Women’s Experience of Drug Abuse Treatment in a Mixed-Gender Therapeutic Community

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experience of treatment in a mixed-gender therapeutic community (TC) by Israeli women coping with drug addiction. The vast majority of studies reveal that the techniques used in TCs are designed based on men’s needs. This study focuses on the meanings assigned by women to their experiences within the TC in light of the intersectionality theory and the social construction of gender. The study is based on an interpretative phenomenological approach. Seventeen middle-aged women answered open-ended questionnaires or participated in in-depth interviews. Textual analysis yielded three themes: (1) there’s no place like home—searching for family in the TC; (2) fulfillment and difficulty in intimate relationships in the TC; (3) overall evaluation: mixed-gender TCs are a mixed bag. The discussion focuses on the sociocultural context of women’s treatment in the TC, the male power paradigm, and the individualistic focus that serves as the foundation of the TC approach. The question of how TCs can create safe space for rehabilitating relationships for women is addressed. Finally, implications for policy practice are presented based on the gender-responsive approach.