In modern addiction treatment, trauma is still overlooked!

"Trauma is one of the biggest risk factors for addiction, but trauma-centred treatments are missing!"

The fourth step of Alcoholics Anonymous asks participants to make a "moral inventory" of the problems their substance use has caused in their lives, before asking God in a later step to remove their "defects of character".
Some of the millions of people in the USA who take part in AA find the 12-step programme helpful, but others criticise it for a lack of effectiveness and a nerve-racking approach to recovery. In addition, many treatment models like this one do not take into account co-occurring and underlying traumatic experiences, which lead a large share of people to treat themselves with drugs in the first place, says Maia Szalavitz, a journalist who writes about trauma, addiction and her experiences with some of these programmes.

"Much of today's addiction treatment is itself actively traumatic."

Begging and whining often reinforce the existing idea that addiction is a kind of moral problem that you have created yourself.

According to estimates, about three quarters of drug users have experienced trauma, but many addiction treatment facilities do not offer the level of trauma-informed care that people with co-occurring trauma and substance use need. This leads to further stigma and often even to retraumatisation.

"If we really want to treat addiction, we have to help people deal with their trauma."

"Unfortunately, this does not happen in a classic detox clinic, because nobody asks specifically about trauma there. Obvious cases may still be addressed: 'Okay, tell me about your sexual abuse', because that could actually be a reason for your addiction."

"If we really want to treat addiction, we have to help people deal with their trauma."

Research shows that treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other symptoms of a traumatic experience also helps people with their substance use, probably because most people use drugs as a means of self-medication or of coping with stressors or overwhelming emotions such as those that come with trauma, said Dr Denise Hien, head of the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies at Rutgers-New Brunswick University.