Concurrent Treatment of Substance Use and PTSD

• Published in: Current psychiatry reports Vol. 18; no. 8; p. 70
• Main Authors: Flanagan, Julianne C., Korte, Kristina J., Killeen, Therese K., Back, Sudie E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma; Drug use; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatry; PTSD; Related Disorders; Related Disorders (E Foa and A Asnaani; Section Editors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - complications; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy; Substance-Related Disorders - complications; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; Topical Collection on Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma; Treatment Outcome; Substance use disorders; Clinical trials; Integrated intervention; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Addiction
• ISSN: 1523-3812; 1535-1645
• DOI: 10.1007/s11920-016-0709-y

Substance use disorders (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are chronic, debilitating conditions that frequently co-occur. Individuals with co-occurring SUD and PTSD suffer a more complicated course of treatment and less favorable treatment outcomes compared to individuals with either disorder alone. The development of effective psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for co-occurring SUD and PTSD is an active and critically important area of investigation. Several integrated psychosocial treatments for co-occurring SUD and PTSD have demonstrated promising outcomes. While recent studies examining medications to treat co-occurring SUD and PTSD have yielded encouraging findings, there remain substantial gaps in the evidence base regarding the treatment of co-occurring SUD and PTSD. This review will summarize the findings from clinical trials targeting a reduction in SUD and PTSD symptoms simultaneously. These results may improve our knowledge base and subsequently enhance our ability to develop effective interventions for this complex comorbid condition.