Trauma and substance abuse are highly interrelated.  Alcohol and drug use by parents and family members can have a strong relationship to child trauma and can have a lasting role in a person's life.  Often hidden, difficult to assess, and challenging to treat, substance use dramatically impacts trauma healing.  Many families in the child welfare system must address these issues before family reunification, and substance issues are common in many other types of traumatic stress as well.  This course is designed to teach students and professionals how to recognize and address trauma and substance use by clients and in families, and identifies evidence based treatment approaches that may increase the success of trauma treatment.

Students will:

• gain an understanding of the nature of substance use as a hidden factor in child traumatic stress, and will understand the disease model of substance dependence and the mental health model of trauma treatment.
• be able to identify many of the signs of substance use, including which substances are suspected and what effects those substances typically have on individual and family life.
• be able to identify signs and symptoms of psychological trauma and understand the effect of trauma on functioning and personal security.
• gain skills in assessing trauma, including the types of trauma and prolonged trauma responses, and ways to effectively address these issues in treatment.
• understand several evidence based practices that have been shown to be effective in treating substance use and co-occurring traumatic stress.

Successful completion of the course includes regular attendance and class participation; completion of weekly quizzes provided in class; an APA style research paper; and regular weekly readings.