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Treatment Methods for Women

Modern Perspectives of Women's Addiction Treatment from Top Centers in the US

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The distinguished institutions profiled in this article have been pioneers in the development of gender-specific treatment services. The lessons about the treatment of addicted women, drawn from the cumulative experience of these three institutions, are reflected in the following 14 propositions.

Patterns: Our clinical experience confirms the major finding of modern gender research: everything we have examined in the lives of the women we have treated is different than what we see in men. This includes differences in etiological pathways of problem development; patterns of use; speed of problem progression; frequency, types and severity of co-occurring medical and psychiatric disorders; obstacles to treatment; clinical issues during treatment; scope of service needs; prognosis for recovery; and styles of long-term recovery.

Relationships with other Women: Treatment is often the first opportunity addicted women have to break out of their historical pattern of distrusting and disliking other women. Treatment and linkage to the larger recovery community opens opportunities to develop safe, healthy relationships with strong, sober women.

Trauma: Developmental trauma (physical, sexual, emotional) is a dominant theme in the lives of many addicted women. Addiction recovery must be grounded within the larger process of healing such trauma.

Intimate Relationships: Trauma in the lives of addicted women is often recapitulated in their adult intimate relationships through a process that has been christened assortative mating (Vanyukov, Neale, Moss, & Tarter, 1996). Recognizing, managing and breaking these patterns are central recovery issues for many women.

Anger: It was previously thought that anger management was predominantly for the male patient. Today more women are self-identifying the need to work on anger management.
Body Image: The self-esteem of addicted women is closely tied to culturally-transmitted beauty myths that feed self-hatred, self-injury and vulnerability for collateral eating disorders.

Sanctuary: The successful treatment of addicted women is contingent on creating physical and psychological safety within a healing community. Gender-specific treatment units and gender-specific groups allow women to bond and develop that environment of safety.

Spirituality and Strength: Recovery for women often involves discovery of previously hidden strengths and sources of power within the self. Discovery of these resources is enhanced through strengths-based assessment and counseling processes. The core of addiction treatment for women is the experience of empowerment: the acquisition of power through new knowledge, skills and relationships.

Self-Discovery and Self-Acceptance: Recovery is about self-discovery (finding the authentic I) and self-acceptance (shedding expectations of perfection). It is also about transcending the shame-inducing social stigma that has long been attached to addicted women.

Balance: Recovery for women is often a balancing act between self-care and care giving for their intimate partners and children. Treatment must help nest recovery within the unique role demands placed on women at the same time it empowers women to challenge culturally-imposed role restrictions.

Family Healing: Addiction wounds all family subsystems; recovery involves a restructuring of intimate relationships, parent-child relationships and sibling relationships. Family-centered treatment is a crucial catalyst of such healing and helps all family members achieve and maintain healthy relationship boundaries.

Sustained Support: Recovery outcomes are enhanced through post- treatment recovery support found in women's meetings in 12-Step groups and in 12-Step sponsorship, as well as in other recovery support groups/relationships. The goal of recovery is not independence, but healthy interdependence in relationships marked by continuity of mutual support.

Varieties of Recovery Experience: Women exhibit multiple pathways (religious, spiritual, secular) and diverse styles of long-term recovery. These pathways and styles are also influenced by age, ethnicity/culture, sexual orientation, developmental experience and family circumstances. Such diversity is a cause for celebration.

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Written by Brenda J. Iliff, MA, Candis Siatkowski, BS, Nancy Waite-O'Brien, PhD, William White, 06 August 2007, retrieved 05 August 2008 from http://www.counselormagazine.com/content/blogsection/1/63/5/30/