About Seeking Safety
Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, present-focused counseling model to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse. It can be conducted in group (any size) and/or individual modality. It is an extremely safe model as it directly addresses both trauma and addiction, but without requiring clients to delve into the trauma narrative (the detailed account of disturbing trauma memories), thus making it relevant to a very broad range of clients and easy to implement. Any provider can conduct it even without training; however, there are also many options for training. It has also been delivered successfully by peers in addition to professionals; and in all kinds of settings. It can be conducted over any number of sessions available although the more the better when possible. Seeking Safety was begun in 1992 under grant funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It was developed by Lisa M. Najavits, PhD at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. It has been used in many countries and has been translated into numerous languages. The Seeking Safety book provides client handouts and guidance for clinicians. You can obtain the book in various ways but the other Seeking Safety materials are available only from us.
25 topics, each a safe coping skill
Seeking Safety offers 25 topics that can be conducted in any order and as few or many as time allows: Introduction/Case Management, Safety, PTSD: Taking Back Your Power, When Substances Control You, Honesty, Asking for Help, Setting Boundaries in Relationships, Getting Others to Support Your Recovery, Healthy Relationships, Community Resources, Compassion, Creating Meaning, Discovery, Integrating the Split Self, Recovery Thinking, Taking Good Care of Yourself, Commitment, Respecting Your Time, Coping with Triggers, Self-Nurturing, Red and Green Flags, Detaching from Emotional Pain (Grounding). Life Choices, and Termination. Read a brief description of all 25 topics.
The key principles of Seeking Safety
1) Safety as the overarching goal (helping clients attain safety in their relationships, thinking, behavior, and emotions).
2) Integrated treatment (working on both trauma and substance abuse at the same time if the person has both)
3) A focus on ideals to counter the loss of ideals in both trauma and substance abuse
4) Four content areas: cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, case management
5) Attention to clinician processes (clinicians' emotional responses, self-care, etc.)
Highly flexible across a broad range of clients
The model is highly flexible. It can been conducted in group or individual format; for males, females and across all gender identities; adults or adolescents; for any length of treatment; any level of care (e.g., outpatient, inpatient, residential); any type of trauma, any type of substance. Clients do not have to meet formal criteria for PTSD or substance abuse-- it is often used as a general model to teach coping skills. Seeking Safety has been successfully implemented for many years across vulnerable populations including homeless, criminal justice, domestic violence, severely mentally ill, veterans and military, and others. It has been successfully used for decades across all types of traumas and all types of addictions, and for those who may have problems in both areas (trauma/addiction) or just one or the other.
You may be interested in some of these key documents to get a better feel for Seeking Safety:
Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, present-focused counseling model to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse. It can be conducted in group (any size) and/or individual modality. It is an extremely safe model as it directly addresses both trauma and addiction, but without requiring clients to delve into the trauma narrative (the detailed account of disturbing trauma memories), thus making it relevant to a very broad range of clients and easy to implement. Any provider can conduct it even without training; however, there are also many options for training. It has also been delivered successfully by peers in addition to professionals; and in all kinds of settings. It can be conducted over any number of sessions available although the more the better when possible. Seeking Safety was begun in 1992 under grant funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It was developed by Lisa M. Najavits, PhD at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. It has been used in many countries and has been translated into numerous languages. The Seeking Safety book provides client handouts and guidance for clinicians. You can obtain the book in various ways but the other Seeking Safety materials are available only from us.
25 topics, each a safe coping skill
Seeking Safety offers 25 topics that can be conducted in any order and as few or many as time allows: Introduction/Case Management, Safety, PTSD: Taking Back Your Power, When Substances Control You, Honesty, Asking for Help, Setting Boundaries in Relationships, Getting Others to Support Your Recovery, Healthy Relationships, Community Resources, Compassion, Creating Meaning, Discovery, Integrating the Split Self, Recovery Thinking, Taking Good Care of Yourself, Commitment, Respecting Your Time, Coping with Triggers, Self-Nurturing, Red and Green Flags, Detaching from Emotional Pain (Grounding). Life Choices, and Termination. Read a brief description of all 25 topics.
The key principles of Seeking Safety
1) Safety as the overarching goal (helping clients attain safety in their relationships, thinking, behavior, and emotions).
2) Integrated treatment (working on both trauma and substance abuse at the same time if the person has both)
3) A focus on ideals to counter the loss of ideals in both trauma and substance abuse
4) Four content areas: cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, case management
5) Attention to clinician processes (clinicians' emotional responses, self-care, etc.)
Highly flexible across a broad range of clients
The model is highly flexible. It can been conducted in group or individual format; for males, females and across all gender identities; adults or adolescents; for any length of treatment; any level of care (e.g., outpatient, inpatient, residential); any type of trauma, any type of substance. Clients do not have to meet formal criteria for PTSD or substance abuse-- it is often used as a general model to teach coping skills. Seeking Safety has been successfully implemented for many years across vulnerable populations including homeless, criminal justice, domestic violence, severely mentally ill, veterans and military, and others. It has been successfully used for decades across all types of traumas and all types of addictions, and for those who may have problems in both areas (trauma/addiction) or just one or the other.
You may be interested in some of these key documents to get a better feel for Seeking Safety:
- Brief overview of the model for counselors (2 pages)
- Brief overview of the model for clients (1 page-- can be made into a brochure)
- Brief description of all 25 topics for counselors and/or clients (2 pages)
- Examples of full chapters (topics).for counselors
- Book chapter that summarizes the model for counselors
- Reviews of the Seeking Safety book by Marsha Linehan, Aaron Beck, and others