Improvement of Trauma Symptoms in a Male Dual-Diagnosis Outpatient Treatment

Traditionally, treatment aimed at helping those with both trauma related symptoms and substance abuse issues has first addressed the substance-related issues and then, after the client obtains abstinence, provided treatment to address the trauma-related issues. A more recent trend, the ‘traumaddiction’ model, suggests that psychological trauma and substance abuse can and should be treated concurrently. Support for this simultaneous treatment model has largely been limited to research in residential treatment settings. The current study set out to determine whether the integration of therapy for both trauma and substance abuse can be effective in an outpatient treatment setting as well. Specifically, parallel with past research, exposure therapy and psycho-education using the traumaddiction model was administered in an outpatient dual-diagnosis treatment setting with adult males. The participants (mean age = 47.5, SD = 6.29.) completed the Trauma Symptom Inventory-Adult Form at pretreatment and again after a course of therapy (60-90 days). Significant improvement was noted in three of 11 scales (Atypical Response, Anger Irritability, and Tension Reduction Behavior) suggesting that clinically significant trauma symptom improvement can result from simultaneous treatment of substance abuse and trauma disorders.