Post-traumatic stress disorder, complex trauma and substance use

2021wed14apr12:00 pmwed1:00 pmPost-traumatic stress disorder, complex trauma and substance use

Event Details

Up to 80% of adolescents have experienced trauma and one-in-seven suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a chronic, debilitating psychiatric disorder.

For 50% of these adolescents, the course of their illness is further complicated by a co-occurring substance use disorder, which often develops from repeated self-medication of PTSD symptoms.

The reality is that once established, both disorders serve to maintain and exacerbate each other, leading to extensive social, educational, physical and psychological impairments that lead to a chronic course of illness.

Therefore, it is imperative to intervene early to prevent the severe and long-lasting burden associated with this common comorbidity.

This research-based webinar will present, in an hour format, an overview of the current evidence regarding integrated treatment options available for co-occurring PTSD and substance use, plus promising new early interventions for adolescents.

Key topics of this webinar:

  • The relationship between substance use and PTSD and the consequences of its combined effects.
  • The shift away from traditional sequential models of treatment towards integrated models that treat both disorders simultaneously.
  • How new integrated exposure-based psychotherapies work for people with this comorbidity.
  • What is the role of early intervention and what difference can make in this context?
  • How adolescents respond to integrated exposure-based therapy at the moment.

Key learning outcomes:

  • Greater understanding of the research association between PTSD and substance abuse disorders.
  • Deeper understanding of the current burden of PTSD and substance use disorders.
  • Enhanced ability to recognise and identity with the lived experience of PTSD and substance use, its social, economic, emotional and wellbeing impacts and how these might present in a clinical setting.
  • Greater confidence in applying novel, evidence-based psychotherapies in ‘real world settings’ for people with co-morbidities.
  • Pre-planning and preparedness for the emergence of new research currently under way in the field.

Time

(Wednesday) 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm AEST

Location

Webinar