Clinicians' Views on Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance use Disorder

• NCJ Number: 196133
• Journal: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 79-85
• Author(s): Lisa M. Najavits Ph.D.
• Editor(s): A. Thomas McLellan Ph.D.
• Date Published: March 2002
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): RO1 DA-08631; K02 DA-00400; R21 AA-12181
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services; Mercy Hospital and Medical Ctr
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research Paper
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier draft of portions of this paper was presented to "Treating Women's Addictions: Research Confronts Reality" held October 2 and 3, 2000 at Broome Community College, New York.

Annotation

This article reviews clinician’s information regarding the treatment challenge presented by patients with a dual diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse.

Abstract

The authors studied the clinical difficulties encountered by professionals treating patients with a dual diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse disorder (SUD). Data were gathered from 147 clinicians. Information was gathered via interviews designed to develop information concerning perceived degree of difficulty of treatment, professional gratification derived from treatment of patients with a dual diagnosis, the clinicians personal characteristics, and the clinicians professional data. The difficulty measure included client self-destructiveness, case management needs, care dependency, domestic violence, de-escalation of conflict needs, setting appropriate boundaries, exposure to painful details of a client’s trauma, client’s sadness, HIV/AIDS care and counseling needs, countertransference, and clinicians confusions as to how best to treat the client. Specific gratification measures included teaching coping skills, developing expertise, helping clients attain chemical abstinence, obtaining personal insight, listening to trauma histories, and serving as a parental figure. The data indicated that clinicians found treatment of the dual diagnosis to be more difficult than treatment of either disorder in isolation, but, in general gratification was perceived to be higher than the degree of difficulty. 3 tables, 21 references