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Every March, Women’s History Month gives us an opportunity to recognize the women whose courage, insight, and persistence reshaped entire fields. In healthcare and addiction recovery, women have played a powerful role in transforming how we understand treatment, compassion, and long-term healing.
From pioneers who revolutionized modern medicine to leaders advocating for recovery policy and community support today, women have consistently pushed the field forward, often in spaces where their voices were historically overlooked.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s worth reflecting on the women whose contributions continue to shape the way we care for people struggling with substance use and mental health challenges. Today, we are highlighting 3 incredible women who have changed the course of addiction medicine and recovery.
How Marty Mann’s Journey Through Alcoholics Anonymous Jumpstarted Her Work in Recovery Advocacy
As we recognize pioneers during Women’s History Month, Marty Mann’s story stands out as one of the earliest and most influential voices in addiction recovery advocacy.
Marty was one of the first women to publicly share her recovery from alcoholism at a time when addiction was widely misunderstood and heavily stigmatized. After struggling with alcohol use disorder herself, Mann found recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in the late 1930s and became the first woman to achieve long-term sobriety in AA.
In 1944, Mann also founded the National Council on Alcoholism (now the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence). Through her advocacy, she worked tirelessly to change public perception about addiction. She pushed for alcoholism to be recognized as a treatable medical condition and encouraged people struggling with alcohol use to seek help rather than suffer in silence.
Marty Mann on Reducing Stigma and Helping Others Heal
In a speech she gave on February 1st, 1947, she said, “We believe that 1.) Alcoholism is a disease, and the alcoholic is a sick person, 2.) The alcoholic can be helped and is worth helping, and 3.) Alcoholism is a public health problem and therefore a public responsibility.
Disease can strike anyone—rich or poor, men or women. We do not punish sick people for being sick; we treat them. We establish treatment facilities and take pride in them. We do not blame people for illness, even when it comes through ignorance or carelessness.
Once someone is sick, we want them to receive the treatment that will help them get well. It would never occur to us to put a man with malaria in jail. We know he needs help to overcome his illness. When we place these simple truths beside our behavior toward those suffering from alcoholism, we begin to see just how revolutionary this concept truly is.”
During Women’s History Month, it’s worth noting that by speaking openly about her own experience, she helped reduce stigma and showed countless individuals and families that recovery is possible.
Dr. Ruth Fox’s Crucial Role in Helping the Medical Community Recognize Addiction as a Disease
Women’s History Month also gives us an opportunity to recognize medical pioneers like Dr. Ruth Fox, whose work helped the healthcare community better understand addiction as a disease. As a psychiatrist practicing in the mid-20th century, Dr. Ruth Fox saw firsthand how many individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder were misunderstood, dismissed, or simply left without proper care.
Becoming one of the early physician leaders involved with Alcoholics Anonymous and working to bridge the gap between recovery communities and the medical field, Dr. Fox became the first medical director of what is now the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in 1954.
Dr. Fox also established the New York City Medical Society on Alcoholism, today known as the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), one of the leading professional organizations advancing addiction treatment today.
Shifting the Medical Community’s Understanding of Addiction
In helping shift the medical community’s understanding of addiction, Dr. Fox emphasized that people struggling with alcohol use disorder often resist the label of “alcoholic” because of stigma and misunderstanding.
As she shared in a panel about “The Treatment of Alcoholism” in March 1951, she stated, “One of the outstanding characteristics of an alcoholic is his denial that he has an illness. I no longer say to a person, ‘Do you think you’re an alcoholic?’ I might say instead, ‘Do you think you have a problem with alcohol?’ The answer almost invariably is, ‘Oh yes, I have a problem with alcohol, but I’m not an alcoholic.”
In recognition of her impact, ASAM established the Ruth Fox Scholarship, “funded by the Ruth Fox Endowment Fund, that provides full coverage for scholars to attend ASAM’s Annual Conference, an invaluable opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of the latest advancements in addiction treatment and research. Scholars also receive a complimentary three-year membership to ASAM.”
As we reflect during Women’s History Month, Dr. Fox’s work in reframing the conversation and encouraging physicians to approach addiction with compassion and clinical insight helped shape the foundation for modern addiction medicine and more effective pathways to treatment and recovery.
How Jessica Hulsey is Improving Outcomes for Individuals and Families Struggling with Addiction
While pioneers like Marty Mann and Dr. Ruth Fox helped reshape how addiction was understood in the 20th century, modern advocates continue working to expand access to treatment and reduce stigma around substance use disorders.
One of those voices we want to highlight during Women’s History Month is Jessica Hulsey, Founder and CEO of the Addiction Policy Forum. This forum is a “nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem. Its vision is“to eliminate addiction as a major health problem. Strategic priorities include helping patients and families in crisis, ending the stigma around addiction, expanding prevention and early intervention, increasing the uptake of evidence-based practice, and advancing patient-led research.”
For Jessica, families struggling with addiction is one she has a personal connection with. As a child, her parents struggled with heroin addiction, which led to homelessness, foster care, and eventually her mother’s incarceration, after which she was raised by her grandparents.
Making the Approach to Addiction More Comprehensive
Jessica began working in prevention at 15 years old through an anti-drug coalition in Southern California. The next chapters included an appointment by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Drug-Free Communities Commission, a position as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, and work to pass and fund the Second Chance Act to help individuals returning home from prison and jail.
In 2015, Jessica founded the Addiction Policy Forum to help families and patients struggling with the disease of addiction. Frustrated by the lack of progress in improving outcomes for those individuals and families struggling, she started the nonprofit with $13,000 from her own savings account and long hours at the dining room table.
Since then, the organization has set out a big mission, grown a team of dedicated and talented staff, and raised funds to deploy needed programs and resources.
In an interview with Independent Women, when asked about the importance of making the approach to addiction more comprehensive, she shared, “We must integrate treatment of addiction into our healthcare system. We know that people who have had a nonfatal overdose are at heightened risk for fatal overdose, making the Emergency Department a critical intervention point. By changing how we respond to a nonfatal overdose and implementing the necessary protocols, we can have the biggest impact and save the most lives.”
As we honor just a few of the incredible women who helped shape modern healthcare and addiction medicine during Women’s History Month, we are reminded that healing is possible when people are met with compassion, knowledge, and the right support.
Let us Help You Begin Your Path to Recovery
At Positive Recovery Centers, our approach links the best of evidence-based treatment with new, novel interventions that enhance well-being by cultivating its components: positive emotions, engagement, healthy relationships, meaning, and achievement.
Addiction develops when happiness is pursued ineffectively, and recovery takes place when people pursue happiness the right way. With Positive Recovery, we lead and empower clients as they learn to fulfill their needs in healthier ways by intervening early and normalizing use instead of using shame.
If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, you do not have to face it alone. Our team provides evidence-based addiction treatment and recovery support designed to help individuals achieve long-term sobriety and improved mental health.
With convenient locations throughout Texas, Positive Recovery Centers offers a full continuum of care for substance use disorder treatment, including Medical Detox, Residential Treatment, and Sober Living, that allows us to meet individuals wherever they are in their recovery journey and provide the structure, tools, and community needed for lasting change.
If you are ready to take the next step toward healing, contact Positive Recovery Centers today to learn more about our addiction treatment programs and how we can help you or your loved one begin the path to recovery.