Women face many challenges and barriers after leaving jail or prison. Working Together for Women (WTW), an integrated part of the Caring Together program at Drexel Medicine, is a special recovery-focused treatment program for women who have struggled with alcohol and/or drugs in the past and are now returning to the community.

Our team of health care professionals, including physicians, and addiction and mental health professionals work together to meet each woman's individual treatment needs. Peer specialists can meet with women while they are still in jail or prison to plan for their discharge including housing, income, addiction treatment, physical health, mental health, education, child care and employment concerns and needs.

Once a woman is home, the WTW team coordinates care and supports her in keeping appointments with medical, addiction and psychiatric treatment and social service professionals. Peer specialists serve as supports and role models of success.

Working Together for Women is committed to meeting the many often-unique needs of women returning to the community and their families. Our staff is sensitive to diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion.

Services for Women

• Pre-release outreach to identify reentry needs and to provide support in obtaining resources such as housing, employment and education
• Comprehensive substance use and mental health treatment assessments
• Team planning for individual treatment needs
• Services for individual treatment may include:
  • Psychiatric assessment and treatment including medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder
  • Individual and group addiction counseling
  • Trauma assessment and treatment
  • Family therapy
  • Parenting education
  • Social-skill-building workshops
  • Anger management
  • Physical health education, assessment and treatment
  • Peer support and appropriate support groups
  • Family reunification support
  • Family services include developmental evaluation of children with referrals to treatment when needed
  • Violence prevention training
  • Aftercare planning and follow up

Women and Addiction

Women face many challenges in their recovery from substance use disorders. Our program is designed specifically for women and their children.

Some of the special challenges include:

• Relationship problems
• Physical and sexual abuse
• Family and childcare responsibilities
• Family reunification
• Medical illnesses
• Psychiatric disorders
• Homelessness
• Incarceration
• Limited educational opportunities
• Limited employment opportunities

Women receiving help at Working Together for Women know that they are not alone in facing these challenges. They are fully supported by a team of dedicated professionals.

Expert Care

Working Together for Women is a collaboration of the Caring Together program of Drexel University College of Medicine, the Philadelphia forensic community including the Philadelphia Re-entry Coalition and the Philadelphia Office of Addiction Services.

Caring Together is an outpatient treatment program for women with substance use disorders and their children that has been serving Philadelphians for over 30 years. It was founded by Barbara Schindler, MD, who is also medical director of the program. She is board certified in psychiatry, specializing in the treatment of addiction and related mental health disorders, hospital consultation psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry.

The information on these pages is provided for general information only and should not be used for diagnosis or treatment, or as a substitute for consultation with a physician or health care professional. If you have specific questions or concerns about your health, you should consult your health care professional.

The images being used are for illustrative purposes only; any person depicted is a model.

 
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