People who experience repeated problems with drug and/or alcohol misuse often report significant past exposure to trauma, including traumatic experiences which occurred in childhood. For some people, problematic substance use develops as a form of self-medication. For others, problematic use may make them more vulnerable to experiencing trauma. As a result, conditions like PTSD frequently co-occur with substance use disorders (SUD). This PTSD-SUD comorbidity can present many clinical challenges for those who are trying to help, and there is often a great deal of uncertainty about how best to support the service user.
The videos available on this page have been developed through a collaboration between people with lived experience and experts in this field to assist workers and clinicians in mental health and addiction services in understanding more about how they can help. Claire, Rachael and Vinnie are all people with lived experience, who faced challenges getting help from a variety of different services. In their videos they describe some of the problems that they have faced and some of the support that they have experienced to help them address their difficulties.
The first videos aim to integrate the voices of service users, with best practice guidance from experts in the field and findings from the research literature to help to inform clinical practice. The final animation videos describe some of the important principles for helping those with a PTSD and co-occurring problematic substance use.
If you would like further information on helping those with PTSD and substance misuse difficulties please see the Expert Recommendations developed by the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, which is available here: ESTSS-guidelines-draft-v1.1-final-1.pdf.
Videos:
Animations: