Seeking Safety

Trauma and substance abuse often go hand in hand.  Typically, the trauma happens first following by the need to “self-medicate” to numb the pain of the trauma.  Addiction treatment historically has not addressed the trauma.  Clients have been told to “get clean and sober first” when trauma was viewed as too distressing, a topic that could lead to increased substance use.  Such concerns have validity.  Trauma treatment has traditionally involved telling the detailed trauma narrative so that the client can work through the emotional trauma.  This type of treatment is also helpful.  However, for clients with addiction and trauma history, those methods can bring up intense emotional pain that they are not prepared to handle.

Seeking Safety is an evidenced-based model that addressed both trauma and addiction together.  It can be used in group or individual counseling sessions.  It was specifically developed to help survivors with co-occurring trauma and substance use disorder in a way that does not ask a client to do a “deep dive” into emotionally distressing trauma narratives.  Therefore, “safety” is a concept with varied layers of meaning – safety for the client as they work on their recovery; helping clients visualize what safety would look and feel like in their lives; and helping them learn specific new ways of coping.

Seeking Safety is designed to stay in the present, teaching a variety of safe coping skills that a client may never had the opportunity to learn if they grew up in a dysfunctional family or may have forgotten along the way as their addiction and trauma spiraled downward.  Seeking safety coping skills can apply to both trauma and addiction at the same time which can help support motivation and guide clients to see the connections between their trauma and addiction issues.  Seeking Safety includes 25 different topics, each topic includes a safe coping skills.  The topics address cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal skills. 

Some examples of Seeking Safety topics include –

·         Honesty

·         Creating Meaning

·         Setting Boundaries in Relationships

·         Taking Good Care of Yourself

·         Compassion

·         Coping with Triggers

·         Healing from Anger

·         Recovery Thinking

In addition to being an effective model to address trauma and addiction, Seeking Safety has also been used successfully by case managers and domestic violence advocates.