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Deviant behavior was punished during the middle ages. In the seventeenth century, people were locked up in asylums. A first step towards humanization was taken by the founders of the moral treatment movement in the nineteenth century, but it declined at the end of that century. What we today call “milieu therapy” represents a new phase in treating mental illness and deviance. After the Second World War, the therapeutic community (TC) method was widely implemented in Europe, but the needs of different target populations were not dealt with equally. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this contribution, the treatment needs of diverse populations of female drug abusers are addressed. Selected literature and research findings for women in mixed and gender-specific treatment are presented.

The conclusion is that we need a women and family perspective in substance abuse treatment and research. Moreover, a holistic and multidisciplinary treatment approach is needed since so many factors and aspects are involved.

Treatment programs should focus on long-term lifestyle changes and be tailored to the specific needs of diverse target populations. Modified TCs for women and men with children and/or dual diagnosis are definitely the future for TCs.

This article focuses on self‐reported child neglect and abuse in residential drug treatment drawing on data from clients in Scotland collected 1996‐1999. The authors' findings suggest that the prevalence of childhood abuse histories are higher in female drug users than male drug users but argues that diversity of abuse experiences in drug users negate broad treatment plans for those traumatised by such experiences.