Effectiveness of Seeking Safety for Co-Occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use

Abstract

The authors evaluated the Seeking Safety program's effectiveness for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use symptoms across 12 between-groups studies (N = 1,997 participants). Separate meta-analytic procedures for studies implementing wait list/no treatment (n = 1,042) or alternative treatments (n = 1,801) yielded medium effect sizes for Seeking Safety for decreasing symptoms of PTSD and modest effects for decreasing symptoms of substance use. Limitations of the findings and implications for counselors are discussed.