%
of people who abuse alcohol also have a serious mental illness (American Medical Association)
53%
of people who abuse drugs also have a serious mental illness
75%
of drug-service users experienced mental health problems (UK Dept. of Health)
€200m+
estimated yearly cost of keeping people with a dual diagnosis incarcerated in Ireland
The treatment gap
Caught between two services that won’t treat you together
Most mental health services and addiction treatment centres in Ireland are not organised to treat people holistically. If you struggle to abstain from alcohol because of anxiety, you can’t enter most residential drug services — they insist you must be “dry” before entry. Yet you can’t get your anxiety treated until your addiction has been addressed.
It becomes a chicken-and-egg situation, and people fall through the gap between the two systems — again and again.
Despite the scale of the problem, there is still little awareness of it in Ireland. Our aim is to change that — so people get the right kind of treatment at the first time of asking.
What we do
Raising awareness, supporting change
A small, volunteer-led charity working to improve services for people with a dual diagnosis — and the families who love them.
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Awareness
Media briefings across press, radio and TV, advertising campaigns, and events that put dual diagnosis on the national agenda.
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Connection
A communication network for people interested in or affected by dual diagnosis, plus help finding the right service.
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Advocacy
Submissions to Government departments and participation in political campaigns to push for integrated, joined-up care.
Dual diagnosis is an artificial problem, created by healthcare design and made worse by stigma. — The case Dual Diagnosis Ireland has made to clinicians and policymakers
Personal Stories
Behind every statistic is a person, and a family
Real accounts — some shared by grieving families — of what happens when the system has nowhere to put someone with both an addiction and a mental illness.
In memory
Caoilte O’Broin, “Anyone’s Brother”
His family were told nothing could be done to help him “because he drank heavily.” The help never arrived in time.
Help us close the gap
Everything we do is led by volunteers
We have no paid employees and no overheads — every cost relates directly to our aims. If you’d like to help, with a donation or your time, we’d love to hear from you.