The Mark Houston Recovery Center for Women

In October of 2009, Mark Houston will open up the doors to The Mark Houston Recovery Center for Women, a gender specific rehab center that will have an all-female staff and will focus on helping adult women overcome their drug and/or alcohol addictions so that they may realize permanent sobriety. This is exciting news indeed, as The Mark Houston Recovery Center already has a long-standing tradition of providing effective options for the continued success of men seeking drug and alcohol recovery programs to help them overcome addiction.

If you or another female you know is struggling with drug and alcohol addiction or relapse or have simply had difficulty finding a women's drug rehab center that works for you, contact The Mark Houston Recovery Center for Women at 877.383.4426.

Gender Specific Rehab & Why It's Important

It is only in recent decades that any real attention has been paid to gender specific rehab or women's drug rehab. In a 2001-2002 Biennial Report to Congress, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) had the following to say with regards to gender specific rehab, women's drug rehab and women's alcohol rehab:

In the early 1990s, NIDA began to have growing concerns about the lack of knowledge about other issues specific to women and about whether there are important, but unidentified, differences between males and females throughout the various aspects of drug abuse. To assess these issues and to identify research gaps, in 1994 NIDA held a conference...Since that meeting NIDA has been actively engaged in a number of efforts to fill these research gaps and the drug abuse research field has responded, as evidenced by a growing number of NIDA-supported research grants in this area....NIDA-supported research is repeatedly showing that gender matters in drug abuse. [source: http://www.drugabuse.gov/WHGD/BiRep01-02.html ]

Additionally, according to evidence collected by NIDA, female substance abusers are less likely than their male counterparts to seek help for their drug or alcohol addiction. While there are many reasons for why this might be the case, a couple of the top suggestions include the fact that many women feel ashamed (which is influenced by various socioeconomic factors), as well as the fact that many women and/or families of women drug addicts can't seem to find adequate information on women's drug rehab or women's alcohol rehab programs.

Women's Drug and Alcohol Rehab

There are many reasons why a woman might express initial interest in using drugs or alcohol. For example, many young women abuse drugs and/or alcohol because of issues surrounding body image (such as losing weight). Women are also more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than men for any of the following reasons: relieve stress, increase confidence, poor self image, depression, boredom or to improve their mood. In addition to this, age, socioeconomic status and race may also play a determining role as to whether or not women abuse drugs. For instance, a young woman who is in her early twenties might succumb to peer pressure or wanting to fit in versus an older woman who may have just gone through a messy divorce or may be suffering from 'empty nest syndrome'.

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, only 38 percent of drug and alcohol treatment facilities have drug and alcohol rehab programs tailored to the unique needs of women. While the Mark Houston Recovery Center for women is NOT a treatment facility for drug and alcohol abuse, we are the next step in providing drug and alcohol rehab for women in a safe environment in order to help them realize that a life without drugs and alcohol IS possible. Call us today at 877.383.4426 for more information on either our Women's only or Men's only programs.