Systematic Review: Considerations for Women with Co-occurring Substance Use Disorder and PTSD

Statistics demonstrate the prevalence of co-occurring substance use disorder and PTSD among women, and the need for integrated mental health treatment. The researcher of this systematic literature review sought out to explore the following research question: “In what ways do helping professionals intervene with women with co-occurring substance use disorder and PTSD?” A systematic review was conducted using the following databases, SocINDEX, Social Work Abstracts, PsychINFO, and SAMSHA and searched variations of the terms, “Social Work,” “Helping Professionals,” “Women,” “Co-occurring Substance Use Disorder,” “PTSD,” and “Treatment.” All articles were peer-reviewed and involved some aspect of women with co-occurring substance use disorder and PTSD or trauma and either considerations for working with this population or how helping professionals intervened. In total, 10 articles passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. The following were four main themes that emerged within this research: 1) considerations for practice, 2) integrated services, 3) trauma-informed practice, and 4) promoting well-informed and educated professionals. Future research should include quantitative experimental research designs with this population, focusing on the types of treatment that are effective and factors that improve treatment. Professionals working with this population should increase their level of knowledge on the important factors that impact and are specific to women