Dr. Dolores Finger Wright, DSU associate professor of social work, has recently returned from Sicily, where she joined a team of instructors who trained a group of professional women from Afghanistan in addiction issues as they pertain to women.

Dr. Finger Wright was a part of the group Guiding the Recovery of Women (GROW), one of 15 instructors with expertise in addiction issues, especially as they relate to women. The instructors represent a wide variety of social service agencies, treatment facilities and academia.

Thirty-three professional Afghanistan women – doctors, social workers, therapists and director of substance abuse treatment programs – attended the GROW training program.

“That’s why it was a sobering experience, because it provided training to professional women who provide direct services to other women in a war zone,” Dr. Finger Wright said.

The GROW training program is designed for addiction specialists, focusing on effective gender-responsive treatment interventions for women substance abusers. The training introduces the principles and values of key experts in the field, and identifies promising practices for treating substance abusing women.

The three-week training program in Sicily (an autonomous region of Italy) included topics that explored the relations between substance abuse/treatment and adolescent females, lesbian issues, sexual abuse, domestic violence, detoxification and pregnancy, in addition to other areas.

Dr. Finger Wright – who was in Sicily from April 13 to 21 – taught the basic introductory GROW curriculum.