What is gender-specific treatment? Gender-specific treatment is designed to provide specialized care to women and men separately. There are fundamental biological differences between each gender. As such, it is important that addiction treatment centers address the differences and provide the appropriate care.
Gender-specific treatment is sensitive to these differences and strives to provide a personalized approach relevant to both females and males. However, you may be asking, what is gender-specific treatment? If you’re wondering about the answer to this question, the experts at TruHealing Centers can help. Contact our addiction treatment center today at [Direct] to learn more.
How Addiction Affects Men and Women Differently
Men and women experience substance abuse and addiction differently. Gender plays a role in important factors such as prevalence, substance choice, and how addiction affects different areas of a person’s life.
There are several ways in which gender differences exist in addiction, such as:
- Choice of substance
- Rates of dependence
- How the brain reacts to substance abuse
- The reason for the addiction
- Recovery from addiction
- The types of support a person going through recovery needs
A men’s rehab center and women’s rehab center will understand these differences and approach treatment accordingly.
Choice of Substance
For example, statistically, men are more drawn to alcohol and marijuana. However, women are more likely to abuse prescription drugs. Women are also more likely to abuse wine, while men are likely to binge on hard liquor. Men are also more likely to be addicted to illicit drugs.
Reason for Use and Addiction
Men and women use drugs or alcohol for different reasons. Men start to engage in substance abuse because of the hallucinogenic or euphoric feelings they hope to experience from it. They also believe that it gives them better concentration, improved sex drive, and the ability to socialize.
Women, on the other hand, start abusing substances due to stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma. They may turn to drugs or alcohol as a form of escape or self-medication. They may also be more likely to take out a prescription for a trauma-related disorder. In time they abuse the medication and form a dangerous habit.
How the Addiction Progresses
Most women start out using small doses of prescription or drinking a smaller glass of alcohol. As time goes on, they increase their intake to the point where they become addicted to it. The development of addiction can be so slow that no one realizes what is going on until the symptoms become apparent.
Men are more likely to form a severe addiction early on because they start using large amounts of drugs or alcohol from the beginning. They are likely to binge on the weekends, which almost inevitably turns into a full-blown addiction.
Willingness to Get Treatment
Although women are not always convinced they have a problem, they are more likely to get help for addiction much sooner than men. They may explore options for substance abuse treatment programs and be more assertive in getting the right help. They are also more likely to stick with a rehab program to the end.
Men may deny that they have a problem and wait until they hit rock bottom before considering addiction treatment therapies. Even when they do seek treatment, they are more likely to drop out of a program or relapse than women. Men are also apprehensive about going to detox or engaging in programs such as holistic therapy that are out of their comfort zone.
Learn More About Gender-Specific Treatment at TruHealing Centers
When you seek gender-specific treatment, you get the care that addresses your unique needs as a man or woman. It also gives you a safe space where you can talk about the challenges you’re facing in recovery. If you’re still wondering about what gender-specific treatment is, you can learn more at TruHealing Centers. Our residential addiction treatment centers provide a wide range of evidence-based and holistic treatments, including:
- Alcohol addiction treatment program
- Heroin addiction treatment program
- Meth addiction treatment program
- Cocaine addiction treatment program
- Opioid addiction treatment program
Call TruHealing Centers at [Direct] to get a free consultation from a treatment specialist today.