Women friendly rehab centres, is there such a thing? Are any rehab centres not women friendly? If you have been searching online for women friendly rehab centres the chances are that you are concerned about mixed sex rehab centres. Why is this?
Is it because you have had a bad experience with men and wish to be protected from them? A good rehab centre will ensure that you feel safe, both in terms of your accommodation and personal space and while you are in therapy. It may be that your ‘living quarters’ will be women only – certainly you can expect privacy when you are attending to personal care, washing, showering etc. You can certainly expect a private single sex place to sleep. And when in therapy you should not feel intimidated by people of the opposite sex. A good addiction rehab centre will guarantee this and the Haynes Clinic certainly does.
Accommodation at The Haynes Clinic
At the Haynes Clinic we have 3 accommodation houses and generally these houses are kept single sex whenever it is practically possible. If it is important to you we can ensure that you are only in a house with other women. However we subscribe very strongly to the view that therapy and treatment is best in a mixed sex environment. We live in a world of men, women, transgender etc – these days referred to as LGBTQIA – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual” . Other variants may have a “U” for “unsure”; a “C” for “curious”; another “T” for “transvestite”; a “TS”, or “2” for “two-spirit” persons; or an “SA” for “straight allie”. While you might meet some of these individuals in treatment, they are only as likely to be there as you are to meet them in the outside world. So you will meet men in the outside world – and therefore it is appropriate for you to meet them in treatment.
Addiction treatment is not just about stopping drinking, gambling or using drugs. It is about changing the way we feel about them, how we feel about ourselves and how we react to real life, its events and challenges. This includes dealing with men (and women). So in treatment we think it is important to interact with men, to hear their point of view and even perhaps to deal with our own conceptions of men and how they behave.
Your comfort and safety is our priority
If you have a specific reason not to want to interact with men due to an experience you have had, this can be dealt with on a one to one basis. Your counsellor should be able to give you support and help you to address it in the best way possible. You should feel safe.
At the Haynes Clinic we also have separate groups just for men or just for women when there are issues that are best addressed in a single sex environment.
However on the whole we believe that all rehab centres should be women friendly. They should also be men friendly. We do not believe that the best environment for getting well is single sex – of either sex. We need to deal with individuals sensitively according to their needs while making them feel safe.
Contact us for more information or any queries you may have.
