Treating Addicted Survivors of Trauma

Book excerpt: This book uses composite clinical examples and the authors' own practical experience to demonstrate how to treat addicted survivors of trauma and abuse. By integrating mental health paradigms with disease models of addiction, and combining psychotherapeutic techniques with 12-step recovery practices, the authors present an easy-to-replicate model for assessment and treatment. They provide an overview of the various types and resulting effects of childhood abuse and other traumas, and then describe the disease of addiction and its treatment. Simultaneously addressing both addiction and survivor issues, the book describes ways to identify and assess substance-dependent survivors, and organize, direct, and plan their treatment. In addition, it provides specific strategies for working with significant others, adolescents, and individuals who also exhibit antisocial, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorders. This book is aimed at psychologists, chemical dependency counselors, social workers, and family therapists.