Addiction treatment often overlooks trauma. That’s a major hurdle in stopping the overdose crisis
Research shows that treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other symptoms of a traumatic experience also helps people with their substance use, likely because most people use drugs as a way to self-medicate or cope with stressors or overwhelming emotions — like those accompanying trauma, said Dr. Denise Hien, the director of the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “Our messaging around it is… we have to get you to face the feelings and realize that you can live through them and you can heal,” Hien told Salon in a phone interview. “When we do that, it’s amazing what happens to people in their transformation, and they stop using substances or reduce how much they are using.” In one randomized control trial, clinicians assigned people with these co-occurring conditions to receive one of the standard treatment models for trauma called prolonged exposure, in which physicians review the traumatic event with patients in a structured manner to help them regain autonomy over it, in addition to relapse prevention therapy and relapse prevention therapy alone. The group that received both had significantly improved mental health symptoms compared to the control group of people that received relapse prevention therapy only.
Read more