By: Lakeview Health
According to an *article written for the American Psychological Association by Mark Greer in 2005, men and women have different obstacles to overcome when entering treatment. They also differ in motivations or reasons for starting substance abuse in the first place. These differences are just some of the good reasons why gender responsive rehab program treatment works very well.
Gender Responsive Rehab Program’s Treatment is More Productive for Overcoming Addiction
In substance abuse treatment based upon a gender-responsive program, women focus more on relationships, self-esteem, trauma, health, co-occurring conditions such as eating disorders, and family roles. Women need to feel safe and secure in treatment to work on issues specific to their gender. By providing this safe environment for females to open up and address past traumas, while working on their personal relationships, therapeutic rehabilitation from substance abuse is more productive for them. Men typically feel a strong drive for success in the eyes of society, with this often ingrained from birth. They can feel great pressure to appear masculine in the traditional sense. These two factors often lead them into addiction and make opening up in therapeutic settings more difficult. Therapies must approach men differently and allow them to overcome both stereotypes and societal expectations in their own ways. Gender-responsive program participation is also a safer place for men to open up and get the treatment they need.
How Treatment Varies in a Gender Responsive Rehab Program
Beginning June 9, 2016, the male and female environments of treatment will be different in Lakeview Health’s gender-responsive treatment program. The sexual tension that is inherent in mixed company settings will be alleviated. Men will likely feel less competitive and guarded, while women will feel less inclined to hide traumas of the past that led to their addiction. Men tend to use drugs and alcohol as part of socialization, so even the environment of rehab must help them overcome the temptations to use within these types of experiences. The female environment of gender-responsive rehab is a softer, safer place for women to delve into the deep emotional issues and traumas that hold them back in life and led to addiction. Examples of these traumas are child abuse, sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and emotional abuse. By creating a female-only environment specifically for women, safety and security are inherent in the program and women can open up more freely for better recovery.
Lakeview Health Provides Gender Responsive Rehab Programs
At Lakeview Health in Jacksonville, Florida, our gender responsive rehab treatment provides a safe, productive environment for men and women to separately overcome societal expectations while undergoing addiction rehab. These programs also allow patients to open up more freely, more deeply examining why they entered addiction, in the first place, working on those issues to ensure long-term recovery. Lakeview Health provides a gender-responsive rehab program for men and women, with all activities for patients completely separated. Call Lakeview Health now at 866.704.7692 to get the answers you need regarding gender-responsive treatment. ————– *Sources: Greer, M. (2005, June). Keeping them hooked in. Monitor on Psychology: A Publication of the American Psychological Association, 36(6), 60. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun05/hooked.aspx
