Treatment Magazine journalist Jenny Diedrich covered our gender-specific transitional living program. Read an excerpt of the story below. The full story is available on TreatmentMagazine.com.
June 15, 2021
Men and women experience addiction and approach recovery differently, and one Utah treatment center is expanding to help focus on their specific needs.
Wasatch Crest Treatment Services—a residential and outpatient program in Heber City that was founded in 2016—opened a men’s transitional recovery residence a year ago and did the same for women in May. Both the men’s and the women’s sober-living programs accommodate eight clients and have the same goal: to help patients transition smoothly from treatment back to daily living. Part of achieving that is recognizing the differences in the recovery journeys of the two genders, according to Jim Huffman, founder and CEO of Wasatch Crest.
I was convinced that transitional care was the best for me and stayed an additional 90 days. What we’re doing at Wasatch Crest is a blueprint for what worked for me and so many others.”—Jim Huffman, founder and CEO of Wasatch Crest Treatment Services
Huffman says building bonds with same-gender peers is key in recovery and typically more difficult for women than men. “[Women] tend to have a harder time bonding with each other. Developing deep bonds with same-gender role models is very important in recovery. Sometimes it’s hard for us to be truly vulnerable around the opposite gender. In that vulnerability and deep-rooted honesty is where we set a solid foundation,” he says.
Another difference between the genders involves the willingness to ask for help. In this aspect, women are typically more comfortable, notes Huffman. “For men, it’s about learning to be vulnerable and to be okay doing that,” he says. “As men, we grow up in a society where we’re supposed to be tough and strong. Asking for help and being willing to rely on another man to help guide our life is often really hard.”
Talking about trauma is part of the healing process, and housing same-gender clients together can make them more open in sharing their personal experiences.
