Seeking Safety Therapy as Trauma Informed Care for Individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders

This ebook is an excellent tool for practitioners and lay-mental health providers seeking to better understand the practical efficacy (via a case conceptualization) of Seeking Safety and STAIR Narrative Therapy interventions for individuals with co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Though both treatment modalities specifically focus on the diagnosis of PTSD, many persons struggling with co-occurring disorders have also experienced complex trauma. Through my 30 years of work in the mental health treatment field, I have not yet worked with an individual who has not experienced trauma from childhood, their co-morbid conditions and resulting life consequences, and/or their crisis - treatment experiences as they frequently recycle through various mental health and substance abuse treatment systems of care. As a licensed psychiatric nurse, a certified addictions treatment counselor, a marriage and family therapist, and a person with lived experience, I have found that working with these treatment modalities/interventions is effective in helping to develop therapeutic rapport and a viable, safe community for some of our most vulnerable populations of people.