Treating Co-Occurring Adolescent PTSD and Addiction: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy for Adolescents With Trauma and Substan

Research has shown that, for many teens, trauma can lead to addiction. Now, for the first time ever, two mental health experts offer a powerful, integrative program to effectively treat teens with these co-occurring issues.

Trauma and addiction often present side by side. However, up until now, clinicians have lacked the tools needed to treat these two issues together. Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness--two proven-effective therapies for addiction and mental health issues--Treating Co-occurring Adolescent PTSD and Addiction is essential for anyone working with adolescents with addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Developed and researched explicitly for dual diagnosis adolescent clients, this book provides a range of mindfulness practices and tools to help your client be present in what he or she is experiencing--instead of slipping into a pattern of avoidance. In addition, the cognitive behavioral strategies can help adolescents who are at risk of recurrent trauma, and who could therefore benefit from practicing coping strategies to assist them in their current daily situations.

This is a must-have resource for any mental health provider treating adolescents with dual diagnosis of PTSD and addiction.

Lisa R. Fortuna, MD, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with over fifteen years of clinical experience with children, adolescents, and families. She is currently faculty at Boston University School of Medicine and medical director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. She has published highly cited articles in the areas of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adolescent substance abuse, and Latino and immigrant mental health. Fortuna received a K23 Patient Oriented Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop a cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for adolescents with co-occurring trauma and addictions, which formed the basis for this book. She continues to conduct research in post-traumatic stress, depression, and substance abuse, and to develop health services programs for adolescents facing these problems.

Zayda Vallejo, MLitt, is a certified senior teacher in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) adjunct faculty at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. For a decade and a half, she has provided MBSR training to professionals aspiring to teach and mentor in diverse health settings and to various populations. She has codeveloped customized curricula for mindfulness-based interventions for women in recovery to cope with the myriad of stresses in their lives, for Tourette’s syndrome, for intimate partner violence (in process), and for primary care (in process). Vallejo has also consulted on neuroscientific studies conducted by Harvard University’s Lazar Lab for Meditation Research.

Foreword writer Florence Meleo-Meyer, MS, MA, is director of the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is a leading international teacher who has helped develop and offer professional trainings for MBSR teachers for over eighteen years. In addition to teaching in the MBSR program, she has offered mindfulness programs to educators, physicians, psychologists, and young adults.