Opiate Addiction Treatment

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), between 2001 and 2011 there was a 348% jump in the number of people enrolling in addiction treatment programs for opiates other than heroin. Much of this is believed to be due to the widespread abuse of opioid based prescription pain killers, like OxyContin, Vicodin and fentanyl. According to a Harvard study, while men dominate the heroin abuse category, it is estimated that women represent a large percentage of the abuse of prescription painkillers that are opiate based, simply because women tend to visit doctors far more than men do.

It is posited that women who have mental health issues would be susceptible to opiate abuse. By comparison to men, women have much higher instances of depression and anxiety. A woman who has had early childhood trauma, such as sex abuse, or is in an abusive relationship, would be a prime candidate for abuse of prescribed painkillers, and consequently opiate addiction treatment. Also women with eating disorders may find solace in opiate based drugs. Researchers discovered that 20% of women enrolled in an opiate addiction treatment program has a pervious problem with bulimia, which returned when they treatment center attempted to detox these women. It is important to fully understand each woman’s history and the possibility of mental issues impacting, or triggering, her drug abuse. Because of all these contributing factors, and the likelihood of a co-occurring disorder, women seeking treatment for opiate addiction require different things from treatment than men.

Many treatment centers have counselors that are male who oversee group therapy, in which many of the patients are also male. For a woman, especially one with the residual effects of a traumatic event caused by a male, this is not a constructive therapeutic situation. Moreover, it’s been proven that any woman seeking treatment for opiate addiction, or any addiction, does much better when in a treatment center specifically for women and run by women. We created Dee’s House specifically to give women in need of treatment a place where they can identify with other women, in an environment created by women. Women perform better in group situations than men do, women are more democratic and supportive of each other. Women are also far more open to learning, to spiritual exploration and understand the interconnectedness of the mind, the body and the spirit. If you’re a woman in need of addiction treatment, call us. We offer one of the most unique and exhilarating treatment experiences you will find.

Return to the main Addiction Treatment page or explore other drug addictions we treat at Dee’s House: Alcohol, Cocaine, Heroin

For more information about our opiate addiction treatment program for women call us confidentially at (714) 374-6873.