Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD

Identify strengths of your colleagues’ analyses and areas in which the analyses could be improved. Address his or her evaluation of the efficacy and applicability of the evidence-based practice, his or her identification of factors that could support or hinder the implementation of the evidence-based practice, and his or her solution for mitigating those factors.

· Offer additional insight to your colleagues by either identifying additional factors that may support or limit implementation of the evidence-based practice or an alternative solution for mitigating one of the limitations that your colleagues identified. Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD

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Colleague 1: Jared

Post an evaluation of the evidence-based practice that you selected for Jake. Describe the practice and the evidence supporting it. Explain why you think this intervention is appropriate for Jake.

In the case video (Laureate Education, 2013c), the supervisor discusses the value of meeting a client first before selecting a treatment. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Some of the practices such as meditation and yoga that the social worker suggested could be offensive to the client (I ran into this situation during my first practicum). Further, what works for one client well may not work well for another client, despite there being studies that were able to show a benefit for study participants. Indeed, a hallmark of evidence-based practice is a combination of research, clinical expertise and client values (Wampold & Imel, 2015). For client values and clinical expertise to be applied, one must first meet the client and build a trusting relationship where pertinent things about the client can be discovered.  Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD

Because there is a lack of information in the case video about the client (Laureate Education, 2013), I am prevented from having a good explanation of why any intervention is appropriate beyond that which the research states is an effective intervention for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, based on this limited amount of information, I would select Seeking Safety as the evidence-based practice for Jake. Seeking Safety is an intervention listed in the National Registry for Evidence-Based Practices and Programs for treating trauma, among other things such as substance abuse. In fact, its dual focus is one of the hallmarks of the treatment as substance abuse often accompanies trauma (Najavitas, 2003)Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD.

There are some essential things that must be focused on when treating someone with trauma. For instance, it is important to normalize one’s experience of PTSD symptoms (DeCarvalho & Whealin, 2012). Seeking Safety begins with psychoeducation to normalize ones experience and educate one on what is happening or why they are experiencing the things they are experiencing (Najavitas, 2003). While it is true that we do not know if Jake has a drug issue, Seeking Safety with its focus on treating substance use, it would either treat Jakes substance issue, or it would provide him the tools to stay drug-free. With PTSD, there are many symptoms such as a tendency to isolate (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Seeking Safety specifically works on treating PTSD symptoms and would help Jake with managing anxiety, difficulties with the interpersonal (Najavitis, 2003) and other factors that would affect functioning in life (Najavitis, n.d.). Indeed, while Seeking Safety does help those with PTSD, it does so by focusing on solutions and building social supports instead of diving into the trauma narrative (Desai, Harpaz-Rotem, Najavitas, & Rosenheck, 2008). Lastly, Seeking Safety has been specifically studied in the veteran population which increases the validity of this method with another veteran (Najavitas & Hien, 2013; Lenz, Henesy, & Callender, 2016). Thus, based on what little is know about Jake from the case video, Seeking Safety appears to be a safe choice of an intervention to treat Jake.

Then provide an explanation for the supervisor regarding issues related to implementation.

There should not be an issues related to implementation. Seeking Safety can be administered on a one to one or group basis (The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare, 2018)Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD. Of course, there are many unknowns about Jake. Thus, issues could arise once more information is known about Jake.

Identify two factors that you believe are necessary for successful implementation of the evidence-based practice and explain why. Then, identify two factors that you believe may hinder implementation and explain how you might mitigate these factors.

Seeking Safety is an easy intervention to implement. During my first 500 hour practicum, I led a Seeking Safety group. However, in the beginning, I had no manual and was forced to use that which I could find for free until the agency ordered me the manual. I was allowed great liberty with what was taught until I received the manual. However, I would suggest that having a manual is extremely beneficial to successfully implementing the practice. After all, the research was done on participants who sat under the treatment that was led by the manual. Thus, while some benefit would occur by covering the topics of the program, it likely would be hindered by not covering the material appropriately. Another factor that could affect implementation is the setting of the implementation. Seeking safety definitely could be implemented on a one to one basis. However, I feel that it can be implemented better in a group. This adds benefit to aspects of the intervention where discussion of the clients are prompted.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.

The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. (2018). Seeking Safety for adults. Retrieved from http://www.cebc4cw.org/program/seeking-safety-for-adults/

DeCarvalho, L. T., & Whealin, J. M. (2012). Healing stress in military families: Eight steps to wellness. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley et Sons.

Lenz, A. S., Henesy, R., & Callender, K. (2016). Effectiveness of seeking safety for co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use. Journal of Counseling & Development, 94(1), 51-61. doi:10.1002/jcad.12061

Najavitis, L. M. (n.d.). Implementing Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD and substance abuse:. Illinois Department of Human Services’ Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.bhrm.org/media/pdf/guidelines/PTSD.pdf

Najavitis, L. M. (2003). Seeking safety: A treatment manual for PTSD and substance abuse. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Najavitis, L. M., & Hien, D. (2013). Helping vulnerable populations: A comprehensive review of the treatment outcome literature on substance use disorder and PTSD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(5), 433-479. doi:10.1002/jclp.21980

Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work. Retrieved from https://books.google.com Seeking Safety therapy for PTSD