Seeking Safety A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse

by Najavits, Lisa M.

• ISBN13: 9781572306394
• ISBN10: 1572306394
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-14
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This manual presents the most widely adopted evidence-based treatment for co-occurring trauma and addiction. For clients facing one or both of these issues, the most urgent clinical need is to establish safety--to reduce addictive behavior, build healthy relationships, manage symptoms such as dissociation and self-harm, and restore ideals that have been lost. Seeking Safety focuses on coping skills in the present; it can be implemented with individuals or groups, by any provider as well as by peers. It offers 25 topics, such as Asking for Help, Taking Good Care of Yourself, Setting Boundaries in Relationships, Healing from Anger, Honesty, and Coping with Triggers. The model is highly flexible, practical, and engaging, and can be conducted with any other treatment, including the author's past-focused model, Creating Change. The book has a large-size format and features reproducible client handouts that can be photocopied or downloaded.

See also Creating Change: A Past-Focused Treatment for Trauma and Addiction, and the self-help guide Finding Your Best Self, Revised Edition: Recovery from Addiction, Trauma, or Both, an ideal client recommendation.

Author Biography

Lisa M. Najavits, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Trauma Research Program in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program of McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts. The author of over 60 professional publications, Dr. Najavits was awarded the Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in 1997, and the Early Career Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research in 1998. She is past president of the New England Society for Behavior Analysis and Therapy and has served on the advisory boards of several professional journals. Dr. Najavits' research has been funded by four National Institutes of Health research grants, including an Independent Scientist Career Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She is a licensed psychologist, a psychotherapy supervisor, and a practicing psychotherapist.

short version used on book cover:
Lisa M. Najavits, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Trauma Research Program in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program of McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts. A noted researcher and the author of over 60 professional publications, Dr. Najavits is a licensed psychologist, a psychotherapy supervisor, and a practicing psychotherapist.

Table of Contents

Overview	1	(22)
PTSD and Substance Abuse	1	(3)
This Treatment	4	(1)
Principles of Seeking Safety	5	(10)
How the Treatment Was Developed	15	(2)
Empirical Results	17	(2)
How Seeking Safety Differs from Existing Treatments	19	(2)
One Patient's Experience of PTSD and Substance Abuse	21	(2)
Conducting the Treatment	23	(356)
The Treatment Format	23	(3)
Adapting Seeking Safety to Different Contexts	26	(2)
Preparation	28	(1)
Process	29	(3)
Conducting the Session	32	(12)
Treatment Guidelines	44	(5)
Problem Situations and Emergencies	49	(3)
Checklist before Beginning the Treatment	52	(1)
Materials for All Sessions	52	(13)
TREATMENT TOPICS
Introduction to Treatment/Case Management	65	(29)
Safety	94	(16)
PTSD: Taking Back Your Power	110	(15)
Detaching from Emotional Pain (Grounding)	125	(12)
When Substances Control You	137	(27)
Asking for Help	164	(10)
Taking Good Care of Yourself	174	(8)
Compassion	182	(7)
Red and Green Flags	189	(10)
Honesty	199	(9)
Recovery Thinking	208	(15)
Integrating the Split Self	223	(8)
Commitment	231	(9)
Creating Meaning	240	(10)
Community Resources	250	(15)
Setting Boundaries in Relationships	265	(17)
Discovery	282	(11)
Getting Others to Support Your Recovery	293	(15)
Coping with Triggers	308	(9)
Respecting Your Time	317	(11)
Healthy Relationships	328	(9)
Self-Nurturing	337	(8)
Healing from Anger	345	(17)
The Life Choices Game (Review)	362	(7)
Termination	369	(10)
References	379	(12)
Index	391	(10)
About the Author	401