This paper describes the treatment of a physician who developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a polysubstance use disorder after he was shot and held hostage by a patient. Inpatient treatment combined pharmacological and behavioral approaches, including systematic re-exposure via talking about the event in therapy groups. Standard methods for achieving and maintaining abstinence were used, such as asking for and accepting peer support and discussing painful feelings. Cognitive aspects of treatment included education about interactions between the two conditions. After 12 weeks the physician was free of symptoms and had minimal anxiety when exposed to salient cues of the traumatic event.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.