The newly released film “Nymphomaniac” speaks to an underserved female treatment population that can now find healing at a brand new women’s treatment program at The Right Step in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. Opening this week, The Right Step DFW’s innovative Substance Abuse and Intimacy Disorders (SAID) program for women addresses the emotional challenges that underlie addiction, specifically problems with intimacy, relationships, sexuality, past abuse or trauma. Dallas, TX (PRWEB) March 24, 2014 – The Right Step addiction treatment center in Dallas/Ft. Worth opens the Substance Abuse and Intimacy Disorders program (SAID DFW) for women only. SAID DFW treats women who have relationship and intimacy issues that are undermining their ability to live healthy, satisfying, sober lives, including many of the trauma issues and relationship patterns so meaningfully depicted in the newly released film “Nymphomaniac.” For example, women attending this new program often have a history of maintaining close relationships with abusive or unavailable men, as well as partners who remain actively involved with alcohol or other drugs. Women with underlying sex and relationship disorders and trauma often use alcohol and drugs to enjoy or even tolerate sex or unfulfilling relationships, or to cope with loneliness and painful past traumatic relationships and experiences. “Increasingly, the research bears out that substance abuse in women often stems from lifelong patterns of disturbed sexual, relationship and intimacy concerns,” said Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S, the internationally renowned addictions expert and author who designed and oversees the SAID DFW program. “Movies like ‘Nymphomaniac: Volume 1,’ for example, are helping to bring home to the public that what some might dismiss as bad choices are, in fact, untreated and unresolved early emotional challenges that can be addressed with treatment. This significantly lowers the chance of relapse.” The SAID program addresses not only substance use problems but also early trauma, neglect, and related adult intimacy and sexual disorders, noted Program Coordinator Sylva Frock, Ph.D., CSAT. “By taking on a multidimensional treatment approach that combines shame resilience/reduction combined with an integrated focus on healing past trauma, intimacy and relationship wounds, we are following the best practices of evidence-based substance abuse treatment.” SAID DFW integrates concepts from the highly successful SAID program for men at Promises, the Center for Relationship and Sexual Recovery at The Ranch and The Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles, all designed and overseen by Weiss, who has opened the first dedicated treatment centers for women’s intimacy and sexual disorders in the U.S. SAID DFW is made up of dedicated female senior master’s level clinicians working intensely with each client to create an individualized treatment plan that draws from the following options:
- Drug/Alcohol and Intimacy/Relationship/Trauma Assessments
- Individual, Group and Family Psychotherapy
- Daily Interactive Educational Sessions on Trauma, Relationships, Addiction, Intimacy and Related Topics
- Nutrition Counseling with a Licensed Nutritionist
- Fitness at a New Onsite Gym with Licensed Trainers
- Yoga, Body Awareness and Mindfulness Meditation with Certified Experts
- Intensive Family Involvement
- Relapse Prevention, Individualized Aftercare Planning and Follow-Up
- Onsite Medical Detox and Psychiatric Stabilization
- 12-Step Involvement
- Psychodrama and Creative Expression Therapies
- Dr. Brené Brown’s Daring Way™ Shame Resilience Curriculum
“Too often, women struggling with substance abuse are treated solely for their drug or alcohol problem, but not for the emotional challenges that often underlie the presenting addictive problem,” said Avery Rowles, LPC, CSAT-C, CDFW-C, a therapist at SAID. “SAID DFW seeks to shift the focus of treatment by offering a safe, nonsexual environment where women are focused on creating meaningful, healthy connections with their peers while simultaneously eliminating their related abuse of drugs and/or alcohol.” At SAID DFW, treatment takes place in a gender-specific environment with fully separate women’s housing, staff, services, programming and activities. This “women only” setting helps foster a community in which women are free from any pressure or competition for male attention and in which they can more easily open up about deeply personal topics such as sexuality, body image, relationships and trauma. It also allows them to learn from and bond with women of all different ages and perspectives. Ultimately, by addressing the underlying emotional and relationship issues behind the addiction as well as the substance abuse itself, women can develop the skills to maintain long-term sobriety while also finding greater connection and health in their lives and relationships. “The goal is for our clients to celebrate their lives by embracing joy, connection and emotional fulfillment,” Weiss said, “not just eliminating the use of alcohol or other drugs.”
