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Author ORCID Identifier

    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789

Date Available

6-15-2026

Year of Publication

2026

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)

College

Social Work

Department/School/Program

Social Work

Faculty

Dr. Johnathan Vanverbeck

Faculty

Dr. Escobar-Ratliff

Abstract

Research reveals that rural women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are up to 90% less likely to seek treatment than men or urban women. This Doctor of Social Work capstone project brings together a systematic literature review (SLR), a conceptual paper, and a practice application paper to examine the clinical social work practice problem of rural women with AUDs underutilizing treatment. Collectively, these products investigate factors contributing to these disparities, identify gaps in care, and propose more equitable and responsive approaches to treatment for these women. This project began with an SLR (2020–2025) that investigated clinical treatment interventions that demonstrated effectiveness in reducing symptoms of alcohol use disorders among rural women in the United States. Despite identifying promising treatment interventions, rural women were substantially unrepresented in the research. While examining these gaps, the conceptual paper uncovers a complex set of intersecting structural, economic, and sociocultural barriers, along with significantly higher rates of trauma, that collectively influence rural women’s ability to access and remain engaged in treatment. The RISE UP conceptual framework was developed in response to these findings and to better understand the unique needs of rural women with AUDs. Grounded in this framework, the practice application paper introduces the RISE UP resource, a four-phase flexible clinical social work intervention specifically designed for rural women. This new intervention is designed to enhance physiological stabilization and trauma processing, strengthen craving management, and provide stage-matched change that supports both emotion regulation and recovery readiness. Overall, this capstone project promotes a more equitable and responsive approach to meeting the unique needs of rural women with AUDs, with the goal of actively empowering this chronically underserved and persistently marginalized population.

            Keywords: alcohol use disorder, trauma processing, physiological regulation, flexible delivery, rural women

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