Trauma and PTSD in Substance Abuse Treatment

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is a NIH-NIDA application for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) for Jessica Peirce, Ph.D. The proposed work will take place in an impressive academic and clinical environment and the excellent mentoring team will be led by Dr. R. K. Brooner, a widely-respected clinician and drug abuse treatment researcher. His expertise in psychiatric comorbidity, associations between comorbidity and drug abuse treatment and in the development of novel treatment approaches is exceptionally well-suited to my career goals. The co-mentors provide critical scope and depth to the team. Dr. Stitzer is an internationally recognized expert in the behavioral treatment of drug abuse and an accomplished writer and research mentor. Dr. Svikis is a respected drug abuse researcher with an expertise in the assessment and treatment of women. The career development plan involves three integrated and temporally overlapping areas of work. Component one involves completion of an organized series of JHU academic courses on the development and conduct of clinical trials involving human subjects. The second component involves implementation and conduct of three studies of drug abusers. These studies address four interrelated questions on psychiatric comorbidity, drug abuse treatment-seeking and drug abuse treatment response in women versus men: 1) what are the best strategies for assessing trauma exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?; 2) what is the role of trauma and PTSD in treatment-seeking?; 3) what is the role of trauma and PTSD in response to routine drug abuse treatment?; and 4) how do gender and gender-related characteristics relate to trauma and PTSD and to drug abuse treatment-seeking and response? Study 1 evaluates two procedures for assessing traumatic event exposure and PTSD, both of which are used clinically but have not been systematically studied. Study 2 evaluates the effect of previous and ongoing traumatic event exposure and PTSD on drug abuse treatment-seeking. Study 3 evaluates the impact of prior and ongoing traumatic event exposure and PTSD on response to routine drug abuse treatment interventions. Interactions with gender and gender specific characteristics will be systematically investigated in each study. The third component will be marked by the submission of an R01 or similar type of grant to evaluate interventions to reduce the negative impact of pre-treatment and in-treatment characteristics in women and men and improve treatment-seeking and drug abuse treatment response. Accomplishing these three goals will document my progression to an independent patient-oriented researcher and recognized expert in the assessment and treatment of drug abusing women and men with PTSD and other comorbid disorders.