Shulamith Lala Straussner – författare

Trauma, trauma-related disorders, substance use, and addictive disorders often co-occur, and frequently play a role in the problems and issues that social workers contend with in their practice with individuals, families, and communities. Research shows that there is a relationship between trauma-related symptoms and problematic use of substances and other addictive behaviors. Individuals who experience these co-occurring problems have better outcomes when their issues are addressed with integrated treatment approaches. Trauma-informed care and trauma-specific treatment are therefore important components of effective social work interventions.

This book examines various types of trauma, such as intergenerational trauma, adverse childhood events, childhood sexual abuse, and minority stress, amongst various populations and settings, including Native Americans, homeless youth, drug court participants, and LGB adolescents. It also explores the challenges in delivering trauma services in outpatient addiction treatment settings. Furthermore, it provides practical information on how to implement trauma-informed approaches in addiction treatment, and offers insights into the experience of a trauma survivor who is also recovering from a substance use disorder.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

Trauma, trauma-related disorders, substance use, and addictive disorders often co-occur, and frequently play a role in the problems and issues that social workers contend with in their practice with individuals, families, and communities. Research shows that there is a relationship between trauma-related symptoms and problematic use of substances and other addictive behaviors. Individuals who experience these co-occurring problems have better outcomes when their issues are addressed with integrated treatment approaches. Trauma-informed care and trauma-specific treatment are therefore important components of effective social work interventions.

This book examines various types of trauma, such as intergenerational trauma, adverse childhood events, childhood sexual abuse, and minority stress, amongst various populations and settings, including Native Americans, homeless youth, drug court participants, and LGB adolescents. It also explores the challenges in delivering trauma services in outpatient addiction treatment settings. Furthermore, it provides practical information on how to implement trauma-informed approaches in addiction treatment, and offers insights into the experience of a trauma survivor who is also recovering from a substance use disorder.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

‘Reducing and Preventing Alcohol Misuse and Its Consequences’ is one of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare’s Grand Challenges for Social Work, a programme launched in 2012. This book reports on the work of many social work and allied professions scholars, describing current strategies for achieving the ambitious goals identified in this Grand Challenge.

The chapters in this book fall into two broad categories: ‘general’ pieces, and those which address specific workforce development issues for meeting the Grand Challenge. The contributors cover the problem of alcohol misuse from a number of perspectives, including racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol treatment services; adolescents and emerging adults; and trauma/PTSD. The book also explores both technology-based interventions for reducing alcohol misuse and its consequences, and various models for preparing the workforce by effectively engaging in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT), for those experiencing alcohol-related problems complicated by other social and behavioural health problems. The book concludes with two interviews, focused global initiatives, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.