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ON MALES, TRAUMA, and ADDICTION TREATMENT

What would men tell us if we created a truly safe place and listened to their struggles instead of telling them what they are and are not?

While progress has been made in the understanding of trauma, there remains a myth that trauma is not a major issue for males.

Trauma is a significant issue for males with substance and/or process addictive disorders.

Males are biologically and culturally influenced to minimize or deny traumatic life experiences.

Addiction treatment has been negatively influenced by cultural myths about males.

Males are often assumed to be the perpetrator, which has negatively biased our concepts of trauma and models for addiction treatment, and often results in the re-traumatization of males.

Male trauma must be assessed and treated throughout the continuum of addiction services.

Male-responsive services will improve addiction treatment outcomes.

Effective treatment of male trauma will help to interrupt cycles of violence, abuse, neglect, and addiction.

The Eight Agreements were developed in May 2013 at the Males, Trauma, and Addiction Summit held in La Quinta, California as part of the West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders. This historic summit marked the first time that professionals in the addiction and recovery field had come together to discuss males’ experience of trauma. The group emphasized the importance of more effectively and comprehensively addressing the issue of trauma as a keystone of males’ recovery.

To learn more about the Eight Agreements and the newly created MATRIC (The Males, Trauma, and Addiction Recovery International Consortium) please go to: www.menstrauma.org

You can also download The Eight Agreements PDF here.

READY? Begin Your Journey with Dan.

“We can’t just change what men think, we have to change what we think about men.”