Teenage males are at a higher risk of developing an addiction and other mental disorders than their female counterparts. When working to improve their overall wellbeing, it is essential to provide them with treatment focused on improving their mental health. Doing so will help them manage mental health and substance use disorders (SUD).
Gender-specific addiction treatment is a treatment approach that focuses on gender-specific issues to help adolescents manage substance use disorders and other mental health challenges. Let’s further explore how gender-specific treatment can benefit teenage boys.
Treatment Approaches
Treatment to address mental health and substance use disorders can vary based on gender. For example, treatment for women may address body image, sexual assault or abuse, pregnancy complications, and other health concerns specific for females. Treatment may address emotional challenges, substance abuse, mental health problems, trauma history, behavioral problems, and other challenges specific to males.
Interventions focus on helping boys and young men develop healthy relationships with themselves, peers, and others. In addition to therapy sessions, gender-specific programs provide activities explicitly designed to engage teenage boys to learn more about self-control and positive coping skills.
What Are The Benefits of Gender-Specific Addiction Treatment?
There are many benefits to treating teen boys with a program tailored specifically to their needs. These programs focus on understanding why young men tend to drink, use marijuana and cocaine more than young women.
Such a program is an excellent way for male adolescents struggling with substance use problems as it provides them an opportunity they may otherwise not get elsewhere. Male-specific addiction treatment will also focus on improving the mental health of adolescent males who have a higher risk of developing an addiction or mental disorder in the future.
Other benefits include:
- Improving outcomes and reducing relapse rates.
- Addressing peer pressure or toxic masculinity within their community.
Higher Success Rates
Programs focused on male teenagers have higher success rates than those targeted at females because they target different areas of need, including:
- Impulsivity
- Aggressive tendencies
- Family conflict
Gender-specific treatment also helps stop the stigma associated with addiction and mental health disorders often faced by young men and teens.
Recognizing Themselves in Each Other
One of the most critical aspects of gender-specific addiction treatment is that it helps individuals recognize their similarities with others. Additionally, gender-specific addiction prevention programs could help men avoid the stigma associated with mental illness or substance use disorders.
Seeing themselves in others will help dissipate the shame they may experience with having a SUD. They will also understand that they are not alone. It can also lead to greater self-awareness and understanding among teenage boys who feel marginalized. In turn, this could help them learn how to manage any potential addiction or mental disorders they may encounter in the future.
Sharing Honestly
One of the most important reasons to have a gender-specific addiction treatment for teen males is because it provides them with a safe space to be open and honest about their struggles.
Programs like these prevent additional problems in their lives and improve their mental health. If they can share openly with their therapist, they are also more likely to follow through with treatment that helps them overcome their mental health and substance use disorders.
It’s hard for men who suffer from addiction and mental illnesses to live up to society’s expectations. However, with gender-specific treatments for teen males, these individuals can get the help they need without feeling judged or different from other participants.
Men Experience Addiction Differently
One of the most critical aspects of addiction treatment is creating individual treatment approaches because each person experiences addiction differently. Additionally, male adolescents face higher risks of addiction and mental illnesses than female adolescents, suggesting that treatments based on gender can make all the difference. However, this does not mean that all teenage girls are immune from the same issues as some adolescent boys.
However, therapy must consider the unique interests and challenges teenage boys face. For example, adolescent males may share different interests from most females, and therefore certain therapeutic activities may benefit their recovery. Furthermore, their brains function and develop differently from teenage girls at this stage of their lives.
Males Are More Likely to Use Substances
Ultimately, males are more likely to use alcohol and other substances and often find it challenging to quit independently. At Clearfork Academy, our male-specific treatment programs center around the needs of teenage boys and young men. It helps them overcome addiction with a higher success rate than other treatments that incorporate both genders.
Adolescence is a time of uncertainty and change. Gender-specific treatment for teen males is conducive to your son’s treatment and recovery. By addressing specific challenges that male teens face, such as masculinity and peer pressure, gender-specific treatment centers such as Clearfork Academy thrive at helping teenagers struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. Treatment programs that address gender-specific issues lead to more success in reaching their intended audience than those that do not consider the unique needs of male teens. Clearfork Academy also offers a range of conventional and holistic treatment options to ensure teenage boys have the appropriate resources needed to overcome substance use disorders. Our gender-specific treatment also provides specialized and individualized care for young men. If your teenage boy is currently struggling with addiction, then it is time to reach out for help. Learn more about our gender-specific treatment programs by calling us today at (844) 387-8780.
Originally from the Saginaw, Eagle Mountain area, Austin Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Ministry from Lee University in Cleveland, TN and a Master of Arts in Counseling from The Church of God Theological Seminary. He then went on to become a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor in the State of Texas.
Austin’s professional history includes both local church ministry and clinical counseling. At a young age, he began serving youth at the local church in various capacities which led to clinical training and education. Austin gained a vast knowledge of mental health disorders while working in state and public mental health hospitals. This is where he was exposed to almost every type of diagnosis and carries this experience into the daily treatment.
Austin’s longtime passion is Clearfork Academy, a christ-centered residential facility focused on mental health and substance abuse. He finds joy and fulfillment working with “difficult” clients that challenge his heart and clinical skill set. It is his hope and desire that each resident that passes through Clearfork Academy will be one step closer to their created design.
Austin’s greatest pleasures in life are being a husband to his wife, and a father to his growing children. He serves at his local church by playing guitar, speaking and helping with tech arts. Austin also enjoys being physically active, reading, woodworking, and music.
