The National Institute on Drug Abuse-one of 27 institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health-has awarded a faculty member in the School of Social Work $839,735 to research the connection between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse treatment services.
The grant, a NIDA Mentored Research Scientist Development Award, was given to Brian Bride, director of the master’s of social work program. Bride’s teaching and research interests trend toward mental health and substance abuse services for special populations including women, older adults, persons with HIV/AIDS, those with co-occurring disorders and traumatized populations. Bride also has a particular interest in
studying secondary traumatic stress/compassion fatigue in human services professionals.
Bride’s research has multiple dimensions. It will document current trauma-focused services in substance abuse treatment centers; identify factors associated with adoption of trauma-focused services in substance abuse treatment centers; document the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among substance abuse counselors; examine the influence of the provision of trauma-focused services, clinical supervision, and organizational culture on counselor secondary traumatic stress; and examine the relationship between counselor secondary traumatic stress and counselor turnover.
“Little is known about the assessment and treatment of trauma/PTSD within substance abuse treatment settings, which in turn impacts the efficacy of treatment efforts for individuals with co-morbid substance use disorders and PTSD,” said Bride. “This grant will provide the mechanism for understanding the current state of the field in regards to trauma-focused services, which has significant implications for effective substance abuse treatment.”
Bride’s grant proposal was developed as part of his participation in and support from the Faculty Research Funding Mentoring Program of the Institute for Behavioral Research. This program pairs junior faculty with teams of faculty who have been successful in obtaining extramural funding.
Working in concert with the senior faculty as well as peers from diverse behavioral science backgrounds, program participants experience every phase of the application process. The 18-year-old program has had considerable success with its learn-by-doing format.
Paul Roman, Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, will serve as Bride’s primary mentor and Lillian Eby (psychology), Robert Vandenberg (management) and Kathleen Brady (Medical University of South Carolina’s department of psychiatry) will serve as co-mentors for the five-year duration of the NIH funding.