Practical Considerations for Treating Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Addictions Clinic

A practical, common-sense framework for recognizing and addressing comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the substance use disorder (SUD) clinic is outlined. The article focuses on strategies that can help establish trauma-informed care or augment an existing approach. Interventions are organized around the task of ameliorating shame (or shame sensitivity), which represents a transdiagnostic mediator of psychopathology and, potentially, capacity for change. Countershaming strategies can guide a trauma-responsive leadership approach. Considering the striking rate of underdiagnosis of PTSD among patients with SUD, implementing routine systematic PTSD screening likely represents the single most consequential trauma-informed intervention that SUD clinics can adopt.

Source: The Psychiatric Clinics of North America - August 31, 2022 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Benjamin Israel, Alicia E. Wiprovnick, Annabelle M. Belcher, Mary B. Kleinman, Avinash Ramprashad, Max Spaderna, Eric Weintraub Source Type: research