Participants in an IFS PTSD-SUD (substance use disorder) intervention experienced reduced PTSD symptoms and cravings, making it a promising public health treatment option.
We need PTSD and substance use treatment that incorporates past- and present-focused techniques in therapy.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.) co-occurs with substance use disorder 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, likeWhat we need for PTSD and SUD is treatment that incorporates both past- and present-focused techniques in addition to a few other elements: A design aimed at engaging diverse populations in community mental health and SUD treatment environments& Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance designed a 12-week intervention, the Program for Alleviating and Reducing Trauma, Stress, and Substance Use , based on Internal Family Systems therapy. IFS is a non-pathologizing, de-stigmatizing therapy model that merges present- and past-focused techniques within a whole-person approach. From the IFS perspective, the internal psyche is an ecology of well-intentioned parts, each with its own experience, perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and motives. When a vulnerable part gets hurt, other parts take on protective roles.is as evidence of a core conflict, or polarization, between protective parts. When one protector becomes extremely critical internally , another will often rebelliously seek relief with a disinhibiting addictive process that is distracting or soothing. By acknowledging and engaging parts around their roles and conflicts, the IFS paradigm doesn’t just treat the problem behavior; it treats the whole person., non-judgment, and compassion. By mending internal attachments with parts, the self fosters mental stability and promotes mutually supportive external relationships.and reducing substance use. Instead, it offers non-directed inquiry that incorporates elements of present- and past-focused models, including internal narrative dialogue, contemplative practice, and visual imagery.prevention or acceptance and commitment therapy , present-moment compassionate awareness of thoughts, emotions, and physical experiences increases when parts relax . Past-centered components of IFS include participant-titrated imaginal exposure to traumatic material aimed at reducing emotional sensitivity to trauma-associated environmental cues. The study described here, PARTS-SUD, combined group sessions with individual sessions to treat PTSD and substance use disorder. Participants experienced reduced PTSD symptoms—possibly through increases in, self-compassion, and the ability to engage meta-awareness through de-centering, and reduced substance-related craving; possibly from increased awareness of sensations, thoughts, and emotions combined with reduced avoidance and more awareness of the need for self-compassion.The PARTS-SUD study had some limitations, including: 1) a small sample size , which limits generalizability and could lead to an overestimation of effect sizes; 2) lack of a control group, which would determine whether improvements were due to the intervention, a, or other factors in life; 3) skewed representation: while 60 percent identified as members of a marginalized group, no Black participants were enrolled after baseline screening; 4) a virtual platform, which provides better access to some but excludes those who don’t have access to the necessary technology; and 5) finally, because this was an acceptability and feasibility study that only collected longitudinal data about substance craving, it did not collect validated objective measures of substance use frequency . To address these limitations, we need further research.-SUD that addresses real-world implementation factors like treatment access, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness while simultaneously considering diagnostic complexity, patient preferences, values, and social context, all of which are particularly important in public community mental health clinics.Ally, D., Tobiasz Veltz, L., Tu, K., Comeau, A., Bumpus, C., Blot, T., Rice, F. K., Orr, B., Soumerai Rea, H., Sweezy, M., & Schuman-Olivier, Z. . A pilot study of an online group-based Internal Family Systems intervention for comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use.is an assistant professor, part-time, in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a research and training consultant at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and a psychotherapist with an online private practice.Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
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