Skulden och skammen. : Närvaron av skuld och skam i missbruksbehandling av kvinnor.

The purpose of this study is to examine the personnel’s perspective on how the emotions shame and guilt are present in the treatment of female addicts on an LVM institution. Three questions have been designed to meet the objective: How do they work in the treatment with guilt and shame, how important is it to work with these feelings and what significance does genders have in relation to shame, guilt and treatment? A qualitative approach and techniques have been used to obtain the result. The study's theoretical starting point consists of three themes: gender theory, labeling theory and a theoretical approach to the concepts of guilt and shame. Empirical relevance of the study consists of five semi-structured qualitative interviews with personnel on an LVM-institution for addicted women. The results suggest that shame and guilt plays an important role in the care of drug- and alcohol-using women at the institution. The two concepts are seen as key ingredients and permeate the entire treatment from the beginning to the end. Without processing these emotions, women tend to fall back into their addiction. The treatment is adapted for women; however, it is considered that the basic problem is the same for both men and women. Women tend to handle and show shame and guilt in a different way than men, which means that a customized treatment is preferable