Helping Women Recover

The latest, fully-revised and updated edition of classic and best-selling work in the field

Since it was first published in 1999, Helping Women Recover has set the standard for best practice in the field of women's treatment. Helping Women Recover is a manualized treatment intervention based on Dr. Covington's Women's Integrated Treatment (WIT) model—offering a program developed to meet the unique needs of women addicted to alcohol, other drugs, and those with co-occurring disorders. Included in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, The Helping Women Recover program offers counselors, mental health professionals, and program administrators the tools they need to implement a gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment program in group settings or with individual women in criminal justice settings.

Now in its third edition, this binder set including both a facilitator's guide and a hands on participant's journal, has been updated with new material on opioid addictions, how to become trauma-informed and gender-responsive, LGBTQ issues, and more. Updated references, further reading suggestions, and a chapter for facilitators which includes the challenges of working in the criminal justice system help practitioners to effectively implement the program in daily practice. A vital tool for all mental health and addiction treatment professionals, Helping Women Recover:

• Draws from the most up-to-date theory and practical applications in the fields of addiction and trauma
• Covers the historical background and fundamental principles of gender-responsive services
• Provides guidance for facilitating an effective woman's treatment program
• Offers real-world insights on the role of the facilitator
• Includes an appendix of additional recovery resources such as The Sixteen Steps for Discovery & Empowerment and Women for Sobriety New Life Program Acceptance Statements

Helping Women Recover is essential for mental health and addiction treatment professionals including counselors, therapists, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists who work with women in HWR is essential for anyone providing services to women in criminal justice settings.

About the Author xiii

Books and Programs xiv

About the Cover xv

Acknowledgments xvii

1 Introduction to Addiction Treatment for Women 1

Women in the Criminal Justice System: Who They Are 2

Historical Background: Why a Woman’s Treatment Program? 8

What We Have Learned 12

Fundamentals of Gender-Responsive Services 22

Integration 55

The Value of Twelve Step Programs and Other Mutual-Help Groups 56

Research on Helping Women Recover 58

2 Facilitating the Program 65

Organization and Content of the Program 66

Using this Facilitator’s Guide 67

Principles of an Effective Treatment Program 74

Materials Needed for the Sessions 93

Opening Session: Introduction to the Program 103

Optional Yoga Exercise: Seated Centering and Breathing 139

Module A: Self 145

Session 2. Defining Self 149

Session 3. Sense of Self 183

Session 4. Self-Esteem 203

Session 5. Sexism, Stereotyping, and Power 221

Yoga Exercise: Breath of Joy to Rag Doll to Lip Flutter 174, 196, 214, 247

Module B: Relationships 255

Session 6. Family of Origin 259

Session 7. Mothers 301

Session 8. Mother Myths 319

Session 9. Fathers 341

Session 10. Understanding Abuse and Trauma 365

Session 11. Interpersonal Violence 401

Session 12. Creating Supportive and Loving Relationships 433

Yoga Exercise: Feminine Warrior Sequence 292, 311, 333, 357, 394, 426, 463

Module C: Sexuality 471

Session 13. Sexuality and Addiction 479

Session 14. Body Image 511

Session 15. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation 541

Session 16. Challenges to Healthy Sexuality 569

Session 17. Healthy Sexuality 597

Yoga Exercise: Essential Oil Embrace into Awesome Arms/Goddess Pose 504, 534, 561, 589, 618

Module D: Spirituality 625

Session 18. What Is Spirituality? 629

Session 19. Mindfulness, Prayer, and Meditation 655

Session 20. Creating a Vision 675

Yoga Exercise: Blessing Body, Mind and Spirit 647, 667

Appendix 1. Five Senses Cards 693

Appendix 2. Local Resources forWomen 695

Appendix 3. Additional Recovery Resources 697

Appendix 4. Redefining Gender 703

Appendix 5. Words of Wisdom 707

References 715

Feedback Form 737

Index 739

Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW, is an internationally recognized clinician, author, lecturer, and organizational consultant and is a pioneer in the field of women's issues, addiction, trauma, and recovery. With over thirty-five years of experience, she is noted for her work in the design and implementation of gender-responsive and trauma-informed treatment services in public, private, and institutional settings. She is the author of numerous books, as well as ten research-based, manualized treatment curricula, including Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women, Helping Women Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction, and Voices: A Program for Girls. She is the co-author of Helping Men Recover. For the past twenty-five years, Dr. Covington has worked to help institutions and programs in the criminal justice system develop effective gender-responsive services. She has provided training and consulting services to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; the Ministries of Justice in England, Scotland, and Switzerland; the Correctional Service of Canada; and, in the U.S., the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the National Institute of Corrections, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and many other state and local jurisdictions. In addition, she helped to design women's services at the Betty Ford Treatment Center and was the featured therapist on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) TV show entitled Breaking Down the Bars. Dr. Covington has served on the faculties of the University of Southern California, San Diego State University, and the California School of Professional Psychology. She is co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice in La Jolla, California.

The latest, fully-revised and updated edition of classic and best-selling work in the field

Since it was first published in 1999, Helping Women Recover has set the standard for best practice in the field of women's treatment. Helping Women Recover is a manualized treatment intervention based on Dr. Covington's Women's Integrated Treatment (WIT) model—offering a program developed to meet the unique needs of women addicted to alcohol, other drugs, and those with co-occurring disorders. Included in SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, The Helping Women Recover program offers counselors, mental health professionals, and program administrators the tools they need to implement a gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment program in group settings or with individual women in criminal justice settings.

Now in its third edition, this binder set including both a facilitator's guide and a hands on participant's journal, has been updated with new material on opioid addictions, how to become trauma-informed and gender-responsive, LGBTQ issues, and more. Updated references, further reading suggestions, and a chapter for facilitators which includes the challenges of working in the criminal justice system help practitioners to effectively implement the program in daily practice. A vital tool for all mental health and addiction treatment professionals, Helping Women Recover:

• Draws from the most up-to-date theory and practical applications in the fields of addiction and trauma
• Covers the historical background and fundamental principles of gender-responsive services
• Provides guidance for facilitating an effective woman's treatment program
• Offers real-world insights on the role of the facilitator
• Includes an appendix of additional recovery resources such as The Sixteen Steps for Discovery & Empowerment and Women for Sobriety New Life Program Acceptance Statements

Helping Women Recover is essential for mental health and addiction treatment professionals including counselors, therapists, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists who work with women in HWR is essential for anyone providing services to women in criminal justice settings.

Praise for Helping Women Recover, Third Edition

"Helping Women Recover is a groundbreaking resource. It is an invaluable compendium of the research on women and addiction, synthesizing a great deal of information into a theoretical framework to guide effective work with women involved in the criminal justice system. My colleagues and I have relied on Dr. Covington's work to lead the way from my days as executive director of the Women's Prison Association to my current role as director of the John Jay College Prisoner Reentry Institute."
—Ann Jacobs, Director, Prisoner Reentry Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

"Helping Women Recover, 3rd Edition is an ideal curriculum for facilitators, who will appreciate the comprehensive approach, the clear explanation of goals and elements of each module and session, and the specific direction and guidance for supporting individual women in each group. Dr. Covington has further developed an ideal tool for educating and supporting women."
—Georgia Lerner, Executive Director, Women's Prison Association, New York

"With this latest edition, Stephanie Covington offers facilitators an updated account of the substance abuse research and literature which form a solid foundation for this holistic approach. Additionally, a growing body of research shows favorable outcomes for participants. Helping Women Recover has enjoyed an excellent reputation in the field of corrections. It is difficult to see how the curriculum could be improved, but the latest edition does just that."
—Patricia Van Voorhis, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati

"This new, twenty-session edition of Helping Women Recover is incredibly thorough. It has up-to-date statistics, trauma-sensitive yoga exercises, a discussion of the complex topic of gender fluidity, and new brain research that relates to addiction and trauma. This is a wonderfully comprehensive, easy to follow, informative work."
—Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Prison Philanthropist, Founder of One Small Thing, United Kingdom

Praise for Helping Women Recover, 3rd Edition

“Helping Women Recoveris a groundbreaking resource. It is an invaluable compendium of the research on women and addiction, synthesizing a great deal of information into a theoretical framework to guide effective work with women involved in the criminal justice system. My colleagues and I have relied on Dr. Covington's work to lead the way from my days as executive director of the Women's Prison Association to my current role as director of the John Jay College Prisoner Reentry Institute.“
–Ann Jacobs, Director, Prisoner Reentry Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

“Twenty years ago, Stephanie Covington changed the way we approach the treatment of addiction among women involved with the criminal justice system. Now she provides us an updated edition of her seminal work informed by advancing knowledge and by her sensible and sensitive commitment to doing what works, and what is right. This is an indispensable part of a treatment curriculum for professionals at every stage of the criminal justice process and practitioners once again will profit from it.”
–Martin F. Horn, Former Commissioner of Correction and Probation for the City of New York and Former Secretary of Corrections for the State of Pennsylvania

“Helping Women Recover, 3rd Edition is an ideal curriculum for facilitators, who will appreciate the comprehensive approach, the clear explanation of goals and elements of each module and session, and the specific direction and guidance for supporting individual women in each group. Dr. Covington has further developed an ideal tool for educating and supporting women.”
–Georgia Lerner, Executive Director, Women’s Prison Association, New York

“The latest edition of Helping Women Recover provides the criminal justice field an updated and expanded vision for success in women-centered treatment. Dr. Covington provides step-by-step guidance through innovations in gender-responsive and trauma informed treatment. As correctional systems recognize their responsibilities toward providing rehabilitation designed specifically for women, Helping Women Recover is an evidenced-based practice that will help meet this goal."
–Barbara Owen, Professor Emerita, Department of Criminology, California State University-Fresno

“With this latest edition, Stephanie Covington offers facilitators an updated account of the substance abuse research and literature which form a solid foundation for this holistic approach. Additionally, a growing body of research shows favorable outcomes for participants. Helping Women Recover has enjoyed an excellent reputation in the field of corrections. It is difficult to see how the curriculum could be improved, but the latest edition does just that.”
–Patricia Van Voorhis, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati

“This new, twenty-session edition of Helping Women Recover is incredibly thorough. It has up-to-date statistics, trauma-sensitive yoga exercises, a discussion of the complex topic of gender fluidity, and new brain research that relates to addiction and trauma. This is a wonderfully comprehensive, easy to follow, informative work.”
–Lady Edwina Grosvenor, Prison Philanthropist, Founder of One Small Thing, United Kingdom