Why You Should Consider a Gender-Specific Rehab Center

If you’ve been to rehab, you know the clichés about rehab romances. You also know what it’s like to be in a mixed treatment center, a rehab that hosts both men and women. For many, these rehabs work just fine. But for some, choosing a gender-specific rehab center can make the difference between a life in recovery or staying addicted.

Recovery Isn’t One Size Fits All

Recovery isn’t one size fits all and treatment shouldn’t be either. With gender-specific treatment centers, more individualized treatment occurs as needs specific to each gender are addressed. Here are some more benefits of all male or all female rehabs.

• Removes Distractions: For some people, the opposite sex is always a distraction, even in rehab. Instead of focusing on treatment, people distract themselves by trying to form relationships or analyzing others. When the opposite sex is removed and you’re surrounded by all men or all women, suddenly treatment and recovery become more important.
• Become More Comfortable: For many, talking about personal issues in front of the opposite sex is uncomfortable. A woman who’s used prostitution to support her drug habit may not want to share that in front of men, fearful that she’ll be judged. Similarly, a man who hit his wife may fear exposing that to a room of women, but would be more comfortable discussing these issues with men who’ve struggled with aggression.
• Common Life Experiences: Another major benefit for gender-specific drug and alcohol treatment is it allows for greater bonding through shared life experiences. Understanding similar circumstances, such as things like motherhood, emotions, and experiences, make treatment more successful.
• Gender-Specific Barriers: Everyone has barriers to treatment, and for some, those barriers are gender specific. Mental health issues are a common barrier for women, while anger is more often experienced by men. If you think you have gender-specific barriers to treatment, call 888-646-0635Who Answers? to find the right rehab center for you.

Women-Specific Issues

Women tend to have similar life experiences, making it easier for them to bond in treatment.

Here are some of the issues more commonly faced by women in drug and alcohol treatment.

• Women are more likely to seek treatment through a mental health provider or their primary care physician as opposed to a drug and alcohol rehab center.
• Women are also more likely to be impacted by trauma and suffer from PTSD due to the trauma.
• Women are more likely to hold the role of the primary care giver in the household and the responsibilities that go alone with it. When there’s young children involved, this can make inpatient treatment difficult, in not impossible.
• More women than men lack financial independence, making some decisions and changes more difficult than those who can afford to live on their own.
• Women are more likely to attend treatment where the following are available: child care, group therapy for support, creative therapy, and mental health services.

Men-Specific Issues

Just as women have their own issues in regards to addiction treatment, men do as well. Here are some of the most men-specific drug and alcohol issues.

• Men are twice as likely to become addicted and three times more likely to be alcoholics than women.
• Men’s reasons for drinking are often different than women’s and include poorly learned coping mechanisms.
• Men are more likely to have difficulty with father/son relationships than women experience with mother/daughter relationships.
• Men with addiction or alcoholism are more likely to express anger or aggression, and are more likely to isolate themselves than women.

The Importance of Long Term Rehab Centers for Men in Recovery

Is Gender-Specific Treatment Right for You?

Have you had your own rehab romance in the past? Have you tried mixed treatment and found it lacking something integral? Consider gender-specific treatment. Call 888-646-0635Who Answers? today to get help and find the right treatment program for you.