The Trauma-Informed Addiction Recovery Curriculum: 32 Group Session Plans Integrating ACE Research, Somatic Awareness, and CBT for IOP and PHP ... Trauma-Informed Clinical Curricula Series)

Most clients in intensive addiction treatment carry significant trauma histories. Research consistently shows that the higher a person's adverse childhood experience burden, the more severe and treatment-resistant their addiction is likely to be. Yet most group addiction curricula in clinical use today were designed before that research existed as an organizing framework.The Trauma-Informed Addiction Recovery Curriculum is a complete 32-session structured group therapy program for intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization addiction programs. It applies the ACE research framework, polyvagal theory, somatic awareness principles, schema-informed CBT, and post-traumatic growth research to the specific clinical realities of addiction treatment. Every session plan includes learning objectives, facilitator talking points, time allocation tables, experiential exercises, group processing questions, and clinical notes on high-activation presentations.Inside, clinicians will learn how to:Understand the dose-response relationship between adverse childhood experiences and addiction severity, and use it to guide clinical pacingBuild a regulatory foundation with clients before pattern recognition or processing work begins, using the Window of Tolerance as a real-time monitoring toolIdentify the five links of the trigger chain and teach clients to intervene at the somatic level, before craving reaches conscious awarenessApply the seven-layer Pattern Map to produce the most precise clinical picture of a client's addiction that most prior treatment has not reachedUse a schema-level trauma-informed thought record that addresses the belief structures generating automatic thoughts, not only the thoughts themselvesDevelop trauma-informed relapse prevention plans that address the full trigger chain rather than the behavioral endpoint aloneWhat sets this curriculum apart is its four-module clinical architecture. Module A establishes safety and stabilization before any insight work begins. Module B produces the Pattern Recognition Summary, a seven-layer map of the cognitive, somatic, relational, and belief-level structures organizing the addiction. Module C supports titrated narrative work, grief, anger, and values-based identity construction. Module D delivers applied daily regulation practices, interpersonal effectiveness, relapse prevention, and graduation. Each module has a defined function and a required relationship to the modules before and after it.This book is for readers who are licensed clinical professionals in structured addiction treatment, including licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, and psychologists. It is also suited for clinical supervisors building trauma-informed program competencies, program directors evaluating IOP or PHP curriculum adoption, and graduate-level clinical training programs.For clinicians who want a fully developed, evidence-grounded group curriculum that addresses the regulatory and somatic dimensions of addiction alongside the cognitive and behavioral, this book provides a structured clinical architecture ready to implement. Read more