Hazelden opens women's program (1988)
Hazelden, the Minnesota center that made the Minnesota Model of addiction treatment famous, admitted its first women patients in 1988 after decades of serving mostly men. The program added counseling for trauma and other issues that disproportionately affect women in recovery.
Women gained access to the same evidence-based treatment as men, with services redesigned around their specific needs.
Hazelden's move helped normalize gender-specific programming across the addiction treatment field.
Like Hazelden, Guiding Light built its reputation on a men's program before adding a women's track, citing the same gap in services.
