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We need PTSD and substance use treatment that incorporates past- and present-focused techniques in therapy.

IFS paradoxically treats the whole person by focusing on their parts.

IFS PTSD-SUD group therapy addresses patient preferences, diagnostic complexity, and treatment access.

This post was co-authored by Martha Sweezy, Dilara Ally, Laure Tobiasz Veltz, Alexandra Comeau, Clare Bumpus, Tori Blot, Fiona Kate Rice, Brian Orr, Hanna Soumerai Rea, and Zev Schuman-Olivier.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) co-occurs with substance use disorder (SUD) at high rates of between 30 and 60 percent. Present-centered treatments for PTSD-SUD are generally group-based, teach coping skills, and emphasize substance use, while past-focused treatments are generally individual-based and focus on traumatic memories. On their own, neither has proved sufficient.

While past-focused treatments reduce PTSD symptoms more effectively than present-centered or SUD treatment-as-usual models, they are not necessarily more effective for SUD. At the same time, widely recommended trauma-focused therapies for PTSD and SUD, like cognitive behavioral therapy integrated with prolonged exposure (COPE), report high dropout rates, low engagement, and widely varied outcomes.

What we need for PTSD and SUD is treatment that incorporates both past- and present-focused techniques in addition to a few other elements:

A whole-person approach

A telehealth platform delivery

A design aimed at........

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