Trauma and the Connection to Addiction

When one thinks of trauma, the common reaction may be to think of an act of violence. But trauma comes in many forms.  Violence, abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often terms used instead of trauma. Child abuse, both physical and emotional, sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment are common histories in the lives of addicted women. Violence is often pervasive in their lives, starting in childhood either experiencing or witnessing violence in the home, to the violence observed and experienced as a result of living in poverty and growing up with addiction as a normal part of everyday life, to partner violence later. Many times the addicted woman is introduced to substances by a family member, even a parent, never knowing an environment where drugs or alcohol weren’t the norm.

I am again going to recommend reading the important work of Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., LCSW in this area of trauma and addiction. It is her 2012 presentation from a symposium that is available online. It can be accessed by doing the google search Trauma Matters: The Connection Between Addiction, Mental Health, and Trauma. It is excellent in addressing what trauma is and its results, what trauma informed services entail, and the process of trauma recovery.

Trauma recovery doesn’t happen overnight or even after spending months in a treatment program. For many women, trauma work may take years of recovery. But this is where it starts – with trauma informed care. Recognizing and understanding their trauma history and working through it with support is essential in order for addicted women to provide adequate, consistent, loving, and appropriate parenting. Postponing pregnancy allows women to gain the necessary skills, insight, and trauma informed care that will enable them to provide for children in their care, and to focus on reuniting with existing children if they have been removed from their care. Effective, safe, long acting birth control methods offer women the chance to succeed in parenting their children. Family planning must be incorporated into every recovery program and setting in order to accomplish this.