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This thesis explores the character of women-only substance abuse treatment programs as 'therapeutic landscapes' using qualitative interview and observation methods at two women-only treatment programs. The thesis explores the character of these programs from the perspective of both staff and clients. Not surprisingly, treatment clients had both positive and negative views about various elements of their treatment experience. As such, identifying these sites as 'therapeutic landscapes' requires us to consider how they maintain a structured environment (their core objective) on an ongoing basis, while also being influenced by a wide range of factors. The individual characteristics of staff and clients, staff/client and peer social relations, the surrounding neighbourhood, and the internal and external program environment are factors that shape the ongoing operation of treatment facilities. Further, through them, key tensions arise in the facilitation of the treatment program, which staff needs to consistently try to balance. These tensions arise as programs try to strike a balance between (1) structure and dependence, (2) retreat and reality, (3) individual and collective needs, and (4) homogeneity and diversity. Maintaining a healthy atmosphere and a positive group dynamic therefore requires a wide range of considerations. By studying the core objective of addiction treatment and the factors that influence whether programs achieve this objective we can better understand the ways that environment matters when exploring women-only substance abuse treatment programs as 'therapeutic landscapes'. Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis compares women with disabilities and employers' perspectives on service work in Hamilton, Ontario in order to further understand the experiences of disabled women in contemporary service employment. Positive and negative experiences from the women interviewed are assessed and compared to employers' perspectives on hiring and working with disabled workers in the service sector. With the recent restructuring of the welfare state, more disabled-people are being encouraged to enter the paid workforce by the state. This situation is problematic because there are indications that enduring barriers to employment continue to exist, and the restructuring of the service sector raises questions concerning the types of work people with disabilities are being hired for. Evidence from this thesis suggests that there is often a fundamental disconnect between what many employers are looking for in a worker and what the women interviewed were able to offer while at work. It can be suggested that "} both data sets point to the enduring norms of able-bodiedness in the workplace. This study suggests that the women are not always able to approximate what the employers construct as the ideal worker, however the women have created various coping strategies in order to best approximate the ideal. The type of emotional, embodied work that is required by the majority of the employers in the service sector can be physically and emotionally draining for women with disabilities. This research also suggests that different bodies experience different outcomes in different situations. The women interviewed made it clear that they experience their bodies differently at work than they would at home, because of the demanding nature of service work and the performative, emotional nature of their work. The research conducted in this thesis responds to the absence of studies comparing the perspectives of both women with disabilities experiences and employers perspectives on service work. Thesis Master of Arts (MA)