Women-specific care is vital for helping women achieve full recovery and healing. Mental health and addiction affect women differently than men. Having specific care catered toward women gives women equal access to treatment and the same opportunities in life post-treatment. Many unique factors can influence a woman’s mental health or substance use, including specific traumas that impact women differently. What’s more, co-ed treatment may limit women’s progress in recovery. Therefore, having educated staff and a dedicated facility to cater to women’s needs is crucial. At First Steps Recovery, women are provided with their own specified location, the Sequoia location, for detoxification and residential treatment.
The Importance of Women-Specific Care and Treatment
Women-specific care is important for mental health recovery as well as addiction recovery. Men and women experience these disorders in different ways due to many factors, including biological, genealogical, psychosocial, and cultural factors.
Often women may feel more hesitant to actively participate in group therapies or collaborative exercises in treatment because they feel like their needs are not being addressed. Likewise, being surrounded by a group of other women who have shared experiences rather than trying to provide life recovery advice across genders can help women progress further in healing. While this is not always the case, it is important to recognize the differences in how mental health and addiction impact women versus men and cater treatment accordingly to each individual.
Addressing Women’s Unique Challenges
Some examples specific to mental health are that women experience depression, anxiety, and eating disorders more commonly than men. Depression is something women may cope with due to hormonal changes, such as during or after pregnancy, during their menstrual cycle, and during menopause. Women may also experience certain symptoms of other mental health disorders on a greater scale than men.
As for substance use disorder (SUD), it is important for staff to be trained to treat women. When women-centered care first surfaced, it was meant to raise the standard of treatment for women. This was because the resources at the time were unequal between genders. SUD often stems from a deep-rooted cause (or causes). Women and men have different life experiences. Having staff members who are not trained to meet women’s needs may be detrimental, as women’s traumas can be unique to women. Training and mindfulness of women’s needs while caring for them is key. Through this approach, the roots of addiction can be addressed as a whole to promote longevity with sobriety.
Women-Specific Care at First Steps Recovery’s Sequoia Location
First Steps Recovery has gender-specific care to benefit both men and women. This way, treatment is entirely catered to a person’s unique needs. Women live at the Sequoia location as they go through detoxification and residential treatment. However, residential treatment is not always the program clients are put into. This is decided based on several factors, including how much security and hands-on guidance the client needs. For women who do go into residential treatment, the Sequoia location will be their residence.
Women-specific care at First Steps Recovery is also catered toward mothers. Here, mothers learn about how to adapt their lifestyle to their newfound sobriety. This includes practicing healthy coping mechanisms, replacing “wine time” with more self-caring and fulfilling rituals, and building a solid support system before transitioning back into their regular routine.
For women who are not pregnant or mothers, First Steps Recovery takes a trauma-informed approach catered toward women. As stated before, trauma affects women differently. Having staff trained specifically to treat women helps these clients address and understand these experiences more fully.
The Sequoia Location: Detoxification
Detoxification is the first step of addiction recovery after an evaluation. This program is gender specific and includes psychotherapy, counseling, group therapy, and case management. The program includes an onsite physician, 24/7 nursing, and safe and sober transport. The process lasts for at least a week, depending on the kinds of substances that were involved.
First Steps Recovery’s detoxification phase of treatment is medically assisted or supervised. Here, clients are kept in a secure, safe, and peaceful environment to promote ease and healing during this process. Detoxification rids the body of the drug’s or alcohol’s residues. This frequently leads to withdrawal symptoms, which can cause a great deal of discomfort. In a supervised setting, therapists, specialists, and doctors are there to help women through this discomfort in a safe manner.
The Sequoia Location: Residential Treatment
Residential treatment is often the next step of recovery. At the Sequoia location, rehabilitation will be specific to women. The program lasts for at least 30 days, which is also dependent on the severity of the addiction or mental health problems at hand. Residential treatment is also recommended for clients who have co-occurring disorders. This is because treatment is very hands-on with lots of guidance and supervision to ensure a smooth recovery process.
Here, clients learn about healthy coping mechanisms that work best for them and engage in group and individual therapy sessions. A variety of clinical and holistic services are available to create optimal results. Women follow personalized treatment plans created from their evaluation that include therapies most likely to be effective for them and ones they are most interested in. Each client is different, even among women, so having as specific of a care plan as possible is crucial for achieving a successful outcome.
Here at First Steps Recovery, our Sequoia location is specific for women’s detoxification and residential treatment. Women experience addiction and mental health differently, which makes it crucial to offer care that is catered to their needs. For instance, women may experience certain traumas that are deeply influential in their addictions. Having staff members who are trained to address these deeply rooted causes is necessary. Also, women benefit from group therapy sessions and a gender-specific social setting to help them relate to each other on a deeper, more personal level. Having a support system that is able to understand one’s life experiences and challenges is important. To learn more about our Sequoia location, please contact us at (844) 489-0836.
Dr. Curl is the Medical Director and primary on-site provider for First Steps Recovery. He is a Board Certified Internist and Addiction Medicine Specialist having attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital with Harvard Medical School. Following several years work as an internist and physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation). Dr. Curl completed the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Howard University in Washington DC and participated as a RAM Scholar (Research in Addiction Medicine). While part of the fellowship, Dr. Curl pursued research investigating the barriers to expanding and improving medication for opioid use disorder. Following his fellowship, Dr. Curl spearheaded the Opiate Use Disorder outpatient clinic and worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Howard University Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Curl completed his Board Certification in Addiction Medicine.
