Facilities providing drug rehab for women historically have accepted the belief that on average, men drink more than women, men do more drugs than women and men fall into alcoholism and drug addiction more quickly than women.
At least they used to. While a greater percentage of men than women still abuse alcohol and illicit substances, that gap is starting to shrink and shrink quickly, especially in the younger demographics. With regard to the traditional thought process of men developing alcoholism earlier than women, Harvard psychiatry professor Shelly F. Greenfield says the contrary is true: “the disease of alcohol dependence proceeds on a faster course in women, requiring medical treatment four years sooner, on average, than for male problem drinkers.”
Gender Specific Alcohol and Drug Rehab for Women Essential
In addition to her thoughts on alcoholism progressing faster in women, she also shares her take on the most effective format for alcohol and drug rehab for women, namely the gender specific format. She began researching women and addiction specifically after noticing that many of the treatment strategies that were successful for men really weren’t that successful for women.
True gender specific alcohol and drug rehab for women is built around the philosophy that men and women have different needs, and their treatment should be reflective of that. For example, women entering a rehab facility typically want to feel safe and nurtured in their environment in order for them to open up and communicate honestly with their counselors as well as their peers. That’s just not a reasonable expectation for a great many women to achieve in a mixed gender facility.
There are a number of women who’ve been the victims of trauma and sexual assault that are far too fragile to heal and come to terms with what’s happened to them in the presence of men. Gender specific drug rehab for women is also crucial for females with low self esteem that don’t feel like they can truly be themselves in the presence of men.
It basically comes down to the fact that if you don’t feel comfortable and safe enough in your environment to let your guard down and be true to the process, treatment in all likelihood will not be effective for you. While the reasoning behind it may be slightly different, many experts also agree that mixed gendered rehab is far too distracting for men to be able to give their recovery all of the attention and care it requires.
Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a Joint Commission accredited, dual diagnosis, alcohol and drug rehab for women in South Florida. Destination Hope is a truly gender specific place to heal for women suffering from substance abuse issues as well as the other maladies that often come along with it.
Their caring and nurturing staff will stop at nothing to morph into the support system you need them to be to garner the best recovery outcome possible. We understand how important achieving long-term sobriety is to you because it’s equally important to us. Call us day or night so we can get started on your recovery plan today.
