Women And Addiction

For many years, addiction research focused almost exclusively on men. Yet scientific awareness of sex and gender differences in substance use disorders has grown tremendously in recent decades. This volume brings together leading authorities to review the state of the science and identify key directions for research and clinical practice. Concise, focused chapters illuminate how biological and psychosocial factors influence the etiology and epidemiology of substance use disorders in women; their clinical presentation, course, and psychiatric comorbidities; treatment access; and treatment effectiveness. Prevalent substances of abuse are examined, as are issues facing special populations.

Recognizing that men and women have different patterns and different needs, the book emphasizes the relational model of female psychological development formulated by such theorists as Miller, Chodorow, and Gilligan, which illuminates women's functional focus on connection and relationship as opposed to men's on separation and individuation.

Journalist Jenny Valentish takes a gendered look at drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Mining the expertise of 35 leading researchers, clinicians and psychiatrists, she explores the early predictors of addictive behaviour, such as trauma, temperament and impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours – such as eating disorders, compulsive buying and high-risk sex – are interchangeable with problematic substance use. From her childhood in suburban Slough to her chaotic formative years in the London music scene, we follow her journey to Australia, where she experiences firsthand treatment facilities and AA groups, and reflects whether or not they are meeting the needs of women. Woman of Substances is an insightful, rigorous and brutally honest read. In Australia it was nominated for a prestigious Walkley Book Award. 'Employing expert interviews and research, each rich personal episode is contextualised within the under-examined issue of women's substance abuse. Detailed, insightful and told with a feature writer's narrative flair' Bookseller and Publisher. 'Engages readers with storytelling while presenting scientific findings and theories in a way that is accessible to a broad audience' Broadsheet. 'Part monograph, part memoir, part Ginsbergian howl of outrage at a culture in which gender bias is a tenet. It is a work of compellingly articulate anger' The Australian. 'In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect' The Saturday Paper. 'We need books like this, and writers like Valentish, to give voice to our frustrations and concerns, to help legitimise and mobilise' Kill Your Darlings. 'Valentish's passion lies in exploring the underlying causes and their effects and, in the most female of ways, offering companionship and reassurance for her readers' The Monthly. 'Doesn't mince her words' Sydney Morning Herald.

For most women, sexually addictive and sexually codependent behavior are intertwined. Sexually codependent behavior reflects basic female conditioning in our society—we are taught that a woman's power is in her sexuality, yet her sexuality is often controlled by men. Thus, sex can easily become a basic form of barter: it is the price many women pay for love and the illusion of security. The addicted woman, seeking a sense of personal power and an escape from pain, may use sex and romance as a high or as a way to feel in control, just as an alcoholic uses alcohol. Either way, however, sex never'satisfies her longing for love and self-worth. Combining remarkably candid case histories with provocative cultural analyses, Dr. Charlotte Kasl dramatically evokes both the experience of addiction and the process of recovery. She illuminates the insidious relationship between adult addiction and early abuse or neglect and explores the connections between all forms of addiction. Her guide to recovery is backed by a life-affirming discussion of healthy love and spiritual awareness. With this wise, compassionate book, women will learn to experience their sexuality as a source of love and positive power, and sex as an expression that honors the soul as well as the body.

Providing essential theoretical and practical guidelines for clinicians, educators, policymakers, and public health professionals, The Handbook of Addiction Treatment for Women is a comprehensive resource of the most current research and knowledge from recognized experts in the field of addiction and treatment. This much needed guide offers an historical context on the issue of women and addiction, examines the myriad challenges of the female addict, and includes recommendations for choosing a course of treatment that will meet the specific needs of an individual woman addict.

Having an addiction can follow the path of a great relationship that goes sour: there’s the first blush of romance, the seduction (“you know you want to”), and the downward spiral into either obsession or breaking free. Jill Talbot is no stranger to addiction. Part autobiography, part exposé, Loaded: Women and Addiction weaves Talbot's own battles with addiction with various addiction stories of other women. The result is a captivating, honest look at the allure of addiction—be it to sex, drugs, alcohol, food, adventure, or infidelity—and ultimately its betrayal. Though addiction can be seductive, if you’re waking up with guilt or making choices that harm others, it’s probably a clue that things are out of control. Throughout Loaded, Talbot's razor-sharp honesty, heartbreaking self-awareness, and resolve to reveal the difficult truth of her relationship with past and present addictions is humbling and sometimes gut-wrenching. In sharing her struggles and her resolve to attain control over her addictions, Talbot speaks her truth while sending a message of hope to women everywhere.

This book is dedicated to the memories of Robert Branham, my professor at Bates College, whose teaching, scholarship, and humanity continue to inspire and sustain me, and to my grandma, Dorothy Grosser, whose beauty, spirit, and love are with me all the time. I would also like to thank Leighton Pierce, Franklin Miller, Michael McGee, Lauren Rabinowitz, Doris Witt, Camille Seaman, and Bruce Gronbeck at the University of Iowa for their wisdom, guidance, generosity, and support. I am especially grateful to Barbara Biesecker, my teacher, colleague, and friend, who offered perceptive comments on the manuscript and unfailing encouragement. My appreciation also goes out to the University of Iowa Graduate College, which assisted me with the award of a Seashore Dissertation Year Fellowship. At Syracuse University, I am indebted to Jane Marsching, Doug Dubois, Mark Durant, Jude Lewis, John Orentlicher, Loren Schwerd, and Owen Shapiro for their art, friendship, and constructive advice. Additional thanks go to John Sloop, and Catherine Murphy, Lisa Wigutoff, and Myia Williams at Westview Press.

Since it was first published in 1999, Helping Women Recover has set the standard for best practice in the field of women’s treatment. Helping Women Recover is based on Dr. Covington’s Women’s Integrated Treatment (WIT) model. It offers a program specifically designed to meet the unique needs of women who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs or have co-occurring disorders. This thoroughly revised and updated edition includes evidence-based and empirically tested therapeutic interventions which are used to treat addiction and trauma in an innovative way. The Helping Women Recover program offers counselors, mental health professionals, and program administrators the tools they need to implement a gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment program in group therapy settings or with individual clients. Included in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.