Outcomes for women with co-occurring disorders and trauma: program and person-level effects

Six-month outcomes are evaluated from a 9-site quasi-experimental study of women with mental health and substance use disorders who have experienced physical or sexual abuse who enrolled in either comprehensive, integrated, trauma-informed, and consumer/survivor/recovering person-involved services (N = 1023) or usual care (N = 983). Mental health, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and substance use outcomes are assessed with multilevel regression models, controlling for program and personal characteristics. Person-level variables predict outcomes independent of intervention condition and, to a small extent, moderate intervention and program effects. In sites where the intervention condition provided more integrated counseling than the comparison condition, there are increased effects on mental health and substance use outcomes; these effects are partially mediated by person-level variables. These results encourage further research to identify the longer-term effects of integrated counseling for women with co-occurring disorders and trauma histories.