The Success of the Gender-Specific Women’s Program at Empathic Recovery BY NOEL NEU on January 27th, 2015
By Noel Neu, MS, LMHC and Kim Litton, MSW
In Palm Beach County women coming into recovery and treatment for substance abuse appear to have a drastically lower rate of recovery success than men. What is causing this disparity? It is our belief that women are not receiving the appropriate care throughout the process from first intervention through lasting recovery. After entering treatment, women are often on a timeline to hurry completion so as to get back to their family duties. This often hinders the long-term effectiveness of their healing work. Available solutions, such as generalized treatment that offer coed groups, often fail to address the additional stress that co-occurs with women in the recovery process. At the onset of the recovery process, women not only have the disease of addiction to navigate through, they also have many issues that need to be addressed that a generalized, over-arching approach cannot adequately provide. Women are faced with gender and family roles along with the presumption that they will overlook and endure any challenges given by society. Some societal attitudes women commonly encounter include sexism, objectification, and the expectation to be perfect in their duties as either mother, daughter, girlfriend or wife. In our Gender-Specific Women’s Program at Empathic Recovery, we have a specific set of goals that we set out to accomplish for our clients. We address the underlying issues which effectively strengthens and empowers each client to improve her own self-worth and gain confidence. Healing emotional wounding, managing old, ineffective thinking and beliefs, developing communication skills and coping skills in sobriety, and learning how to live life in a more accepting and grounded way creates a new pathway of living free from impulsive and destructive patterns of behavior. On an even deeper level of healing, we help to release the unconscious connection with trauma, and break the habitual behavioral patterns that can be re-traumatizing. Lastly, and most importantly for long-term success, we help our women build a strong spiritual connection within themselves and with others as support. The most important component of our treatment program that we use to achieve lasting success is we create and promote an environment of emotional safety. This includes validating and empathizing with our clients’ pain, focusing on their strengths and success to overcome their difficulties within, and helping them to allow themselves to be who they are in their truth – letting go of shame and walking
through fear. Vulnerability is encouraged and supported to cultivate the sanctity of the group which is grounded in trust in us, each other, and themselves through their process. We come from a position of our own strength and alignment, as a result of continued self-care and spiritual grounding, which inspires the clients to recover from a state of hopelessness to freedom. Arising from our purpose to specifically focus on women in recovery are results that have proven life changing for our clients. This includes transforming low self-worth into self-confidence and awareness, converting anxiety into serenity and contentment with life, and shifting cynical attitudes to a bright, hopeful outlook on life. The most impactful shift for both our clients and our facilitators as a result of our gender-specific women’s program is being a part of their healing process. In developing trusting, caring relationships with group supports that become strong friendships, our clients increase their faith in themselves, each other, and in women as a whole. We believe we are making a lasting, healing mark on the treatment and recovery of women in Palm Beach County and beyond. To offer a step forward in a more focused, impactful way for women in recovery is much needed, and we feel blessed to be a genuine part of this process.
The following are a few testimonials from women who have thrived in our gender-specific women’s program: Danielle’s Testimony:
“I have gained a desire for a better, healthier, more productive life as the person I was meant to be. You’ve helped me want something better for myself by teaching me that I deserve it. Helping me to respect myself by setting boundaries, asserting myself, helping me mend old relationships, and form healthy new ones by knowing how to deal with resentments and confrontation. Through the girls, I’m able to work on self-awareness by identifying with others and seeing myself through their eyes. With the love, support, and honesty of everyone there, I’ve learned most of all that I am not alone and more often than not, everyone has felt the same struggle I have at one point or another. Knowing that they have found a way to overcome those same struggles, brings me hope, optimism, and the comfort of knowing things can change, and there is always a solution.” Justine’s Testimony: “I learned that there is a life beyond using drugs and alcohol. I’ve learned how to bond with women and create new relationships. I have discovered things about myself and I am starting to gain more self-confidence. Taking care of myself is less of a task. I have begun to connect with my inner-self to see what went wrong in my past and how to change my future. I love this IOP and I am so grateful to have taken part with every staff member who has been a part of my early recovery. The women in our group are like sisters to me. A bond I truly believe will last forever.” Sara’s Testimony: “Everyone is so dedicated in our group and I think it’s such a blessing that pretty much everyone who I started out with at IOP is still sober and working a program. The people that come and go have taught me a lot about myself too, but I think it’s so fascinating that the people who aren’t serious don’t last long because they see that we are all trying our hardest and we are 100% serious about it.” Daisy’s Testimony: “I think it has been a great, safe, supportive environment. I love that you are in recovery because you can relate on a personal level, and the fact that it’s a small group makes it so much more intimate. You are so awesome and I love you and all you have done to help me. I am really grateful I came to Empathic Recovery, it has really been so helpful to me.”