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Concurrent Treatment of Substance Use and PTSD

  • Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders (E Foa and A Asnaani, Section Editors)
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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical University of South Carolina, 5 Charleston Center Drive, Suite 151, Charleston, SC, 29455, USA

    Julianne C. Flanagan, Kristina J. Korte, Therese K. Killeen & Sudie E. Back

  2. Ralph H. Johnson VAMC, 109 Bee St, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA

    Sudie E. Back

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  1. Julianne C. Flanagan
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  2. Kristina J. Korte
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  3. Therese K. Killeen
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  4. Sudie E. Back
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Correspondence to Julianne C. Flanagan.

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This manuscript is the result of work supported, in part, by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (K12HD055885) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (T32AA007474).

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders

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Flanagan, J.C., Korte, K.J., Killeen, T.K. et al. Concurrent Treatment of Substance Use and PTSD. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0709-y

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