Drug rehabilitation programs are designed with one goal in mind: To
remove any traces of addiction from patients with substance abuse or
psychological problems. But while rehab programs work towards a common
aim, the methods employed can vary greatly.
Many programs for
rehabilitation focus on the detoxification stage, a fallacy that is in
fact promoted by mass media outlets like movies and TV shows. While
detox can be the hardest part of rehabilitation in the physical sense,
this is not the only aspect of healing from addictions. Careful,
continuing treatment must be done in order to minimize the chances of
relapsing, and this is true particularly for female rehab patients.
Studies
by various government and private organizations have shown that women
abuse drugs for reasons different from those that men commonly state. As
such, women also require different treatment programs from men.
Drug
rehabilitation programs geared towards women must not only focus on the
symptoms of drug addiction and withdrawal, but on any erratic behavior
patterns and maladaptive thought processes that may serve as the cause
of the addiction themselves. A dual diagnosis approach serves to define
and treat both of these elements concurrently, and in so doing tackles
the problem of addiction at its root.