Drug Treatment for women

The Orchid is dedicated to providing the finest gender-specific drug addiction treatment for women in the United States. By working exclusively with women who are suffering from alcohol and drug addiction, The Orchid Recovery Center is able to provide a completely safe place to heal – and a drug rehab program that directly addresses those issues which are exclusive to, or found predominantly in, addicted women.

The Importance of Drug Treatment for Women

In many important aspects, drug treatment for women is different from drug treatment for men. For one thing, there are physical differences between men and women, which manifest themselves in both the experience of addiction and the treatment of it. In the second place, men and women tend to arrive at alcoholism and drug addiction through different paths. Some of root causes of addiction found predominantly in women include: self-image issues, co-dependent relationships and sexual or physical abuse.

The Orchid’s research has found time and again that women in recovery share experiences and issues which they are more comfortable talking about and addressing in all-women settings.

For many years, drug and alcohol treatment put men and women through drug treatment as if there were no essential difference between the two. Since the percentage of male alcoholics and addicts is so much higher, that has effectively meant that women were treated as men. In recent years, however, a movement to address the specific needs of women has arisen based on both gender-specific research and practical experience in what helps women recover better.

This drug treatment for women movement has noted that men and women have different physical make-ups, including different organs, different hormonal balances, different body compositions and different reactions to drugs and alcohol. Consequently, it makes sense to assume that their experiences in addiction and recovery would also differ. One way in which research has proven this supposition is a closer study of how women enter into addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Observations about Women in Drug Treatment

In general terms, women in drug treatment are more likely to enter into drug use as a way of avoiding pain, and men are more likely to enter drug use as a way of chasing pleasure. In practical terms, this has extreme implications for the different recovery paths. Addiction treatment for women must be combined with treatment of the initial cause of that pain that the woman is avoiding. For many women, that includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse in addiction to co-occurring conditions such as depression or bipolar syndrome.

In drug treatment, women have different needs as well. One of the simpler needs that women have is to feel that they can share their experiences and issues in a safe place. Many women in drug treatment, for instance, have stories of eating disorders, sexual abuse or other issues that they do not feel comfortable talking about in front of a room filled with men. Another issue that women struggle with is an ability to create networks with other women.

Women working in women’s recovery note that a lot of the women coming into drug treatment speak of "never having female friends." Consequently, these women lack a strong, supportive, loving network of women. Many of them even lack the knowledge and sense of trust in other women necessary to achieve such a network. By being in an all-woman recovery house such as The Orchid, these women are able to learn how to trust other women, often for the first time in their lives.

The Orchid Recovery Center is one of the country’s most respected alcohol and drug rehab facilities for women. Utilizing the ground-breaking research of Dr. Karen Dodge, The Orchid is able to help women of all ages and socio-economic groups better understand the nature of their addiction and heal in such a way that they maintain sobriety for the rest of the lives. For more information, contact The Orchid today.