Outcomes of Trauma Treatment Using the TARGET Model

ABSTRACT

In a randomized trial of a group intervention for co-occurring substance abuse and traumatic stress disorders “Trauma Adaptive Recovery Group Education and Therapy” (TARGET) was compared to trauma-sensitive usual care (TSU) with 213 clients in three adult outpatient clinics. Improvement at 6- and 12-month assessments occurred across conditions. TARGET was superior to TSU in maintaining sobriety self-efficacy. However, ethnic differences emerged. White TARGET participants reported more improvement than non-White participants on post-traumatic cognitions, and fewer non-White men reported relapses in TSU than in TARGET. TARGET appears to enhance sustained sobriety, but may require culturally specific adaptations.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• addiction
• PTSD
• psychotherapy

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, Grant No. 5KD1 TI12554, with additional resources from the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services.

Notes

^aIncluding American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, mixed, and other.

^bIncluding living with someone as married, remarried, and married but living apart.

^cIncluding widowed, divorced, and legally separated.

*Age range from 18 to 73. T test excluding 73-year-old case showed no group difference.