From people who recovered here
Our Dual Diagnosis Treatment Reviews
Walking through those doors the first day, my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Alcohol destroyed my relationships and left me completely isolated. Thankfully, the counselors here actually listened instead of lecturing. Sitting in these exact group circles changed everything for me. Hearing other people share their raw, real struggles made the loneliness disappear. Celebrating six months sober today. This place gives you your life back.
Coming here felt like a massive leap into the unknown, especially dealing with all that shame I carried around. The team at Ascend Recovery Center didn't treat me like a problem to be solved, but a person worth helping. There were days I wanted to pack my bags and bolt, but the support here kept me grounded. Now, I actually wake up without that weight on my chest. It's hard to put into words, but this place truly changed my trajectory.
Had an amazing experience here, one of the most personable groups of people to come to for recovery and truly helped me with developing the tools necessary to start my recovery. Did the 10 day detox and got exactly what I wanted out of the experience: healthy nutrition, great groups, and even your own personal TV in the rooms to help pass the time. If you're serious about your recovery and want a wholesome, worthwhile and safe place to do it, I recommend coming here.
Levels of care
Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs
Ascend Recovery Center treats co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions across a full continuum of care in one Albuquerque building, so clients move between levels while keeping the same team and the same integrated plan.
01Medical Detox
Medical detox comes first when substances must be cleared safely before integrated dual diagnosis work can begin, with licensed practical nurses on site 24 hours a day. Clearing the substance also lets the clinical team see which mental health symptoms are truly underlying rather than driven by withdrawal.
02Inpatient Rehab (Residential)
Residential treatment provides structured live-in care that treats the substance use disorder and the mental health condition together while clients stabilize. Round-the-clock support keeps clients safe during the period when co-occurring symptoms and cravings tend to be strongest.
03Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
A partial hospitalization program delivers full clinical days of integrated therapy and psychiatric care while clients return home each evening. It keeps both conditions in view as the plan steps down from residential intensity and clients begin rebuilding daily routines.
04Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
An intensive outpatient program offers several clinical hours a few days a week, so clients can return to work, school, and family while keeping coordinated care for both conditions. Group and individual sessions sustain the CBT and DBT skills that dual diagnosis recovery relies on.
05Outpatient Rehab
Outpatient care provides lighter ongoing support, continued medication coordination where appropriate, and relapse-prevention planning across both conditions. It keeps clients connected to the same clinical team as symptoms stabilize over the months ahead.
Why choose Ascend
Why Choose Ascend for Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
Joint Commission accredited and licensed in New Mexico, Ascend offers every level of care under one roof in Albuquerque, with 24/7 nursing in detox and residential care and admissions handled in one confidential call.
Treatment timeline
What to Expect During Dual Diagnosis Treatment at Ascend?
1. Integrated evaluation of both conditions
Care begins with a thorough assessment that looks at the mental health and substance use sides together, using standardized screenings and a full biopsychosocial history to build one plan.
2. Medical detox and residential when needed
When substances must be cleared safely first, medically supervised detox with 24/7 LPN nursing comes before structured residential or mental health residential care.
3. Day treatment and intensive outpatient
As both conditions stabilize, care steps down to Day Treatment and IOP, with therapy and any medication kept coordinated by the same team.
4. Outpatient and relapse prevention
Lighter outpatient support, continued coordination of medication where appropriate, and relapse-prevention planning help protect progress on both sides over the long term.
A place built for recovery
Take a Tour of Our Albuquerque Facility
A calm, private setting designed for healing, from medical detox through outpatient care.
How admissions works
Our Dual Diagnosis Admission Process
Call our confidential line
One conversation covers a first screening, insurance verification, and scheduling. Support begins with the first call, and nothing shared is used against the person who reaches out.
Clinical assessment
Evidence-based screenings, including PHQ-9, GAD-7, the Columbia Suicide Screening, and an ASAM level-of-care assessment, match each client to the right program.
The right level of care
If medically supervised detox is needed, the team coordinates a safe arrival with 24/7 nursing. If an outpatient level fits, care starts there instead.
Start treatment
Once a plan and coverage are confirmed, treatment begins, with therapy and medication where appropriate carrying through each level of care.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment Led by Licensed Clinicians at Ascend
Ascend is led by an experienced behavioral health team focused on quality care and strong outcomes.
Know the signs
What are the common signs of a co-occurring disorder?
No single sign confirms a substance use disorder, but a cluster over time is worth a professional conversation.
Using substances to manage symptoms
Reaching for alcohol or other substances to quiet anxiety, low mood, racing thoughts, or painful memories.
Escalating use over time
Needing more over time to get the same relief, alongside ongoing mood, sleep, or attention problems.
Symptoms worsen with use or withdrawal
Mental health symptoms that clearly intensify during periods of use or during withdrawal.
Hard to separate the two conditions
Difficulty telling which condition came first, because the two are so closely linked.
A reinforcing cycle
Substance use and emotional distress repeatedly triggering one another in a loop that neither side resolves alone.
Both conditions return after partial care
Past treatment that addressed only the addiction or only the mental health condition, followed by a return of both.
By the numbers
Co-Occurring Disorder Statistics in New Mexico
For families
How to help a loved one with a co-occurring disorder
Recognize the signs
Tolerance, withdrawal, failed attempts to cut back, and use that continues despite harm are all worth paying attention to. A cluster of signs over time matters more than any one.
Start the conversation
Choose a calm, private moment. Lead with care and specific observations rather than blame, listen more than lecture, and offer a concrete next step.
Avoid harmful approaches
Skip shaming and ultimatums delivered in anger, and never encourage a person to stop a substance abruptly on their own, since some withdrawals are dangerous.
Connect them with care
One confidential call to Ascend covers education, options, and insurance. In a crisis, call 911, or call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Insurance
Addiction Treatment Insurance Providers We Work with in Albuquerque, NM
Benefits are verified before a client commits, at no cost and no obligation.
Where we serve
Dual Diagnosis Services Across Albuquerque & New Mexico
Ascend Recovery Center treats co-occurring substance use and mental health conditions at its Albuquerque campus, serving clients from across New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe. Care runs on site through every level and extends by telehealth, coordinated in one confidential call.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment FAQs
What is a dual diagnosis?
Why treat both conditions at once?
What assessments does Ascend use?
What therapies are used in dual diagnosis treatment?
Can I get medication as part of dual diagnosis care?
Does Ascend treat mental health as the primary condition?
What levels of care are available for dual diagnosis?
Does insurance cover dual diagnosis treatment?
Treat the whole picture, not half of it
Our admissions team can talk through both the mental health and substance use sides and, when appropriate, arrange a confidential assessment. One call handles the assessment, insurance verification, and scheduling.