Gender & Age Specific Treatment

Age Specific Addiction Treatment Programs

Although every individual is unique, many of us go through similar life stages, such as high school, parenthood, and retirement. Sharing these experiences can help us understand one another.

On the other side of the coin, there can be barriers between age groups or generations. A teen may believe that someone his grandfather’s age can’t possibly know what he’s going through; the older adult may believe that youth lack respect and understanding.

To remove potential friction, and to allow our communities to better relate to each other, our addiction treatment programs are age-specific. In addition to age, we also look at each individual in terms of where they are (and where they have been) in life to determine which treatment program will best meet their unique needs. Our age-specific approach allows us to treat:

• Teens (13-18): Usually in high school and most often still dependent on and living with parents
• Young Adults (19-25): Usually in college, highly dependent upon parents, and not married
• Adults (26-64): Self-sufficient, working, living on their own or with their families; often they’ve become parents now
• Older Adults: Retired, often faced with age-related loss and loneliness, coping with health issues, their children are grown and now have children of their own

Gender-Specific Addiction Treatment

From teens to older adults, we’ve found that people in addiction treatment are more comfortable, and more successful in recovery, when they rehabilitate with peers of the same sex. So, we’ve created specific care environments for males and females of each age group.

This separation of genders allows you the freedom to be yourself, without the distraction, sexual tension, fear, or any of the other complications that coed rehabilitation can cause. Sometimes, often without realizing it, men and women will put on an act for the other sex, taking on a role that’s not really who they are. But, when healing from a drug or alcohol problem, it’s very important be yourself in order to get to the root causes of addiction. Gender separation removes pretenses and masks, allowing people to be themselves and heal effectively.

Separating into groups by gender also makes it easier to talk about gender-specific issues and experiences. Not to mention, it allows us to focus education and therapy on relevant issues.

To learn more about gender-specific groups by age, read about our Treatment Programs.