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Treatment for Women

Private-practice psychology for women dealing with alcohol use, anxiety, depression, trauma, or the co-occurring conditions that usually present alongside them. Led by Dr. Lori Washton, clinical psychologist with 25+ years of experience.

The Silent Struggle

For many women, alcohol or substance use problems develop quietly. There is no dramatic crisis, just a slow, steady increase in use that becomes harder to control. A glass of wine after the kids go to bed becomes two, then three. A drink to take the edge off becomes the thing you look forward to all day.

Women are more likely than men to use alone and to hide how much they consume. The stigma of being a woman, especially a mother, with a drinking problem is so powerful that many women endure years of escalating problems before seeking help.

At The Washton Group, our approach is built around these specific pressures. The work is designed for women who need help but have been reluctant to seek it because of how they might be perceived.

Dr. Lori Washton in a private therapy session

Why Women Need Specialized Treatment

Biological Factors

Women metabolize alcohol differently. Hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause all influence cravings and the effects of alcohol.

Psychological Factors

Women are more likely to use alcohol to cope with anxiety, depression, trauma, or relationship stress. The connection between emotional pain and drinking is often stronger and more direct.

Social Pressures

Expected to hold families together, excel at work, and appear effortlessly composed. Admitting to a problem feels like admitting to failure on every front.

Co-Occurring Conditions

Anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and hormonal conditions frequently accompany substance use in women and must be treated simultaneously.

Relationship Dynamics

Partners, children, and extended family all affect and are affected by a woman's substance use. Treatment must address these relationship systems.

Stigma & Shame

The "wine mom" culture normalizes drinking while the stigma of being a mother who drinks too much remains devastating. This contradiction keeps women trapped.

Our Approach

Woman sitting alone by window, contemplating seeking help for alcohol use

Treat the Underlying Conditions

Anxiety, depression, trauma, and hormonal issues are addressed alongside the substance use, not after it stops. Asking a woman to stop drinking without addressing why she drinks is like asking her to walk on a broken leg.

Address the Shame

Women carry enormous guilt about their drinking. Treatment creates a safe, non-judgmental environment where shame can be processed rather than reinforced.

Work With Relationships

Women's substance use often exists within a web of family relationships. Partners, children, and parents may all be affected and may all need to be part of the solution.

Respect Autonomy

The goal does not have to be immediate abstinence. Some women can learn to moderate their use. Others will ultimately choose abstinence. What matters is that you define your goals and work toward them at your own pace.

Flexible, Private Care

Women juggling careers and families need treatment that fits into their lives. Secure telehealth sessions available throughout NY, NJ, CT, PA, and most other states.

Dr. Lori Washton

Dr. Lori Washton

Clinical Psychologist | Adolescent & Women's Treatment Specialist

Loraine J. Washton, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience specializing in women and families affected by substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions. As a practicing psychologist, mother, and woman balancing career and family, Dr. Washton understands the pressures that lead high-functioning women to struggle silently with alcohol, anxiety, or depression.

She addresses the specific factors that affect women differently: hormonal influences on mood and cravings, the stigma of being a mother who drinks too much, relationship dynamics, and the exhaustion of maintaining perfect appearances while falling apart inside.

Her practice is built on key principles: no rigid abstinence requirement to begin treatment, family involvement as essential to the therapeutic process, dual diagnosis focus, and a non-judgmental approach where any movement toward improved health and reduced risk is recognized as progress.

In-Depth Reading on Specific Topics

Alcohol Use Disorder in Women

A clinical guide to how AUD develops in women, why it is harder to recognize, and what evidence-based treatment looks like.

Women's Clinical Issues, Overview

The conditions most commonly treated in women: substance use, anxiety, depression, trauma, and the co-occurring presentations that connect them.

Therapist Specializing in Women's Issues

What that specialty actually covers clinically, and what to look for when evaluating clinicians.

Why Women Hide Their Drinking

The structural reasons women's drinking stays private until the consequences force it into view.

Anxiety and Drinking in High-Achieving Women

The clinical pattern where anxiety and alcohol use develop together, and why treating one without the other reliably fails.

Female Alcoholism: Why It Looks Different

Why the clinical reality of alcohol use disorder in women rarely matches the cultural picture, and what that means for treatment.

Women and Wine

When the nightly glass becomes a problem, and why wine specifically hides the pattern.

For Parents and Partners

When you are the one watching a family member's substance use, what helps and what tends to backfire.

By Location

Female Therapist by City

Female Therapist NYC

Confidential telehealth across the five boroughs and Westchester

Female Therapist Princeton, NJ

Telehealth across NJ with Princeton office available by appointment

For more information or to schedule a confidential consultation:

Call (212) 944-8444 Fill Out Our Contact Form