For the past decade, author Tian Dayton has been researching trauma and addiction, and how psychodrama (or sociometry group psychotherapy) can be used in their treatment. Since trauma responses are stored in the body, a method of therapy that engages the body through role play can be more effective in accessing the full complement of trauma-related memories. This latest book identifies the interconnection of trauma and addictive behavior, and shows why they can become an unending cycle. Emotional and psychological pain so often lead to self-medicating, which leads to more pain, and inevitably more self-medicating, and so on--ad infinitum. This groundbreaking book offers readers effective ways to work through their traumas in order to heal their addictions and their predilection toward what clinicians call self-medicating (the abuse of substances [alcohol, drugs, food], activities [work, sex, gambling, etc.] and/or possessions [money, material things].) Readers caught up in the endless cycle of trauma and addiction will permanently transform their lives by reading this book. Therapists treating patients for whom no other avenue of therapy has proved effective will find that this book offers practical, lasting solutions. Case studies and examples of this behavioral phenomenon will illustrate the connection, helping readers understand its dynamics, recognize their own situations and realize that they are not alone in experiencing this syndrome. The author deftly combines the longstanding trauma theories of Van der Kolk, Herman, Bowlby, Krystal and others with her own experiential methods using psychodrama, sociometry and group therapy in the treatment of addiction and posttraumatic stress disorder. While designed to be useful to therapists, this book will also be accessible to trade readers. It includes comprehensive references, as well as a complete index.

Trauma and Substance Abuse explores the underrecognized connection between trauma, substance use, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients with trauma related distress such as PTSD often have comorbid substance use disorders (SUDs). This book presents cutting-edge research on how often the two disorders co-occur and why. Authors describe models of comorbidity and explore how specific PTSD and substance use symptoms are functionally related to each other. In addition, they suggest assessment approaches and practice guidelines to facilitate proper diagnosis and treatment. Particularly valuable are descriptions of several new treatment approaches that have been developed specifically for PTSD-SUD, including cognitive-behavioral and exposure therapy. This is the first book to evaluate and synthesize the two fields of PTSD and substance use disorder research and treatment. This volume is indispensable for researchers and clinicians seeking a full understanding of the etiology, assessment, and treatment of this challenging dual diagnosis.

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.

In sharp contrast with the current top-down medicalized method to treating addiction, this book presents the felt sense polyvagal model (FSPM), a paradigm-shifting, bottom-up approach that considers addiction as an adaptive attempt to regulate emotional states and trauma. The felt sense polyvagal model draws from Porges' polyvagal theory, Gendelin's felt sense, and Lewis' learning model of addiction to offer a graphically illustrated and deeply embodied way of conceptualizing and treating addiction through supporting autonomic regulation. This model de-pathologizes addiction as it teaches embodied practices through tapping into the felt sense, the body’s inner wisdom. Chapters first present a theoretical framework and demonstrate the graphic model in both clinician and client versions and then teach the clinician how to use the model in practice by providing detailed treatment strategies. This text’s informed, compassionate approach to understanding and treating trauma and addiction is adaptable to any school of psychotherapy and will appeal to addiction experts, trauma specialists, and clinicians in all mental health fields.

This book examines the benefits and uses of art therapy in the treatment of addiction and trauma, highlighting its effectiveness at revealing underlying causes and relapse triggers, as well as treating co-occurring conditions that impair learning and recovery. This book also focuses on art therapy for trauma within specific populations, including incarcerated individuals, military personnel and survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. Quinn discusses how art therapy is often carried out alongside combined approaches, such as CBT and DBT, and how it can help those with cognitive issues to learn through treatment. Furthermore, this book explores the benefits art therapy has for people with co-morbid conditions, such as dementia, emotional disorders and traumatic and acquired brain injuries. With co-authored chapters from leading researchers in art therapy, the book demonstrates how art therapy can help to uncover triggers, process trauma and find a means of self-expression whilst working towards a sustained recovery.

2020 Award Winner for the Independent Press Award in the category of Addiction & Recovery. A new model of addiction that incorporates neurobiology, social relationships, and ecological systems. Understanding addiction is no longer just about understanding neurons or genes, broken brain functioning, learning, or faulty choices. Oliver J. Morgan provides a fresh take on addiction and recovery by presenting a more inclusive framework than traditional understanding. Cutting- edge work in attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, and trauma is integrated with ecological- systems thinking to provide a consilient and comprehensive picture of addiction. Humans are born into connection and require nourishing relationships for healthy living. Adversities, however, bring fragmentation and create the conditions for ill health. They create vulnerabilities. In order to cope, individuals can turn to alternatives, “substitute relationships” that ease the pain of disconnection. These can become addictions. Addiction, Attachment, Trauma, and Recovery presents a model, a method, and a mandate. This new focus calls for change in the established ways we think and behave about addiction and recovery. It reorients understanding and clinical practice for mental health and addiction counselors, psychologists, and social workers, as well as for addicts and those who love them.

Trauma, trauma-related disorders, substance use, and addictive disorders often co-occur, and frequently play a role in the problems and issues that social workers contend with in their practice with individuals, families, and communities. Research shows that there is a relationship between trauma-related symptoms and problematic use of substances and other addictive behaviors. Individuals who experience these co-occurring problems have better outcomes when their issues are addressed with integrated treatment approaches. Trauma-informed care and trauma-specific treatment are therefore important components of effective social work interventions. This book examines various types of trauma, such as intergenerational trauma, adverse childhood events, childhood sexual abuse, and minority stress, amongst various populations and settings, including Native Americans, homeless youth, drug court participants, and LGB adolescents. It also explores the challenges in delivering trauma services in outpatient addiction treatment settings. Furthermore, it provides practical information on how to implement trauma-informed approaches in addiction treatment, and offers insights into the experience of a trauma survivor who is also recovering from a substance use disorder. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.