Addiction is adversity that has the power to destroy a person’s life. Unfortunately, the rates of addiction among women are increasing continuously due to a variety of cultural, social, and biological factors. Since minority women face a greater risk of negative consequences for health and are more likely to relapse, it is essential to develop practices that would help throughout their recovery (Ait-Daoud et al., 2019). Adolescence is the future of society, and their health and general well-being ensure that the future of the world is stable. Exposure therapy is a means of treatment that allows patients to overcome their issues through confrontation with the troubling subject.
Adolescent minority women with addiction would benefit from exposure therapy. It has been established that adolescence could be treated for addiction through exposure therapy. Exposure in sensu requires the patients to imagine the situations that trigger them to partake in the addiction. This kind of therapy could be taken to the next level, for example, by simulating the state of drunkenness with special goggles or VR (Geisel et al., 2021). This method has an effective availability since there are plenty of therapists who are experienced with exposure therapy, and health insurance covers it. Generally, exposure therapy takes five to twenty sessions, depending on the patient. There are certain strengths and weaknesses of this method of treatment. For example, exposure therapy could take place at home through VR sets for those who are impaired or unable to travel to the therapist’s office. However, exposure therapy is known to have high patient dropout rates, which would be detrimental to the patient’s safety and health.
In conclusion, it is essential that adolescent minority women face adequate treatment for addiction, as they are the future of society. One such method is exposure therapy, which allows one to confront triggering situations. It could be undergone in both the therapist’s office and at home with the help of VR, which makes it highly efficient. However, exposure therapy can lead to patient dropouts, making this treatment possibly dangerous.
References
Ait-Daoud, N., Blevins, D., Khanna, S., Sharma, S., Holstege, C. P., & Amin, P. (2019). Women and addiction: An update. Medical Clinics, 103(4), 699–711.
Geisel, O., Lipinski, A., & Kaess, M. (2021). Non-substance addiction in childhood and adolescence–The internet, computer games and social media. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 118(1-2), 14–22.