Combined Treatment for Alcohol-Dependent Individuals With PTSD

The impetus for the current study is to contribute to the development of effective treatments targeted for men and women with either alcohol misuse (e.g., hazardous or binge drinking) or alcohol use disorders (e.g. alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence) and comorbid PTSD. Research findings have shown that these individuals have poorer treatment outcomes and show more severe symptoms than treatment seeking alcohol-misusing or alcohol dependent participants without PTSD. The aim of this study is to replicate and expand on 1) pilot studies demonstrating the effectiveness of a manualized cognitive-behavioral treatment specifically designed for individuals with comorbid substance use disorders and PTSD, "Seeking Safety" 2) preliminary results on the effectiveness of the antidepressant sertraline ("Zoloft") for a dually diagnosed population and 3) the examination of the effectiveness of these interventions over either treatment alone. We are comparing "Seeking Safety" alone to "Seeking Safety" in combination with the antidepressant medication sertraline ("Zoloft") in terms of their effectiveness in reducing alcohol use and PTSD symptoms. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two treatments (Seeking Safety + Med or Seeking Safety + placebo) and will be evaluated at baseline, at completion of the treatment (12 sessions over 12 weeks), and again at 6 months and 12 months post-treatment. Secondary aims of the study include exploring potential differences between alcoholic subtypes on treatment outcomes; impact of combined treatment on treatment participation and global psychiatric symptoms; differences in the time course and order of changes in alcohol and drug use and PTSD symptoms by condition.