Do clients have to meet criteria for PTSD and substance abuse?
No. Any client who can benefit from working on coping skills can be included. Clients do not have to meet criteria for PTSD and/or substance abuse. More: In many settings there would not be enough clients if it had to be restricted just to formally diagnosed PTSD/substance abuse clients. It has been used with very diverse clients including those with other Axis I disorders (including psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, eating disorder, pathological gambling, depression, dissociative identity disorder, etc.). It has also been implemented with clients who are sub-threshold on PTSD and/or substance abuse or have a history of these. There are several reasons why Seeking Safety appears to be helpful across diverse clients: (a) The coping skills are easy to understand and relevant to a wide range of problems (e.g., asking for help, compassion, honesty, taking good care of yourself, creating meaning). (b) The topic Case Management is used to refer clients to obtain t
