Norma Finkelstein, PhD¹, Laurie S. Markoff, PhD¹, Nina Kammerer, PhD, MPH², Peter Kreiner, PhD³, and Lee Panas, MS². (1) Institute for Health and Recovery, 349 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139, 617-661-3991, normafinkelstein@healthrecovery.org, (2) Health and Addictions Research, Inc., 100 Boylston Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116, (3) Health and Addiction Research, Inc, 100 Boylston St., Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116

The WELL Project was one of nine projects funded by SAMHSA to compare outcomes for women with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders and histories of violence who receive trauma-informed, integrated, consumer-involved services with outcomes of similar women receiving services as usual. Women in both experimental and comparison conditions received services at large substance abuse and mental health agencies. In the experimental condition, the target agencies were involved in Local Leadership Councils designed to increase integration of services on a community-wide basis. Staff members at the experimental agencies received cross-training and integrated supervision. Women in the experimental condition were offered trauma-informed, integrated, resource coordination and advocacy services, Seeking Safety groups to build trauma recovery skills, Nurturing Families Affected by Substance Abuse, Mental Illness and Trauma parenting groups, and WELL Recovery mutual/self-help groups designed specifically for women with co-occurring disorders and trauma. Because the quasi-experimental design of the WELL Project Study failed to yield equivalent groups in the experimental and comparison conditions, propensity scores were used to create an appropriate comparison sample. Key outcomes of women in the experimental condition (mental health symptoms, trauma symptoms, drug use, and alcohol use) will be presented and compared to the outcomes of women in the comparison sample. The relationship between selected client characteristics and outcomes will also be presented, along with the results of an interorganizational network analysis that was used to track changes in agency networking over time. Clinical and policy implications of the findings will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Participants will be able to describe a model for providing trauma-informed, integrated services for women who have co-occurring disorders and histories of trauma.
• 2.Participants will be able to discuss the impact of a model for providing trauma-informed integrated services on women’s substance abuse, mental health and trauma symptoms.
• 3.Participants will be able to describe a mechanism for measuring changes in the relationships among organizations.

Keywords: Treatment, Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.