Treating PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorder: Concurrent Cognitive Processing Therapy and Psychopharmacology

Comorbidity is common with posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is among the most common co-occurring disorders. When viewed through the lens of avoidance behaviors, AUD can shape an individual's response to distressing trauma reminders by dulling the emotional response and promoting disengagement from the traumatic memory. Over time, this response strengthens posttraumatic distress by reinforcing the belief that traumatic memories and their emotional responses are themselves dangerous and intolerable. In turn, this belief may impede treatment progress. Concurrent trauma-focused therapy and AUD treatment can serve to establish more adaptive coping strategies. Reducing reliance on alcohol for coping while engaging safely and effectively with trauma memories allows the individual to process the memories, build tolerance to emotional distress, and ultimately reframe maladaptive trauma-related beliefs and decrease the intensity of reactions. This case presents concurrent psychopharmacology and cognitive processing therapy for co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and AUD. We explore how alcohol use, and emotional avoidance more broadly, become targets for change.