E-grāmata: Women's Group Treatment for Substance Use Disorder: Therapist Guide

"Women with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and other Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) have different etiology, mortality, relapse antecedents, clinical presentation, and course of the disorders than men with AUD/SUD (see Epstein & Menges, 2013; Epstein et al.,2018 ). For instance, relative to men, women report higher comorbidity of mood, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, eating, and personality disorders (Rosenthal, 2013); and women are likely to drink alone, in secrecy, daily, in response to relationship difficulties (Zweig, McCrady, & Epstein, 2009) and in response to negative emotional triggers (Abulseoud et al., 2013). Women tend to have social networks that include family members and romantic partners with SUD (Leonard & Homish, 2008) who do not support recovery (McCrady, 2004). Many relapse antecedents are more prevalent in women than men, including being alone, negative affect, interpersonal problems and relationship distress (Walitzer & Dearing, 2006). Mediators of treatment on AUD outcomes also may differ by gender; mechanisms of change generally relevant to women likely include alleviation of negative affect, enhanced coping skills and self-care, improved interpersonal functioning (Velasquez & Stotts, 2003), and greater emotion regulation (Ashley, Marsden, & Brady, 2003; Timko, Finney, & Moos, 2005). Gender differences in clinical presentation of addiction, relapse antecedents, and mediators suggest that treatments tailored to women's concerns may enhance access to treatment and yield more positive outcomes than gender-neutral programs. Treatment utilization for alcohol use problems is lower for women than for men. Women may be more likely to seek help if single-gender treatment is offered (Cucciare et al., 2013; Lewis et al., 2016), however, female-segregated treatments have been found to be efficacious only if they include female-specific programming (Epstein & Menges, 2013; Holzhauer, Cucciare & Epstein, 2020)"--

Women with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and other Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) have different etiology, mortality, relapse antecedents, clinical presentations, and courses of the disorders than men. This therapist guide addresses the unique problems and treatment needs of women with AUD/SUD and is based on scientific evidence accumulated over 25 years of NIH-funded studies. The book provides detailed guidance for conducting each session, sample dialogue, worksheets, and completed examples for each worksheet, and is designed to be used along with the corresponding client workbook.

This cognitive-behavioral, motivation-enhancing guide for therapists can be delivered in inpatient or outpatient settings; designed primarily for group settings, it is also easily adapted for individual use. The program covers 12 weekly sessions to help women to become abstinent, preventing relapse to drinking or drug use, and to generally achieve improvement in quality of life. The therapist guide includes step-by-step instructions for addressing behaviors around drinking and drug use, general coping skills such as problem-solving, assertiveness training, wellness behaviors, and communication training, as well as additional female-specific interventions like social network support and building healthy, supportive relationships. If used in a group format, the therapy harnesses the power of peer support, shared wisdom, and universality of experience to accelerate positive change in desired outcomes. Overcoming alcohol or drug problems is an attainable goal with this effective and
comprehensive program.