PS531 Unit 10 Integrated Treatment Plan Example

Course	PS531 Co-Occurring Disorders and Treatments
Unit	Unit 10
Paper type	Integrated treatment plan
Length	About 850 words, 6 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	MS in Psychology
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PS531 Unit 10

One Team, One Plan, Two Disorders: A PS531 Unit 10 Integrated Treatment Plan for a Woman With PTSD and Severe Alcohol Use Disorder

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

PS531: Co-Occurring Disorders and Treatments

Unit 10 Integrated Treatment Plan

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The client, her family, the agency and every detail of the plan are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingBringing back a client whose disorders share a root sets up a plan that must treat them as one problem.

The Client

Leah is 31 and works as a cashier at a hardware store in Escanaba. She was sexually abused by a stepfather from age nine to thirteen and began drinking at fourteen. Her PTSD symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks triggered by the smell of a particular aftershave, avoidance of men who remind her of him, constant alertness and a belief that she is "ruined." Her drinking is severe: most nights, a fifth of vodka over the evening, with blackouts. She completed residential treatment last year and stayed sober for four months, then relapsed after her stepfather appeared at a family funeral. She came back to our agency in January.

Formulation

Leah's disorders share a root in childhood abuse and now sustain each other. Alcohol dulls her flashbacks and helps her sleep, which keeps her drinking; drinking leaves her more vulnerable to unsafe situations and to shame, which deepens the PTSD. Her relapse followed a direct trauma reminder, which shows how tightly the two are bound. SAMHSA's protocol emphasizes that for clients like Leah, trauma-informed, integrated care is essential, because treating the drinking without the trauma leaves the strongest trigger in place (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2020).

The Team

Drake et al. (2001) describe integrated services as delivered by one team that holds a single plan for both disorders. Leah's team includes a primary clinician, who coordinates care; a trauma-trained psychologist; the agency's psychiatrist; a peer recovery coach; and me, as the intern supporting her primary clinician. The primary clinician is the single point of contact, so Leah never has to tell her story to two separate programs.

Problem 1: Alcohol Use and Withdrawal

Goal: no drinking for four consecutive weeks within two months, confirmed by breath tests at sessions. Interventions: medical assessment of withdrawal risk by the psychiatrist, an outpatient taper with daily check-ins for the first week, naltrexone to reduce cravings, relapse prevention skills in weekly individual sessions and daily contact with the peer recovery coach for the first month.

Problem 2: PTSD

Goal: a drop of at least fifteen points on a standard PTSD checklist within four months. Interventions: integrated trauma therapy delivered by the psychologist, beginning with safety and coping skills and moving to exposure once Leah has two weeks of sobriety and feels ready. Mills et al. (2012) found that an integrated program combining prolonged exposure with substance use treatment reduced PTSD symptoms more than usual care without increasing substance use, which supports starting trauma-focused work during treatment rather than waiting for long-term sobriety.

Leah's last relapse came from a single face at a funeral; a plan that waits to treat her trauma is a plan that waits for the next funeral.

What this part is doingTying the decision not to wait to the client's own relapse makes the evidence personal.

Problem 3: Sleep

Goal: at least five hours of sleep on most nights without alcohol within six weeks. Interventions: sleep routines taught in individual sessions, review of medication for nightmares by the psychiatrist and a bedtime plan for nights when flashbacks start.

Problem 4: Shame and Isolation

Goal: one sober social contact at least three times a week within two months. Interventions: a women's trauma-informed recovery group, time with a cousin she trusts and work in therapy on the belief that she is ruined.

Problem 5: Safety and Trauma Reminders

Goal: a written plan for encountering her stepfather and other reminders, completed within two weeks. Interventions: the plan names what she will do, whom she will call and how she will leave. Her clinician will help her decide whether to attend future family events and how. Suicide risk is assessed at each session, given her shame and drinking history.

Coordination and Review

The team meets weekly for fifteen minutes to review Leah's breath tests, PTSD checklist scores, sleep log and safety. The primary clinician updates the plan monthly with Leah, in her own words where possible. If she drinks, the plan does not end; the team reviews what happened, what the trigger was and what support was missing, and adjusts, following the protocol's view that relapse is information rather than failure.

Discharge and Aftercare

When Leah has three months of sobriety and her PTSD score has dropped substantially, sessions will move to every two weeks, then monthly. She will continue the women's group and her peer coach. A relapse prevention plan will name her highest-risk times, including anniversaries of family events, and her warning signs.

Conclusion

Leah's plan treats two disorders with one team, one coordinator and five linked problems. SAMHSA's protocol supports trauma-informed integrated care, Drake and colleagues define the team structure and Mills and colleagues' trial supports treating PTSD with exposure during substance treatment. Each goal is measurable, and the plan builds in review so it can change as Leah does.

What this part is doingEnding with the plan's capacity to change reflects the long-term view integrated care requires.

References

Drake, R. E., Essock, S. M., Shaner, A., Carey, K. B., Minkoff, K., Kola, L., Lynde, D., Osher, F. C., Clark, R. E., & Rickards, L. (2001). Implementing dual diagnosis services for clients with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 52(4), 469-476. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.52.4.469

Mills, K. L., Teesson, M., Back, S. E., Brady, K. T., Baker, A. L., Hopwood, S., Sannibale, C., Barrett, E. L., Merz, S., Rosenfeld, J., & Ewer, P. L. (2012). Integrated exposure-based therapy for co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance dependence: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 308(7), 690-699. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.9071

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Substance use disorder treatment for persons with co-occurring disorders (Treatment Improvement Protocol Series, No. 42; SAMHSA Publication No. PEP20-02-01-004).

What the PS531 Unit 10 assignment asks for

The final PS531 assignment asks for an integrated treatment plan for one client with co-occurring disorders. Present the client's history and current crisis, and write a formulation that shows how the disorders sustain each other. Describe the team, naming a single coordinator and each member's role, using a source on integrated services. List the client's problems, each with a measurable, dated goal and specific interventions, and support the main interventions with research. Include safety planning, a plan for known triggers and attention to sleep, relationships and shame where relevant. Describe how the team will review progress and respond to relapse, and set out discharge and aftercare steps. Close by explaining what makes the plan integrated.

Inside the PS531 Unit 10 example

The plan opens with Leah's history of abuse, her early drinking, four sober months after residential care and the funeral that ended them. A formulation explains how alcohol dulls flashbacks while deepening shame. A team section names the primary clinician, psychologist, psychiatrist, peer coach and intern and gives each a role, drawing on Drake and colleagues. Five problem sections follow, each with a goal and interventions: alcohol and withdrawal, PTSD with exposure supported by the COPE trial, beneath a highlighted sentence about waiting for the next funeral, sleep, shame and isolation and trauma reminders. Sections on weekly team review, relapse as information, discharge and aftercare precede a conclusion.

Where the points sit in the PS531 Unit 10 rubric

The rubric looks for integration throughout: a formulation that links the disorders, one team with a named coordinator and goals for both disorders written into one plan. Each problem needs a measurable, dated goal and specific interventions, with research supporting the central choices. Credit increases when the plan addresses known triggers, safety and the client's shame and isolation, since these often drive relapse. A defined review process and a nonpunitive response to relapse show integrated care in practice. Discharge and aftercare planning shows the long view the model requires. Trauma-informed language and composite details are expected, and the protocol, Drake and colleagues and the COPE trial each need an APA reference.

PS531 Unit 10 help: mistakes that cost points

Many final plans list goals for each disorder in separate columns and call the result integrated. Plans also often leave out a coordinator, which leaves the client juggling several providers alone. Trauma-focused treatment is often postponed indefinitely, though evidence supports starting it during substance treatment once the client is stable. Goals like reduce drinking or feel better cannot be measured. Before submitting, check that one person coordinates care, that every goal carries a measure and a deadline, that the PTSD plan names when exposure begins, that you include a plan for the client's strongest trigger and that relapse leads to review rather than discharge. Read the plan aloud to the client before finalizing it.

Get a PS531 Unit 10 example written to your instructions

Share the case and the instructions with the rubric. A custom integrated plan treats both disorders for one client in one plan. The first is free and comes back in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More PS531 papers and MS in Psychology samples

PS531 Unit 10 questions, answered

What makes a plan integrated?

One team, one plan, goals for both disorders and attention to how they affect each other.

How should goals be written?

Measurable, time-bound and linked to the problems both disorders create.

Who coordinates care?

A named clinician who keeps the plan together across services.

Where can I find a free PS531 Unit 10 sample paper?

The PS531 Unit 10 integrated plan for a woman with PTSD and severe alcohol use disorder is printed above.

When does trauma therapy begin in the PS531 Unit 10 sample?

Exposure begins once the client has two weeks of sobriety and feels ready, after coping skills are in place.