Rehabs for Women Only
Women who have addictions or who are diagnosed with co-occurring disorders have special needs in treatment. There are differences in the reasons why many women are likely to have substance abuse issues, different reasons for relapse and differences in the way women respond to treatment. Women have special needs while in treatment, which is one of several reasons that women are often more likely to successfully complete treatment and aftercare when in women-only rehab programs.
Women and substance abuse
Women often begin using alcohol and other drugs for different reasons than men and may have a different drug of choice than men. Women have different issues that create emotional stressors which can lead to substance abuse and subsequent addiction. While it is easy to assume that fewer women have substance abuse issues than men, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicates that nine million women have used drugs in the past year, that 3.7 million women abused prescription drugs in the past year and that over 70 per cent of the AIDS cases among women are related to drug use. NIDA also points out that women can quickly become addicted to drugs like cocaine and crack, to the point that when a woman finally seeks treatment or is forced into mandated treatment by the courts, the addiction is often difficult to treat.
Women often suffer from other conditions such as eating disorders or depression. Healthy Women says that women can become addicted to substances more quickly than men do and that women are often more likely than men to develop health problems related to their substance abuse and addictions. Some of the serious alcohol-related health disorders that women are more prone to includes:
- Heart disease – Women develop heart disease at the same rate as men even when they consume less alcohol
- Liver damage – Even when women consume less alcohol, they develop liver damage faster than men who drink
- Brain damage – MRIs have demonstrated that women are potentially more prone to brain damage
Healthy Women gives the example that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) indicates that for healthy men under the age of 65, low-risk drinking is considered no more than four drinks a day, with some days of no drinking. For healthy women of the same age, however, “responsible drinking is the consumption of no more than one standard drink per day.” These differences in healthy drinking levels, the fact that women can become addicted to drugs faster than men and that their addiction is often difficult to treat gives rise to issues regarding rehab for women. There are many women rehab centers that have the knowledge and expertise to help women throughout the treatment process, even given specific special issues such as a woman who is dual diagnosis or pregnant.
Gender related issues in substance abuse
In addition to the fact that women may become addicted faster than men, may have a different drug of choice and that treatment is often more difficult for women than men, there are other gender-related issues related to women with addictions and rehab for women. Women are more likely to combine alcohol use with prescription drug use and are also likely to have suffered sexual abuse or sexual assault when they abuse alcohol or when addicted to another substance. In fact there are rehabs offering inpatient therapy for sexual assault.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stresses that “The epidemiology of women’s drug use presents challenges separate from those raised by men’s drug use.” The NIH also explains that the multitude of gender-related issues and differences regarding substance abuse may present more barriers to women and that “All of these differences have important clinical, treatment, and research implications.”
Substance abuse and pregnancy
Women who drink or who use other drugs during pregnancy present special issues regarding not only the mother’s health and addiction, but the potential that the baby may suffer health problems and be born an addict due to the mother’s drug use. In addition to fetal alcohol syndrome, low birth weight, cognitive and behavioral issues, babies can even suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Specialized prenatal care and treatment for the baby is essential to minimizing the effects of mom’s addiction and the withdrawal symptoms. Women rehabs often provide the specialized treatment that is critical for pregnant mothers trying to quit their drug use during their pregnancy.
Gender specific treatment – Women rehab programs
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recognizes the increasing prevalence of substance abuse among women and realizes the need for women rehab centers. Hurdles that women face when considering treatment and while in substance abuse treatment are considered as potential obstacles to treatment as are other gender-specific issues. Women who have children “may be torn between the need to care for her dependent children and the need for treatment.” The ONDCP also wants to address the fact that when involved in traditional, rather than women-only rehab that includes keeping mother and children together, women often face losing custody of their children and involvement in the criminal justice system. Other agencies, including NIDA agree that treatment for women is “especially effective” when women and their children are permitted to stay together when the mother is in a rehab for women.
Benefits of women rehab centers
Women-only rehab centers can focus on issues specific to women such as body image, self-esteem, parenting and coping skills and trauma issues such as sexual assault, which are likely not addressed in treatment that is not located at women-only treatment programs.
As agencies charged with research, funding and developing treatment programs are finally recognizing the special needs of women in treatment, strategies for expansion of gender-specific treatment programs for women and resources for women rehabs are increasing.
Locating a women-only rehab
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[Source: whitehouse.gov, drugabuse.gov, healthywomen.org, NCBI]