How Is Co-occurring PTSD and Addiction Treated?
Co-occurring addiction and PTSD are most commonly seen in combat veterans, and as such, these people receive trauma-focused treatment, usually combined with cognitive processing therapy (CPT). There is, however, a growing number of cases of these two disorders co-occurring in regular, everyday people.
This burgeoning problem is mostly associated with relevant healthcare not being accessible to the person, or a general lack of interest in getting well on the part of the afflicted. If more people knew that effective treatment is on hand for co-occurring addiction and PTSD, and if this treatment is available to them, perhaps more people would willingly get into it.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has proven to be quite effective in dealing with the issue of co-occurring PTSD and addiction. This is because this approach delves into how the perception of a problem directly affects the response of the person to it.
This method also takes into account the fact that not everyone is fortunate enough to have the correct perception of the problem, or even the correct association of their response to the problem. Many people know that a problem will not be solved by creating another problem, but many are not able to properly appreciate that trying to numb their minds to the problem, usually through substances, will not solve anything.
CBT seeks to correct the response a person usually arrives at when confronted by the troubles of PTSD, as this response usually involves drugs or alcohol. CBT does this by making the person understand that some “solutions,” as they perceive them, are actually harmful rather than helpful.
CBT also seeks to help people develop better coping mechanisms for troubles they encounter, as these troubles are often a part of life. The breakthrough in this method is in making the person realize that using substances to avoid their issues makes things much worse.
Trauma and Addiction Recovery
At Chapters Recovery Center, we don’t just bank on the latest theories and studies regarding therapy and treatment.
We also rely on what we have experienced as the best way to help people recover, which is attentive care, proper treatment, and a medical staff willing to go the extra mile to ensure that the patient achieves true recovery.