Full Answer
Why is gender-specific addiction treatment important?
- Paradigm Treatment Why Is Gender-Specific Treatment Important? Men and women often experience things differently, and that includes addiction and recovery, making the need for gender-specific treatment essential – especially for teens.
How should we approach addiction by gender?
Approaching addiction by gender typically requires a conscious shift in approach and methods. Where men must be reduced, women must be built up. Traditional addiction treatment methods, including those in AA, do not typically approach issues first, which leaves women still vulnerable to recurring addiction.
Why do men and women have different treatment needs for addiction?
Research has shown that men and women have varying treatment needs for addiction because drug and alcohol abuse affects each sex differently in a number of ways. Physically – Male and female bodies are different, therefore men process alcohol and drugs differently than women.
Is there a difference between mixed-gender treatment for addiction?
Just as there are many differences between the way men and women experience addiction, there are also many benefits to providing separate treatment. Although very few studies have compared gender-specific treatment to mixed-gender treatment for addiction, there are several clear ways both men and women may benefit from gender-specific treatment. 6
How does group therapy work for substance abuse?
Groups encourage, coach, support, and reinforce as members undertake difficult or anxiety-provoking tasks. Groups offer members the opportunity to learn or relearn the social skills they need to cope with everyday life instead of resorting to substance abuse.
What is the most important factor in addiction?
Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect a person's likelihood of drug use and addiction. Development. Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person's life to affect addiction risk.
What is the most effective in treating addiction?
According to American Addiction Centers, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a valuable treatment tool because it can be used for many different types of addiction including, but not limited to, food addiction, alcohol addiction, and prescription drug addiction.
Why is structure important for addicts?
It creates new habits and compulsions that feel stronger than old ones. That's essentially how life under addiction becomes disordered, unstructured, messy, etc. Structure in addiction recovery programs aims to put a person on a path back to healthier habits, in turn promoting healthier thoughts and actions.
What are individuals factors that influence drug use?
Certain factors can affect the likelihood and speed of developing an addiction:Family history of addiction. Drug addiction is more common in some families and likely involves genetic predisposition. ... Mental health disorder. ... Peer pressure. ... Lack of family involvement. ... Early use. ... Taking a highly addictive drug.
What are the three primary factors that contribute to addiction?
Regardless of your upbringing or moral code, many factors can raise your risk of becoming addicted to alcohol and other drugs. Your genetics, environment, medical history, and age all play a role. Certain types of drugs, and methods of using them, are also more addictive than others.
What makes a treatment effective?
3. Effective Treatment Attends to Multiple Needs of the Individual, not just his or her drug use: To be effective, treatment must address the individual's drug use and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems.
What is the purpose of a therapeutic community?
The Therapeutic Community (TC) is an environment that helps people get help while helping others. It is a treatment environment: the interactions of its members are designed to be therapeutic within the context of the norms that require for each to play the dual role of client-therapist.
How do you help a person who has an addiction?
7 Tips for Helping Someone with an AddictionTip #1: Educate Yourself. Get information about addictions. ... Tip #2: Get Support. ... Tip #3: Get Counseling. ... Tip #4: Seek Specialty Help. ... Tip #5: Don't Enable. ... Tip #6: Have Realistic Expectations. ... Tip #7: Take Care of Yourself.
Why is structure and routine important in recovery?
Routines and patterns also strengthen and enhance your recovery, as it helps you prioritize recovery, shore up healthier habits, reduce unpredictability (which can be precarious in early recovery), and provides you with a healthier, more balanced life.
Why is structure important in life?
Lack of structure can make us feel unmotivated and distracted and often leads to you doing everything at the last minute. Of course, flexibility is important, but structure is necessary for creating a sense of stability and balance in your life.
Why is it important to follow rules in recovery?
Rules help residents focus on their recovery. All of the rules at a treatment facility are intended to minimize distractions and triggers for the residents. Cell phones give residents access to those who played a role in their addiction: suppliers, fellow users, enabling family members and friends.
Key Factors
Here’s a snapshot of key factors that might contribute to differing male and female life experiences:
Benefits of Gender-Specific Treatment
Here are a few significant points about treatment that includes gender collective aspects:
Treatment Gaps
Additionally, the SAMHSA report indicates there are “huge treatment gaps of mental and substance use disorders in the LGB population.” For people suffering with SUD/AUD, more than 86 percent didn’t receive any form of treatment; for any mental health issues, that number is nearly 46 percent; for serious mental health conditions, approximately 32 percent; and for co-occurring mental health and SUD/AUD, nearly 87 percent..
Sex Differences vs. Gender Differences
It’s important to note that there is a fundamental difference when it comes to sex and gender in regards to substance abuse. Sex differences are those determined by biological and genetic differences in men and women, while gender differences are determined by a culturally defined role, such as how a person views himself or herself. 2
Men and Women Have Different Treatment Needs
Research has shown that men and women have varying treatment needs for addiction because drug and alcohol abuse affects each sex differently in a number of ways.
Benefits of Gender-Specific Treatment
Just as there are many differences between the way men and women experience addiction, there are also many benefits to providing separate treatment. Although very few studies have compared gender-specific treatment to mixed-gender treatment for addiction, there are several clear ways both men and women may benefit from gender-specific treatment. 6
Why do women become addicted to drugs?
Women often become addicted for different reasons than men. Where men are more susceptible to exposure, stress, and issues such as child abuse, poverty, and racism , many women are more susceptible to drug use for stress, sexual assault, racism, poverty, shame, isolation, physical abuse, poverty, and discrimination. Therefore, the reasons that women begin substance dependency can be more complex, and is often heavily based on family and relationships at home and at work. While some women do become addicted through exposure, especially younger women in college or poor settings, the majority use alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism, whether they realize it at the time or not.
Do women take drugs more slowly than men?
Where men are typically exposed quickly and addicted quickly, women generally show temperance, and take smaller quantities of their substance of choice for much longer. Quantities are typically increased much more slowly as tolerance increases, meaning that most women are addicted more slowly than men. However, their addictions are also more often unnoticed, because they build up to them slowly. As a result, many women fail to seek help, even when their substance dependence is well past their idea of controlled use.
What is gender specific addiction?
Gender-specific addiction treatment refers to drug and alcohol programs that are designed to specifically treat men and women separately. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), there are fundamental biological and cultural differences between men and women in terms of substance abuse.
What are the benefits of gender specific treatment?
In addition to differences in substance use, men and women also have different expectations and goals from addiction treatment. Gender-specific programs offer multiple benefits for each gender, including: 1 Specialized treatment for gender-unique physiological, emotional, and relational issues. 2 Elevated comfort as gender-specific treatment encourages a sense of trust and bonding among fellow same-sex clients. 3 Minimized sexual tension and distractions between male and female clients. 4 Supportive gender-sensitive therapy groups that inspires open communication about social and cultural pressures that can result in substance abuse.
Why are there gender differences in substance use?
Gender differences exist in rates of dependence, choice of substance, and how the brain responds to substance use. Studies also show that women and men have different reasons for substance use in the first place and differing circumstances that result in relapse. Gender-specific treatment programs are sensitive to all of these issues ...
Why do women use alcohol?
The majority of women who use drugs or alcohol also have a history of family substance abuse and may start using because their spouse or partner is .
Why are therapy methods more helpful for men?
For example, men respond better to treatment methods that address specific thought patterns and behaviors rather than introspection.
Do men use marijuana more than women?
For example, men are more likely than women to report marijuana and alcohol use, whereas women are more likely than men to report non-medical use of prescription drugs. Men and women also differ in terms of why they started using drugs or alcohol in the first place.
Can women be in group therapy after a traumatic event?
Women that are entering treatment due to addiction after a traumatic event may particularly benefit from gender-specific programs. Women who have experienced verbal, physical, or sexual assault at the hands of a man may not feel safe discussing these events in group therapy that also includes male patients.
Why is women's addiction treatment so successful?
Women addiction treatment is most successful when designed around trust and warmth. When faced with this welcoming nature, women tend to open up more. They may be more willing to share their addiction troubles , especially those related to childbirth, infertility or hormones. They can also discuss the details of motherhood or workplace dynamics without the distraction of a male audience. This is why it is best to keep women addiction treatment separate from men’s addiction treatment.
Why are women more likely to be dependent on opioids?
Women are more likely to become dependent on opioids as they are more likely to suffer from chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia. These conditions allow women to be prescribed Opioids or other forms of prescription pills, oftentimes more than men.
Why are women afraid to quit smoking?
Women are afraid to stop the use of nicotine because of weight gain and the hard-known fact about quitting while on your menstruation cycle. Nicotine affects the hormonal balance of a woman’s body, and nicotine patches do not work as well for women. Also, vaping is not an alternate route to smoking cigarettes.
Why do women fear legal actions?
Women fear legal actions as they often have many commitments outside of therapy that would make it more difficult.
Why do women drink alcohol?
This is more easily accomplished by women than men because women have lower level enzymes. These enzymes — alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase — break alcohol down in the stomach and liver. Women also weigh less than men, which results in them getting drunk faster.
What are the typical experiences of substance abuse?
The typical experiences related to substance abuse include traumatic events and abusive relationships brought on by overprotective partners. Women turn to self-prescribed drugs to self-medicate and escape from the painful emotions brought on by abuse or victimization.
Addiction in Men vs. Women
Single Gender Treatment Settings Help Minimize Distractions
- Although it’s by no means a settled issue, some research does show that girls and boys learn more effectivelyin single-gender classrooms. The same logic may apply to treatment settings. Women may be more likely to wait to be asked to speak and to speak quietly, while men are more likely to speak loudly and not wait for permission to speak. In mixed-gender settings, these tend…
Single Gender Treatment Helps Address Gender-Specific Issues
- Some of the differences in how teenage men and women experience addiction and recovery come about because of cultural or societal expectations or because of differences in how men and women are treated generally and how that treatment helps shape them as people. In other words, they’re a product of outside influences. Other differences are more inherent to the person’s gend…
Gender-Specific Treatment Addresses Body and Self-Esteem Issues
- In addition to physical health, addiction can also affect a person’s physical appearance, and body image and self-esteem issues related to looks can sometimes be a factor in how and why a person develops an addiction in the first place. Ongoing body image and self-esteem issues can be a factor in recovery and contribute to relapses if they’re not addressed. Both men and wome…
Conclusion
- Just as men and women often need different dosagesof medicine, they need different approaches to therapeutic treatments as well. Look for a counselor or therapist who understands the role that gender plays in addiction and approaches therapy with that in mind.
Key Factors
- Here’s a snapshot of key factors that might contribute to differing male and female life experiences: 1. Statistica reports that the U.S. federal prison population in 2017 was 93 percent male and approximately 7 percent female. Yet how incarcerationimpacts families differs between people in the justice system and those at home. 2. UN Women indicates that almost 1 in 3 wom…
Benefits of Gender-Specific Treatment
- Here are a few significant points about treatment that includes gender collective aspects: 1. Addresses specific biological health factors and risks of SUD, AUD, and mental and emotional conditions, and how recovery might differ as a result. 2. Encourages a safe, non-judgmental forum to discuss personal histories, roadblocks, and challenges. 3. Pro...
For Members of The LGBTQAI+ Community
- How you identify and if you have support for your individuality also impacts health and recovery. A 2020 reportfrom the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reviewed factors of SUD, AUD, and mental health in the LGBTQAI+ community (referenced as LGB adults in the report). Here are some of the findings, which we list verbatim: 1. Serious mental illn…
Treatment Gaps
- Additionally, the SAMHSA report indicates there are “huge treatment gaps of mental and substance use disorders in the LGB population.” For people suffering with SUD/AUD, more than 86 percent didn’t receive any form of treatment; for any mental health issues, that number is nearly 46 percent; for serious mental health conditions, approximately 32 percent; and for co-occurring …
Sex Differences vs. Gender Differences
Men and Women Have Different Treatment Needs
- Research has shown that men and women have varying treatment needs for addiction because drug and alcohol abuse affects each sex differently in a number of ways. 1. Physically – Male and female bodies are different, therefore men process alcohol and drugs differently than women. For example, research has shown that women may be more vulnerable to t...
Benefits of Gender-Specific Treatment
- Just as there are many differences between the way men and women experience addiction, there are also many benefits to providing separate treatment. Although very few studies have compared gender-specific treatment to mixed-gender treatment for addiction, there are several clear ways both men and women may benefit from gender-specific treatment.6